Banks v. Civil Service Commission

10 Cal. 435
CourtCalifornia Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 29, 1937
DocketS. F. No. 15652
StatusPublished

This text of 10 Cal. 435 (Banks v. Civil Service Commission) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Banks v. Civil Service Commission, 10 Cal. 435 (Cal. 1937).

Opinion

THE COURT.

In this matter, on the 23d day of July, 1937, an opinion and decision was rendered by this court which in its effect was an affirmance of the judgment from which the appeal had been taken. Thereafter, on the petition of the appellants, an order of rehearing of the cause was granted. In due course, following further argument and briefing by the respective parties herein, the appeal again has been submitted for determination. After further consideration thereof this court adheres to the conclusion which [437]*437heretofore was expressed by it in the matter, and with the exception of an explanatory statement which is interpolated in the latter part thereof, now adopts as its present opinion that which formerly was prepared by Mr. Justice Curtis of this court. That opinion with the said additional statement thereto is as follows :

“This action is for declaratory relief and for a writ of mandate directed to respondents requiring them to perform their respective duties, enjoined upon them by law, relating to the salaries of the plaintiffs as jailers of the City and County of San Francisco. Plaintiffs claim that their salary is $197 per month for each plaintiff. The defendants, on the other hand, contend that the salary of each plaintiff is the sum of $170 per month and no more. Plaintiffs, under legal appointment, entered upon the discharge of their duties as jailers of said' city and county in April, 1932, and have regularly received the sum of $170 per month. They ask judgment in addition to declaratory relief and for the issuance of a writ of mandate for the difference between the sum of $197, the amount they claim as a monthly salary, and the sum of $170, the amount paid them as salary, or the sum of $27 per month each from April, 1932, to date of judgment. The action came on for trial and resulted in a judgment for the defendants, from which judgment the plaintiffs have appealed.
“There is no dispute as to the facts of the case. They are all contained in a stipulation of facts which is before us in a bill of exceptions. The plaintiffs, prior to the year 1932, had passed the civil service examination for the position of jailer and were placed on the eligible list for appointment to that position. On January 8, 1932, the City and County of San Francisco adopted a new charter. On January 6, 1932, the board of supervisors of said city and county passed the annual salary ordinance, which was approved by the mayor on January 13, 1932. This ordinance was No. 9136 (new series), and will be referred to hereafter as ordinance No. 9136. By this ordinance there was appropriated the sum of $197 per month for each position of jailer, beginning January 8, 1932, and ending June 30, 1932. A similar ordinance containing a similar appropriation was passed by said board of supervisors for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1932. On January 22, 1932, the sheriff of said city and [438]*438county, being authorized to make said appointments, requisitioned the Civil Service Commission for four jailers, stating the salary therefor at the sum of $197 per month each. The commission returned said requisition to the sheriff, stating that the commission would not approve or file the requisition unless the sheriff changed the salaries stated in said requisition to the sum of $170 per month each ‘in conformity with and as provided by the terms of sections 71 and 73 of the charter of the City and County of San Francisco and section 73 of the annual salary ordinance passed by the Board of Supervisors ... on January 6, 1932'. Thereupon the sheriff resubmitted said requisition, changing the salary from $197 to $170 per month for each of said positions. The commission then selected plaintiffs for said four positions and they were permanently appointed at the salary of $170 per month each. They began work as such jailers on the twenty-second day of April, 1932, except plaintiff Gibbons, who began his employment in the month of July of’that year, and they have continued ever since to fill said positions and to perform the services thereof at the salary of $170 per month each.
“ The positions to which the plaintiffs were appointed and are now holding are permanent positions, as distinguished from seasonal positions mentioned in ordinance No. 9136. Therefore any limitations placed upon either the Board of Supervisors or the Civil Service Commission by the terms of said ordinance respecting seasonal positions have no application to the permanent positions to which plaintiffs were appointed. Furthermore, plaintiffs were appointed subsequent to the adoption of ordinance No. 9136 to fill vacancies in said positions occurring prior to their appointment, and the provisions of the charter and those of ordinance No. 9136 applying to vacancies must control the actions of the Board of Supervisors and the Civil Service Commission in determining the salary to be received by the plaintiffs appointed to such vacancies.
“ Plaintiffs rely upon section 71 of the charter, which reads in part as follows: ‘Pending the adoption of salary standard's as in this charter provided, the salary and wage rates for positions subject to such standardization shall be as recommended by the officer, board or commission having [439]*439appointing power for such positions and fixed by the budget and annual salary ordinance; . . . ’
“It is stipulated that since the effective date of the present charter of the City and County of San Francisco there has been no salary standardization ordinance adopted by the Board of Supervisors of said city and county.
" Petitioner contends that under the above-quoted provision of section 71 of the charter, the salary recommended by the sheriff, who was the appointive power in this instance, and who recommended a salary of $197 per month for each position, fixed the salary of the plaintiffs after their appointment to such positions. But it will be seen by a reading of the above provision of the charter that it is the salary recommended by the appointive power ‘and fixed by the budget and annual salary ordinance ’ which controls the compensation of such appointees. It is therefore necessary for us to examine the provisions of the budget and the annual salary ordinance to determine the amount of such compensation. No reference is made in the record or in the briefs to the budget or to the amount of salary ‘fixed by the budget’. We will therefore assume that neither party to this controversy makes any point as to what the budget does or does not contain. We have already referred to the fact that the salary ordinance adopted January 6, 1932, and approved by the mayor on January 15, 1932, appropriated the sum of $197 per month for each position of jailer, and thereby fixed the salary for such position at that amount. This provision of the ordinance applied to all persons then holding the position of jailer. It would undoubtedly apply to persons subsequently appointed to fill such positions unless the ordinance provided otherwise. We think the ordinance has made such provision. We have noted above that the plaintiffs were appointed to fill vacancies then existing in the positions of jailer. Section 73 of the salary ordinance, in our opinion, governs the amounts of salary for such persons in said municipality who may be appointed to fill vacancies in any position therein. This section reads as follows:

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

In Re Kinney
200 P. 966 (California Court of Appeal, 1921)
Francis v. Leavy
21 P.2d 979 (California Court of Appeal, 1933)
King v. Leavy
12 P.2d 661 (California Court of Appeal, 1932)
In Re Burke
212 P. 193 (California Supreme Court, 1923)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
10 Cal. 435, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/banks-v-civil-service-commission-cal-1937.