California lifeguards used to think nothing of baking under the sun all day as if their skin was durable as adobe.
Today, increased awareness of skin cancer's dangers have led to far fewer bare-chested Tarzans proud of their George Hamilton suntans. Nearly all lifesavers are required to cover up with hats, shirts and sunscreen while on the job.
For some, the new clothing rules came too late. Even worse, a loophole in state law left lifeguards without certain occupational disability benefits that could help them endure the travail of skin cancer developed on the job.
Now, that too has changed with the enactment of a law providing protection for lifeguards.
Under the old law, lifeguards had to prove their skin cancer was work-related, while the same condition was presumed to be an occupational hazard for police officers and firefighters.
"It was one of those very unfair things," said Cathleen Cummings, an official with the San Diego Municipal Employees Association, which represents the city's 85 full-time lifeguards and 175 seasonal lifesavers.
Through research, Cummings discovered that while only 30 San Diego lifeguards in the agency's history have retired due to job-related disabilities, one-third of them did so because of skin cancer.
To her, the connection between skin cancer and the sun exposure lifeguards endured while on the job was "a no-brainer."
Acting on the suggestion from San Diego lifeguard sergeant John Ball, an association board member, Cummings and the local municipal employees' union set out to change state law.
The payoff for their efforts came Oct. 12, when Gov. Gray Davis signed a bill that places lifeguards on equal footing with police and firefighters when it comes to filing disability claims related to skin cancer.
Now, if a lifeguard contracts skin cancer, there is a presumption under the law that the disease is work-related, said State Assemblyman Juan Vargas (D-San Diego), who sponsored the bill.
Employers can still contest such claims, but the burden is placed on the challenging agency to show that the cancer was not job-related, he said.
Previously, lifeguards could spend hundreds of dollars on lawyers and medical reports to prove their cancer was caused by exposure to the sun while on the job. The law applies to lifeguards who work for more than three consecutive months per year.
"Lifeguards work in hazardous environments and they deserve this," said Vargas, who touted the change in state law at a press conference Tuesday.
Vargas predicted the measure will have a negligible impact on state spending because it will reduce lawsuits filed by aggrieved lifeguards.
"The exposure and the risk are abundantly evident, so extending specific protection for this injury seems most appropriate," said B. Chris Brewster, former San Diego lifeguard chief who is now a consultant to the United States Life Saving Association.
In the 1980s, Brewster researched the connection between skin cancer and lifeguarding. He found that cancer-related disability claims by lifeguards here dropped dramatically after they were required to wear a hat, shirt and sunscreen while on duty.
"There are two positive outcomes to this legislation," he said, "Lifeguards will be properly compensated for their injuries and employers will have further incentive to adopt procedures and buy equipment to prevent lifeguards from contracting skin cancer in the first place."
Techniques for minimizing the risk for skin cancer are now taught at the lifeguard academy and reinforced with occasional in-house seminars.
"I put sunscreen on with my uniform," said Ben Lewis, 30, a lifeguard since 1993. "I put it on constantly all day because I'm fair-skinned."
Lifeguard Lt. Brant Bass said he knows of a half-dozen lifeguards who have been forced to retire because of skin cancer during his 26 years with the agency.
While he is not aware of any city policy that disqualifies lifeguards from continuing to work after they've been treated for skin cancer, city management can order changes in work schedules if they know an employee is at increased risk.
"I've seen lifeguards yanked right in the middle of their shift and told they would work nights until their retirement," he said.
