86 Cal. App. 2d 95 | Cal. Ct. App. | 1948
Plaintiff brought this action on his own behalf and on behalf of others alleged to be similarly situated against Wayne R. Allen, county manager of Los Angeles County, and other county officers, seeking a declaration that he is a permanent employee of a county fire protection district, subject to discharge only in the manner provided by the county charter for the discharge of permanent county employees in the civil service. The judgment declared: “That plaintiff and all others similarly situated are not employees of the County of Los Angeles, but are employees holding temporary positions in one or another of the county fire protection
On June 29, 1944, plaintiff was employed as a fireman by the Lomita County Fire Protection District of the County of Los Angeles, a public corporation organized and existing under the provisions of division 12, part 3, chapter 2, articles 1-13, inclusive, of the Health and Safety Code. He served as a fireman in that district and in others to which he was assigned until he received notice of discharge from his employment on or about October 1, 1946. Under the authority of section 14446 et seq., Health and Safety Code, employees of the several county fire protection districts were by resolution of the board of supervisors, adopted February 20, 1940, brought under the civil service provisions of the county charter and the rules, regulations and procedures of the Los Angeles County Civil Service Commission. On July 3, 1944, the board of supervisors, as the governing board of the Lomita County Fire Protection District, adopted a resolution which specified the number of permanent positions in said district as well as in other districts, as “captains . . . firemen” etc., and also provided that the county forester or fire warden was allowed additional temporary positions equal to the number of employees specified in the resolution. The resolution continued as follows: “provided, however, that persons may be appointed to any such temporary or as needed position only for the duration of the national emergency and for six months thereafter. Persons appointed to such positions shall not be deemed to be holding permanent positions, and by reason of any such employment shall not thereby acquire classified civil service status as permanent employees of the District. 16.2 Persons appointed to any such temporary or as needed positions may be separated from such temporary or as needed positions at any time. . . . 16.4 All of the temporary or as needed duration-of-national-emergency positions provided for by this section shall terminate six (6) months after the present national emergency shall have ended. ’ ’ Authority for the
In March, 1944, bulletins were issued by the civil service commission inviting applications for employment as firemen and the preparation of a “competitive-temporary” eligible list to be used “for temporary and substitute work, some of which may last for the duration of the war or national emergency.” Plaintiff filed his application June 26, 1944, and was appointed three days thereafter.
Appellant contends that he is a permanent employee. He refers to the term he has served under his appointment and relies principally upon McGillicuddy v. Civil Service Commission, 133 Cal.App. 782 [24 P.2d 942], as supporting his position. A mere recitation of the facts of the McGillicuddy case distinguishes it from our case. McGillicuddy and others had been appointed to their positions from the eligible civil service list, under the old charter of San Francisco. The positions had been arbitrarily classified by the commission as temporary because it was thought they would not last for more than six months. All of the plaintiffs had served for longer periods. Under the old charter, if the positions they were holding were permanent positions they became regular employees at the expiration of six months’ service. Although their civil service rights were continued by the terms of the new charter they were denied permanent status by the commission. The court upheld their claim to permanent status, declaring, in accordance with the holdings in Rodgers v.
Appellant quotes the following from section 37 of the charter: “All persons in the county or township service holding positions in the classified service as established by this Article, at the time it takes effect, whether holding by election or by appointment, and who shall have been in such service for the six months next preceding, shall hold their positions until discharged, reduced, promoted, or transferred in accordance with the provisions of this Article. ” The provision has no application. Plaintiff was not holding a position as fireman at the time of the adoption of the charter. He also says that under the charter provision is made that: “. . . any person who shall have been in service for six months, shall hold his position until discharged, reduced, promoted or transferred in accordance with the provisions of Article IX of the Charter.” We find no such provision in the charter.
Appellant argues further that it was not proved that he was appointed pursuant to the resolution of the board of su
All of the proceedings under review were had and taken under the authority conferred by the 1941 charter amendment to create temporary substitute positions in the civil service. A judgment which declared plaintiff to be the holder of a permanent position would nullify every step that has been taken under the charter as amended and would, in effect, create positions for which the charter makes no provision, and which the board of supervisors has not attempted to create.
Appellant’s claim that the findings are insufficient to support the judgment is untenable. Facts were found which show clearly the temporary nature of the positions to which he and others similarly situated were appointed.
The judgment is affirmed.
Wood, J., and McComb, J. assigned, concurred.