Hawkins v. STATE THROUGH DEPT. OF HEALTH AND HOSPITALS

613 So. 2d 229, 1992 WL 410060
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 4, 1993
DocketCA 91 2079
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 613 So. 2d 229 (Hawkins v. STATE THROUGH DEPT. OF HEALTH AND HOSPITALS) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hawkins v. STATE THROUGH DEPT. OF HEALTH AND HOSPITALS, 613 So. 2d 229, 1992 WL 410060 (La. Ct. App. 1993).

Opinion

613 So.2d 229 (1992)

Robin A. HAWKINS
v.
The STATE of Louisiana Through the DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HOSPITALS, OFFICE OF PUBLIC HOSPITALS.

No. CA 91 2079.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, First Circuit.

December 23, 1992.
As Modified on Rehearing March 4, 1993.

*230 Daniel Avant, Baton Rouge, for plaintiff-appellee Robin A. Hawkins.

Philip Kennedy, New Orleans, for defendant-appellant State of La., et al.

Before EDWARDS, SHORTESS and WHIPPLE, JJ.

WHIPPLE, Judge.

The sole issue in this appeal is whether the trial court had subject matter jurisdiction to render a money judgment in favor of plaintiff, a former, temporary employee in the classified State Civil Service, pursuant to LSA-R.S. 23:631 et seq. Because plaintiff's cause of action for unpaid wages, penalty wages and attorney's fees did not arise until after her discharge, we find that it is not an employment related matter subject to the exclusive authority of the State Civil Service Commission. Therefore, we affirm the trial court's judgment.

FACTS

Plaintiff, Robin A. Hawkins, was employed by the defendant, the Department of Health and Hospitals, Office of Public Health, on restricted appointment (temporary assignment) to the position of Clerk III, in the classified State Civil Service.[1] Although the restricted appointment ended on Thursday, February 8, 1990, the defendant failed to inform plaintiff that her term of employment had ended until Sunday, February 11, 1990; and plaintiff was inadvertently allowed to work eight hours on Friday, February 9, 1990.

It is apparent from the record that the defendant intended to employ plaintiff in the same position on a permanent basis (original appointment) when her restricted appointment ended. Plaintiff achieved a high score on her Civil Service examination, and her superiors expected her to be at the top of the list of persons certified as being eligible for original appointment to the position of Clerk III at the Office of Public Health. However, when the certificate listing the names and examination scores of persons eligible for the position was released on February 9, 1990, it did not include plaintiff's name. Consequently, the defendant was unable to offer plaintiff an original appointment.[2]

Upon learning of her discharge on February 11, 1990, plaintiff requested the timely payment of all wages due, including the wages she earned on February 9, 1990. She was owed for 36 hours of work at the *231 rate of $6.9642 per hour.[3] However, the gross amount of plaintiff's final paycheck was $222.27, representing payment for only 32 hours. Plaintiff's immediate superiors erroneously believed that plaintiff could not be paid beyond the date her restricted appointment ended, although through some maneuvering they were able to credit her for four of the eight hours due for February 9, 1990.[4]

Plaintiff filed the instant suit to recover the unpaid wages for the remaining four hours, stipulated as being $27.80, in addition to penalty wages and attorney's fees, as provided for in LSA-R.S. 23:631 and 632. In response, the defendant filed a declinatory exception of lack of jurisdiction over the subject matter, contending that the subject matter of this suit lies within the exclusive jurisdiction of the State Civil Service Commission, pursuant to Article X of the Louisiana Constitution.

The trial court denied the exception and the matter proceeded to trial. Following a trial on the merits, the trial court rendered judgment in favor of plaintiff in the principal amount of $27.80, plus ninety days penalty wages at the rate of $55.60 per day, or $5,004.00, plus legal interest. The court additionally awarded plaintiff attorney's fees in the amount of $1,600.00.

The defendant timely perfected this suspensive appeal.

DISCUSSION

In its sole assignment of error, appellant contends the trial court erred in failing to recognize and observe the exclusive grant of jurisdiction to the State Civil Service Commission over the subject matter of this lawsuit, as provided in La. Const. art. X. The substance of appellant's argument is that the subject matter of plaintiff's suit lies within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Commission because it is related to employment in the classified service and concerns a matter in which the Commission has exercised its broad and general rulemaking authority, as provided in La. Const. art. X, § 10(A); therefore, LSA-R.S. 23:631 et seq. does not apply to the present case.

At the outset, we note that appellant does not challenge the trial court's factual findings or its conclusion that appellee is entitled to recover penalty wages and attorney's fees. Instead, the appeal is limited to the assertion that the trial court lacks subject matter jurisdiction and that the remedy provided in LSA-R.S. 23:631 et seq. is not available to former, classified employees in the State Civil Service.

In support of its argument that the exclusive jurisdiction of the subject matter of the present suit lies with the State Civil Service Commission, appellant cites In re Brisset, 436 So.2d 654 (La.App. 1st Cir.), writ denied, 441 So.2d 749 (La.1983), wherein this court stated in dictum that "the power vested in the commission under Art. X, Sec. 10(A) of the constitution is exclusive in nature with respect to all aspects to [sic] the classified service listed therein". 436 So.2d at 658.

In Brisset, the supreme court remanded the case to this court for a determination on the merits and additionally for a determination of whether LSA-R.S. 42:1451 was unconstitutional.[5] This court determined that LSA-R.S. 42:1451 was unconstitutional because it infringed on the exclusive power granted to the Commission by La. Const. art. X, § 10(A) inasmuch as it conflicted with Civil Service Rule 13.35, which sets a maximum award for attorney's fees and does not require a determination of the reasonableness of the action taken by the appointing authority. See Brisset, 436 So.2d at 659 (Crain, J., concurring). See *232 also Department of Health and Human Resources v. Toups, 451 So.2d 1126 (La. App. 1st Cir.), on rehearing, writ denied, 457 So.2d 12 (La.1984).

Appellant maintains that the application of LSA-R.S. 23:631 et seq. in the present case conflicts with the exclusive authority of the Commission to regulate an employment related aspect of Civil Service employment which is listed in La. Const. art X, § 10(A) and which is controlled by Civil Service Rule 15.2.1. Appellant contends that Rule 15.2.1 precludes district courts of this State from exercising subject matter jurisdiction in cases where a former employee of the classified service pursues a cause of action under LSA-R.S. 23:631 et seq.

La. Const. art. X grants legislative, executive and judicial powers to the State Civil Service Commission. Section 10(A)(1) provides for the Commission's executive and legislative powers:

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Bluebook (online)
613 So. 2d 229, 1992 WL 410060, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hawkins-v-state-through-dept-of-health-and-hospitals-lactapp-1993.