Forehand v. Board of Public Instruction

166 So. 2d 668
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedAugust 6, 1964
DocketNo. F-97
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 166 So. 2d 668 (Forehand v. Board of Public Instruction) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court of Appeal of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Forehand v. Board of Public Instruction, 166 So. 2d 668 (Fla. Ct. App. 1964).

Opinion

STURGIS, Chief Judge.

The Civil Service Board of Duval County, Florida, hereinafter referred to as “Civil Service Board,” and James D. Smith, hereinafter called “Smith,” an employee of the Board of Public Instruction of Duval County, Florida, hereinafter called “School Board,” bring this appeal to review an order of the Circuit Court of Duval County quashing an order of the Civil Service Board which directed the School Board to reinstate Smith' to the position of Electrician Leaderman.

The School Board had demoted Smith to his former position of Journeyman Electrician on the ground that his services as Electrician Leaderman were unsatisfactory for the following reasons, viz.: (1) That Smith resided at Jacksonville Beach, Florida, and the leaderman of the electric department should be more centrally located to enable him to make emergency calls; (2) that leadermen were instructed to make emergency calls during each work day and to allocate time-consuming jobs to the other journeymen and that had not been done in the electrical department; (3) that Smith lacked the leadership ability essential to producing the maximum work in the electrical department; (4) that on an examination given by the Civil Service Board on February 1, 1961, one-half point separated Smith and another applicant for the position of Electrician Leaderman and it was the opinion of the supervisor of maintenance of the electrical department that the other person, a Mr. Pickard, was more experienced and better qualified for the position.

The School Board informed the Civil Service Board of said demotion and thereupon the Civil Service Board of its own motion conducted what it describes as an “investigation” into said action. This investigation was made pursuant to a rule promulgated by the Civil Service Board under what it asserts to be authority vested in it by Chapter 22263, Laws of Florida, Sp.Acts 1943, creating the board. The Civil Service Board thereupon entered an order disapproving of said action of the School Board in demoting Smith, holding that said action of the School Board was not contemplated or accomplished in good faith as provided for by the rules and regulations of the Civil Service Board, and requiring the School Board to restore Smith to the position of Electrician Leaderman and to pay him any loss or diminution in salary resulting from the termination of his employment as Electrician Leaderman.

The School Board’s petition for writ of certiorari was based primarily on the ground that Smith was lawfully demoted from the promoted position of Electrician Leaderman within the recognized probationary period of six months from the date of the promotion, and that under such circumstances the Civil Service Board did not have authority to require the School Board to reinstate him. The order of the circuit court granting certiorari and quashing the order of the Civil Service Board, from which this appeal is taken, sustained the position and action of the School Board.

Appellants insist (1) that the School' Board did not sustain the burden of showing error on the part of the Civil Service Board, and (2) that the Civil Service Board had lawful authority to promulgate and enforce a rule requiring good faith on the part of the School Board in demoting Smith from the position of Electrician Leaderman which was assumed by him pursuant to a promotional examination and certificate-thereon issued by the Civil Service Board,, but who had not completed a six-month probationary period prescribed by a rule of the-Civil Service Board when the School Board took said action demoting him to his former position.

The facts are not in dispute. On August 1, 1961, Smith had been in the employ of the [670]*670School Board as a Journeyman Electrician for a period in excess of one year. On that date he was promoted in the School Board’s maintenance department to the position of Electrician Leaderman. On January 25, 1962, for the reasons hereinabove stated, he was removed from that position and demoted to his former position, which action was communicated to the Civil Service Board on February 1, 1962. The investigation and order of the Civil Service Board followed and thereupon the. School Board brought certiorari in the circuit court to review same. The power of the circuit court to review by certiorari the orders of the Civil Service Board is not in dispute.

The Civil Service Board derives its authority under Chapter 22263, Laws of Florida, Sp.Acts of 1943, Section 11 of which provides in part:

“Any person dismissed during the probationary period of six (6) months shall not be entitled to a hearing before the Civil Service Board.”

The School Board contended in the circuit court that the Civil Service Board exceeded its authority in granting a hearing to Smith, who was demoted during said probationary period. The Civil Service Board contended that no “hearing” was granted, but that of its own volition and pursuant to Sections 4(b) and 15 of the Civil Service Act it conducted an “investigation” into the demotion, which of necessity required audiences with various individuals but was not a “hearing” within the meaning of the above quoted provision of Section 11 of the act.

The order appealed cogently points out that in a case of this nature it would be difficult if not impossible to draw a distinction between a “hearing” and an “investigation.” The record of the proceedings before the Civil Service Board was not a part of the record before the circuit court and it was therefore impossible to specifically determine the nature of the proceeding before that board. See Connolly v. Connolly, 86 So.2d 167 (Fla.1956). The circuit court correctly held that in view of its decision upon the matter next discussed, the question of whether or not the Civil Service Board held a “hearing” or an “investigation” was of no consequence.

The order appealed reveals that because of the absence of a transcript of the entire proceeding before the Civil Service Board, the circuit court was not in a position to review the Civil Service Board’s finding to the effect that the School Board did not in fact act in good faith in demoting Smith; and the circuit court thereupon correctly narrowed its inquiry to a determination of whether the Civil Service Board had lawful authority to inquire into the good faith of the appointing authority (in this instance the School Board) in demoting Smith. In resolving that question the order appealed reads:

“The Civil Service Board is a creature of statute and its authority is limited by that statute. (State vs. Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, 56 Fla. 617, 47 So. 969, 32 L.R.A.,N.S., 639; State ex rel Burr vs. Jacksonville Terminal Company, 71 Fla. 295, 71 So. 474).
“Section 11 of the Civil Service Act provides in part as follows:
“ ‘To enable the appointing authority to exercise a choice in the filling of positions no appointment, employment, or promotion in any position in the classified service shall be deemed complete until after the expiration of a period of six (6) months’ probationary service, during which the appointing authority may terminate the employment of any persons certified and appointed, if during the performance test thus afforded, upon observation or consideration of the performance of -duty the appointing authority deems him unfit or unsatisfactory for service in his or its department. * * * ’
[671]*671“Section 18 of the Civil Service Act provides in part as follows:

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166 So. 2d 668, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/forehand-v-board-of-public-instruction-fladistctapp-1964.