State ex rel. Charlton v. Corrigan

521 N.E.2d 804, 36 Ohio St. 3d 68, 1988 Ohio LEXIS 88
CourtOhio Supreme Court
DecidedApril 13, 1988
DocketNo. 86-1969
StatusPublished
Cited by21 cases

This text of 521 N.E.2d 804 (State ex rel. Charlton v. Corrigan) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State ex rel. Charlton v. Corrigan, 521 N.E.2d 804, 36 Ohio St. 3d 68, 1988 Ohio LEXIS 88 (Ohio 1988).

Opinion

Holmes, J.

The instant'action is one to compel the county treasurer to place his employees within the classified civil service and thus outside the treasurer’s discretion to hire, fire, and promote. The treasurer has objected, asserting that his employees hold either an administrative or fiduciary relationship to him. The statutory authority for this contention is R.C. 124.11(A)(9) which excludes from the classified service, in pertinent part:

“The deputies and assistants of elective * * * officers authorized to act for and in place of their principals, or holding a fiduciary relation to such principals and those persons employed by and directly responsible to elected county officials and holding a fiduciary or administrative relationship to such elected county officials * * *.” (Emphasis added.)

The court of appeals agreed that the statutory exemption applied to the administrator, all the chief deputy treasurers and the four deputy treasurers whose duties included investment and banking decisions. However, it felt the remaining deputy treasurers were not-exempt because they held neither fiduciary nor administrative relationships to the treasurer. Having reviewed the testimony presented at trial, we must disagree in párt with the conclusion of the court of appeals. We hasten to state that we also disagree with the standard of inquiry established at the trial level. Accordingly, for the reasons hereinafter set forth, we reverse in part and affirm in part the judgment of the appellate court.

Pursuant to the above statute, there are two types of relationships which would provide exemption from civil service. One is the administrative relationship, while the other is the fiduciary relationship. Generally, an administrative relationship is characterized by a position where one is “in charge of carrying out * * .* policy in the supervision of the daily activities of subordinates * * *,” Yarosh v. Becane (1980), 63 Ohio St. 2d 5, 12, 17 O.O. 3d 3, 8, 406. N.E. 2d 1355, 1360-1361. It involves the exercise of personal judgment and leadership abilities, and not merely the relaying of orders. Therefore, a deputy in charge of formulating official policy, or in charge of carrying out that policy in the supervision of the daily activities of subordinates, is in an administrative relationship, with a county official. Id.

Cases which have analyzed the nature of the fiduciary relationship exception to classified civil service requirements have invariably characterized the relationship as one of trust and confidence. See, e.g., In re Termination of Employment (1974), 40 Ohio St. 2d 107, 69 O.O. 2d 512, 321 N.E. 2d 603; Yarosh v. Becane, supra; Rarick v. Bd. of Cty. Commrs. (1980), 63 Ohio St. 2d 34, 17 O.O. 3d 21, 406 N.E. 2d 1101. It is “more than the ordinary relationship of employer and em[71]*71ployee,” In re Termination of Employment, supra, at 114, 69 O.O. 2d at 516, 321 N.E. 2d at 608; and exists where “special confidence * * * is reposed in the integrity and fidelity of another,” id. at 115, 69 O.O. 2d at 517, 321 N.E. 2d at 609, citing 5 Bogert, Trusts & Trustees, 119-132; see, also, Yarosh, supra, at 11, 17 O.O. 3d at 7, 406 N.E. 2d at 1360. It may be concluded that in determining whether a fiduciary relationship exists between a public official and his appointed employees, pursuant to R.C. 124.11(A)(9), which would exempt such employees from civil service status, emphasis should be placed upon whether the assigned job duties require, as essential qualifications over and above technical competency requirements, a high degree of trust, confidence, reliance, integrity and fidelity.

One method of determining whether a fiduciary relationship exists in an employment situation is to examine the" duties assigned to an employee. A great degree of discretion in carrying out one’s assigned duties may indicate a trust relationship. Rarick, supra, at 37-38, 17 O.O. 3d at 23, 406 N.E. 2d at 1103-1104; see, also, Yarosh, supra. Of course, the trust relationship is among the highest of fiduciary relationships. However, there is a plethora of other circumstances within the law of fiduciaries which might also indicate the existence of a fiduciary relationship. For example, it is a rule that the actions of a -fiduciary are those done, in good faith, for another’s behalf and not merely because of legal obligations. Hence, it may also be inquired whether there is some element within the overall structure of the employment relationship which makes integrity and loyalty to the employer an essential job qualification, over and above technical or competency requirements. See, e.g., Piatt v. Longworth’s Devisees (1875), 27 Ohio St. 159; 49 Ohio Jurisprudence 3d (1984), Fiduciaries, Section 2; Rarick, supra, at 37, 17 O.O. 3d at 23, 406 N.E. 2d at 1103; Yarosh, supra, at paragraph three of the syllabus.

In the present case, it appears, from the testimony presented at trial, that the parties misfocused their analysis upon the cashiering duty, which was the lowest common denominator among all deputy treasurers. Appellant asserted that since all deputy treasurers, regardless of their primary functions, must make disbursements and collect cash payments either at designated cashier windows or from' a considerable volume of mail, they were all objects of reposed trust and thus fiduciaries. From the- above assumed basis for decision, the trial court-adopted the view that all deputy treasurers were fiduciaries, whereas the court of appeals concluded that all but one of those who testified were not fiduciaries.

This extreme divergence of opinion appears to have resulted in part from the narrow focus of the parties upon the cashiering duties; and was mistaken in light of Yarosh, supra, at 12, 17 O.O. 3d at 7, 406 N.E. 2d at 1360, wherein we stated that the mere act of handling money belonging to others does not, by itself, necessarily indicate the existence of a fiduciary relationship. In order to determine the kind of relationship which exists, courts should focus the analysis upon whether the duties assigned possess a routinized character or are assigned pursuant to criteria exemplifying that of a fiduciary. The cashiering duties in the instant case appear to have been rather routine. This being true, the trial court should have broadened the scope of inquiry, particularly when it became apparent that cashiering was [72]*72not the primary job function of most of the deputy treasurers who testified.

Moreover, while we recognize that having all eighty-seven deputy treasurers testify as to the characteristics of the duties which they perform would place a difficult burden upon both the trial court and the treasurer’s office, we must conclude that the testimony of only nine deputy treasurers was insufficient to resolve the issue under the facts of this case. Random selection of a representative sample is useful when inquiry is limited to duties common to all within the total population of deputy treasurers. However, the technique loses its value once it becomes clear that the inquiry must broaden into duties more individualized than those for which the sample was originally selected, as in the present case.

The more appropriate procedure would therefore appear to require an analysis of the way in which the employees at issue are organized into divisions within the public office.

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

Related

Forsman v. Silverstein
S.D. Ohio, 2025
State v. Garrett
2019 Ohio 2672 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2019)
Teamsters Local Union No. 436 v. City of Cleveland
2017 Ohio 8975 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2017)
State v. Courtney
2014 Ohio 1659 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2014)
Swartz v. Oracle Corp.
787 F. Supp. 2d 686 (N.D. Ohio, 2011)
State v. Massien
2010 Ohio 1864 (Ohio Supreme Court, 2010)
Johnson-Hebb v. Clinton County Public Defender
930 N.E.2d 868 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2010)
Afscme Local 11 v. State Emp. Rel. Bd.
759 N.E.2d 794 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2001)
Ohio Civil Service Employees Ass'n v. State Employment Relations Board
144 Ohio App. 3d 96 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2001)
State ex rel. Baker v. State Personnel Bd. of Review
1999 Ohio 328 (Ohio Supreme Court, 1999)
State ex rel. Baker v. State Personnel Board of Review
710 N.E.2d 706 (Ohio Supreme Court, 1999)
Olander v. Ohio Environmental Protection Agency
732 N.E.2d 400 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 1999)
Lewis v. City of Fairborn
706 N.E.2d 24 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 1997)
Smith v. Sushka
659 N.E.2d 875 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 1995)
Ossenbeck v. Hamilton County Auditor
638 N.E.2d 120 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 1994)
Beery v. Ohio Board of Chiropractic Examiners
583 N.E.2d 1083 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 1990)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
521 N.E.2d 804, 36 Ohio St. 3d 68, 1988 Ohio LEXIS 88, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-ex-rel-charlton-v-corrigan-ohio-1988.