Bowers v. City of San Buenaventura

75 Cal. App. 3d 65, 142 Cal. Rptr. 35, 1977 Cal. App. LEXIS 1988
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedNovember 15, 1977
DocketCiv. No. 49707
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 75 Cal. App. 3d 65 (Bowers v. City of San Buenaventura) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bowers v. City of San Buenaventura, 75 Cal. App. 3d 65, 142 Cal. Rptr. 35, 1977 Cal. App. LEXIS 1988 (Cal. Ct. App. 1977).

Opinion

Opinion

ASHBY, J.

Defendant and appellant City of San Buenaventura (hereinafter City) appeals from a judgment granting a peremptory writ of mandate to compel City to pay salaiy and to follow certain personnel procedures on account of temporary military leave for plaintiff and respondent Darrell Bowers, a police officer and employee of City.

Plaintiff is a member of the National Guard. He took temporary military leave of absence from his employment as a police officer in order to serve National Guard duty for seven days in 1973, nineteen days in 1974, six days in 1975, and five days in 1976.

Military and Veterans Code sections 3951 and 395.012 provide that a public employee shall be entitled to temporary military leave of absence for certain National Guard duty and “shall be entitled to receive his salary or compensation as such public employee for the first 30 calendar days of any such absence.”

[69]*69Contending that these statutes are inapplicable to it, City follows certain personnel and salary practices with regard to temporary militaiy leave which are not consistent with the statutes. The trial court found the statutes applicable and ordered City to revise its procedures and pay compensation to plaintiff in accordance with its interpretation.

City’s practice has been that the employee should serve his military duty on his own time if his work schedule can be adjusted; that when the employee must take temporary military leave on days he would have been scheduled to work, he should not receive “double” pay, that is, both his regular pay from City and his pay from the military, and that therefore the employee must turn over to the City his military pay check in order to collect his regular salary; and, that if the employee wishes to keep both checks, he must “make up” the days lost. Plaintiff Bowers was on military leave for a total of 37 regularly scheduled work days between 1973 and 1976. He was paid his regular salary, without turning over his military pay, for 29 of these days because he made them up by working on days that otherwise would have been days off. He was not paid for the other eight days because he would not make them up or relinquish his military pay to City.

The trial court found City’s practices to be inconsistent with section 395.01. It ordered City (1) to allow plaintiff to keep all military pay; (2) to refrain from shifting plaintiff’s regularly scheduled working hours to reduce the time spent on temporary military leave; (3) to pay plaintiff up to 30 days’ salary per year for days he is scheduled to work at the same time military duty is ordered; and (4) to pay plaintiff at overtime rates for all time worked over the regularly scheduled work days. The amount due was calculated at $3,072.52.

On appeal City’s main contention is that section 395.01 does not apply to City, and that therefore City is free to follow its own policy with respect to compensation of its employees who are on temporary military leave. City is a chartered city and contends (1) that the Legislature did not intend section 395.01 to apply to chartered cities and (2) that section 395.01 cannot constitutionally be applied to chartered cities because compensation of city employees is exclusively a municipal affair within the meaning of article XI, section 5 of the California Constitution. (See Bishop v. City of San Jose, 1 Cal.3d 56, 62-63 [81 Cal.Rptr. 465, 460 P.2d 137].) These contentions are without merit.

[70]*70City then argues that if section 395.01 is applicable it is unconstitutional on other grounds. This contention likewise lacks merit.

Finally City contends that assuming section 395.01 is applicable, the trial court erroneously interpreted the statute. This contention is partially correct.

Applicability And Constitutionality Of Section 395.01

City’s contention that the Legislature could not constitutionally apply section 395.01 to chartered cities because it involves an exclusively municipal affair is clearly without merit. Unlike the statutes in the cases cited by City,3 the purpose of sections 395 and 395.01 is not to regulate the compensation of municipal employees as such. Their main purpose is to provide for national defense and civil calamity (see Mil. & Vet. Code, §§ 128, 146) by encouraging public employees to join the military reserve organizations so as to be ready for call in times of emergency. (21 Assem. Interim Com. Rep. No. 8 Ways and Means (1963) p. 86, 2 Appendix to Assem. J. (1963 Reg. Sess.).)4

Military and Veterans Code section 395.1 provides reemployment rights to returning veterans. That section has long been held to reflect a matter of statewide concern which overrides the charters of chartered cities. (Cunningham v. Hart, 80 Cal.App.2d 902, 908-910 [183 P.2d 75]; Palaske v. City of Long Beach, 93 Cal.App.2d 120, 125 [208 P.2d 764]; Murdy v. City of Los Angeles, 201 Cal.App.2d 468, 471 [20 Cal.Rptr. 69].)

City argues a distinction should be drawn between compelling cities to grant temporary military leave and reemployment rights, versus compelling them to grant temporary military leave with pay. City argues that even if the former is a legitimate matter of statewide concern, the latter is not. But the Legislature could reasonably conclude that unless the employee received temporary military leave with pay, the statewide [71]*71purpose of encouraging public employees to participate in military training could not be achieved. (See 21 Assem. Interim Com. Rep. No. 8, supra at pp. 87-88.) We conclude that section 395.01 can constitutionally be applied to chartered cities.

Alternatively, City argues that as a matter of legislative intent section 395.01 does not apply to chartered cities. The applicability of section 395.01 is determined by Military and Veterans Code section 389, subdivisions (b) and (c), which, with the exception of state civil service employees (see Gov. Code, § 19770 et seq.), defines “ ‘Public employee’ ” as any officer or employee of a public agency, and “ ‘Public agency’ ” as “the state, or any county, city and county, city, municipal corporation, school district, irrigation district, water district, or other district.” (Italics added.) Obviously, City literally fits the definition, which includes cities. City cites a number of different statutes in the Government Code in which the Legislature expressly made clear whether it meant the term “city” to include both a general law city and a chartered city. Thus, in an appropriate case, it might be determined as a matter of legislative intent that the term “city” was not intended to apply to chartered cities. (Ector v. City of Torrance, 10 Cal.3d 129, 132-133 [109 Cal.Rptr. 849, 514 P.2d 433].) We do not believe this is such a case, however. Ector involved a state statute prohibiting cities from prescribing a residence requirement for city employees. It dealt, as such, with the qualifications of an employee. The court concluded that the Legislature did not intend the prohibition to apply to chartered cities.

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Bluebook (online)
75 Cal. App. 3d 65, 142 Cal. Rptr. 35, 1977 Cal. App. LEXIS 1988, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bowers-v-city-of-san-buenaventura-calctapp-1977.