More Protection For Older Workers Dictated In California

Reversing a 1997 court ruling, California governor Gray Davis this month signed into a law a bill that prevents companies from using salary guidelines to determine who gets laid off -- if older workers are most affected by such guidelines. Existing law in California had already prohibited age discrimination against those 40 and older, but the state courts had ruled that an employer could choose to keep a lower-paid worker over a higher-paid worker if it felt it would enhance their business prospects and their ability to survive in the marketplace. A similar measure had been vetoed several times by previous governor Pete Wilson.