SACRAMENTO — Juan Pedro Gaffney’s career as a Bay Area choir director would seem to make him an odd fit for a six-figure job with the state deciding whether people who say they were hurt on the job should receive workers’ compensation pay.

Gaffney, 80, said he’s well aware that “people who have served long in the field look with raised eyebrows” at his appointment to the state Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board.

But what he lacked in experience for a six-year term on a board that consists mostly of attorneys, Gaffney made up with a key connection: He considers Gov. Jerry Brown, his former classmate at St. Ignatius High School in San Francisco, a longtime friend. And that, he admits, is how he got the job.

Brown named him to the post in June, and the state Senate confirmed the appointment last month. The board meets as a body once a week and splits off into groups of three members to review cases. Gaffney and all other board members are paid $147,778 a year.

“I did not understand this to be a plum. I did not go after it as a plum,” Gaffney said. “To me it is hard work and I am glad to do the hard work, but others have given me to understand that they were passed by to accommodate this appointment or at least that this appointment passed them by. I am aware of that. What can I say? I’m sensitive to it. I realize it’s a legitimate sentiment, a legitimate reaction.”

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Gaffney’s appointment is one of the starker examples of a Sacramento tradition: an outgoing governor handing out goodbye gifts to staffers and political allies in the form of well-paid jobs on state boards and commissions.

“This is not a thing that brings down democracy or forces state government to crumble, but it is what it looks like, a favor to a friend,” said Jessica Levinson, who teaches campaign ethics and political law at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. “And it’s not a victimless favor, because there could be someone with a resume that is better suited who was passed over. And this position serves the public. Does the public get the benefit of having the best people serving in this position?”

Brown’s office defended Gaffney’s appointment.

“Workers and businesses across California depend on a fair and effective workers’ compensation system, and the board — and state — will certainly benefit from Mr. Gaffney’s diverse background and experience,” Brown’s spokesman, Brian Ferguson, said.

The board hears cases of disputed workers’ compensation claims. Five of the seven commissioners are required to be attorneys who can practice in California, but the other two positions do not have minimum qualifications. One of those non-attorney positions was filled by Gaffney. The other remains vacant.

Asked what qualified him to hear workers’ compensation cases given his lack of experience in the field, Gaffney said, “intelligence.”

“If you aren’t a lawyer, you quickly learn to be in this game,” Gaffney said. “My Lord, I’m stuffing my eyes, ears, nose and throat with all things legal since I’ve come on board. My days there are 10 hours. I’m making it my business to educate myself.”

It wasn’t the first time Brown appointed Gaffney to a state board in an area where he had minimal background. Last year, the governor put him him on the Alcoholic Beverage Control Appeals Board, a position that pays $25,500 a year. The panel meets monthly to review decisions made by the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

For 40 years, Gaffney directed the Coro Hispano de San Francisco, a classical and folk music chorus of Spanish-speaking singers. He said that job ended after funding dried up and the choir dissolved three years ago.

Gaffney said he had been interested in a career in politics or social justice in his early years, before he decided to go into music. His father was longtime San Francisco Assemblyman Edward Gaffney, who lost his seat to Willie Brown in 1964.

The younger Gaffney said his appointment to the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board feels like returning to those roots.

Asked whether his friendship with Brown was what got him the job, Gaffney said, “What shall I do, should I not plead guilty? Yeah, I’m a friend of Jerry’s. We go way back. Jerry knew me when I was active in social action and politics. He didn’t forget that part of me.”

Melody Gutierrez is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mgutierrez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @MelodyGutierrez