Law partner who had lifeguard job sees age-discrimination suit over Speedo rule revived on appeal
A Long Island bankruptcy attorney who moonlights as a lifeguard is back in the swim of things, as far as his age-discrimination suit against the state of New York over a required bathing suit is concerned.
In a decision last week, the Appellate Division, Second Department, said a trial court had erred in granting a defense motion for summary judgment concerning the legitimacy of a swimsuit rule. It requires applicants to take a lifeguard certification test wearing either a Speedo or a loose-fitting suit that are part of the standard uniform, the New York Law Journal (sub. req.) reports.
The favorable appellate ruling means partner Roy Lester of Lester & Associates is now on track for trial of the case.
Lester, 66, has for decades worked as a seasonal lifeguard at Jones Beach state park. Until 2007, there was no rule about the kind of swimsuit that could be worn during the test. But at that point, the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation refused to let him wear a more modest, but still form-fitting, jammer suit, the article explains.
Because the certification test measures speed, Lester didn’t want to wear a loose suit that would slow him down. However, he also didn’t want to wear an abbreviated Speedo.
“In my mind, it was so blatantly aimed at the older guys,” he told the legal publication, referring to the ban on jammers. “It was just ridiculous.”
Lester, who has been working as a lifeguard on a private Long Island beach in recent years, briefed the case with the help of an associate at his law firm and made his own oral argument on appeal, the New York Law Journal reports.
The state attorney general’s office represented the state parks office. It declined to comment when contacted by the legal publication.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Lawyer Who Moonlights as a Lifeguard Claims Speedos Requirement Is Age Bias”
