Under the old collective agreement for the German public sector, the BAT, pay rose with age, every two years. The new agreements replaced age steps with Erfahrungsstufen, experience steps. In 2011, the European Court of Justice ruled that the old age steps were age discrimination, and that the move to the new system was lawful. In the agreement for the states’ employees, a new hire with no relevant experience starts at step 1. At least one year of relevant experience with the same employer is credited. At least one year of relevant experience with another employer brings entry at step 2 at most, or at step 3 after at least three years. The steps then rise after one, two, three, four and five years of uninterrupted work in the same pay group with the same employer.