Assignment task:
In the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement, State A reviewed the policing services it provides. State A is also facing a significant revenue deficit and seeking ways to save money. Accordingly, various legislative committees undertook examinations of the services performed by State A's police force and explored ways to increase its effectiveness and reduce costs.
The legislative committee with jurisdiction over State A's police force held extensive hearings and determined that older police officers earn substantially more than younger police officers but are unlikely to meet the physical demands of their jobs as well as their younger colleagues. The committee heard testimony from doctors that a person's physical conditioning decreases with age, with a more rapid decline after age 55. Additionally, several sociologists testified at the committee's hearings that older police officers are viewed with greater distrust in urban communities which significantly raised the probability of negative encounters between police officers and community residents. Thus, policing would be more effective and less expensive if the age of the workforce was capped.
State A subsequently enacted the Maximizing Police Effectiveness Act (the Act). The Act provides that no one may be employed by the state as a police officer after reaching the age of 55.
A police officer, age 54, is employed by State A. She has an excellent track record of working effectively within the community to which she is assigned. She is also in good physical condition and wants to remain a police officer. Her work history has been exemplary for the last three decades. Nonetheless, she has been told that, because of the Act, her employment as a police officer will be terminated when she turns 55 next year. The police officer is considering (a) challenging the Act on the basis that it violates her rights under the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause and (b) lobbying for the enactment of a federal statute barring states from setting mandatory age limitations for police officers.
Q1. Does the Act violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment? Explain.
Q2. Would Congress have authority under Section Five of the Fourteenth Amendment to enact a statute barring states from establishing a maximum age for police officers? Explain.