Case Information
*1 OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN
Dootor C. A. Ehaw, Fuperintendsnt
Big 'prlng Ftets Ifoopital
p,.ig .?prting, Tax00
Dear %I’: opinion No. a
which vm quoter
tion to employa
idin people w
lng positlone
me those who
~4rvide v for
the employee, and hare the war-
rant made payable to the bank. However, this has resulted in our losing s mall snout of noney in two instanoes, snd imposes quite 8 bit of extra work upon oar offloe peri3OMd.
manse till thank JOU to abvise UB whether' or not we would be llabls ror suit or whether - OF not a person SO disOhar8sd from the ssrvioe could etey on the grounds lrgall~ until they have been paid."
DoOto's C. A. Thaw, age 2
Eiie; ?pring Ctete Hospital wee established under author- ;ty of Article 3185~1, Vernonn's Terse Civil Ftetutee or 1925, which OOntEillS tb fOliOWine; p~OViSiOllS:
n**+
n At the ooqletlon or the buildings, end &en the oeld hos&al ia ready to open, the Board or Oontrol shell appoint a Super- intendent md other employssee to euperlntond end carry on the work of eueh hoepitel a8 ia now provided by the General Laws or the %ete or !i’exee governing euoh institutions.
“The support end grnrnl meintenenoe or e&id hospital shell be the mm. in l rery PO- epeot se ie provided Sor- lnaene hoepltsle es now provided by IBW.
Other statutory provlrions relating to the management or suoh lnatitutlone are round in Titlc~51, YBZVAO~*P Ciril stet- utee or 1925:
"Arti41e 3174.‘ Mansetint
W"%oh eletkoeynery institution e’scabliehed by law ahali be managed and eontrollsd In. eooord- snoe with the provleione or this title. The gen- era1 oontrol, management dirsotlon or the srrslre, property and buelneer or euoh:+atitu-
tione la vested in the Sate Board of Control.”
“Art. 3176. Powers of uuparfntendent “The Fuparlntondent shell be the edmlnletra~ tive heed or lnetltutlon to which he is ep- pointed. TM shell have the following powers:
*I. To establish euah rules end ra(gule- tione ror the government or the institution in his charge, se he deems will best promote the-- interest and welrare 0r its lWtea.
“2. v!here not othemriee provided law, to appoint the subordinate otrloera, teaohare, *3 J)@$tor c. A. f,hew, pegs
attandante, end other emplayas, end to fir
their salaries. i’or good oauae, with "3. To remove the
ooneent of the Board, any officer, teaoher or employe.
"4. The oere and oust&y of tha buildings, grounds, rurnitura, end other property pertaln- ing to the institution.
wArt. 3177. Aooounte
The superintendent of aeoh asylum shall be tha ohier tiebursing orrloar or the lnetltu- tion and subjeot to the rules of the Board ot Control, shall here general oherge over every- thing oonuaotad with the lnstltutlon over whlah ha praeidee. He shall attand,to tha tmforoamant or the Iewe relating to auoh institution and to the by-laws provided by euoh Boerd, shall see that $h", $a;loyae ralth$ully perform thalr duties. .
Approprietione XOr the support OS Big Spring State Hospitel for the ~ouqant biennium were made by Seneta~J3lll.tW. 402, Aotrr of Regular Eaeslon, 17th Laglslature, 1941. Among the g4naral provisions oontalned In S.eoti,on 2 of said Dill era the rollowing:
"(b) Under written dlraotlon of the Boerd of Control all employees may raoeira board, 'room end laundry, exoept when otherwlea liwlted.
n* * ** .
"(b) If eny poellbn for whloh a celery is herein fixad shall not be iillcd than*szo$ salary shall lapse into the State Treasury.
"ho celery shell be paid to any person un- leee.euo~ $ere",n actually disohargee aeslgned duties.
-From a reading of these etatutory prorfeione it will be eeen that you, as Euparintandent ot BLg Fprlng "tata Hospital,
motor c. A. t?J-i8w, page 4
hsve the responsibility for the '%lrlng md iirlng" of the other employees, end the msnaqement of the iiacal aifairs, of that institution, subjeot to advioe snd regulation by the Ftete Board of Control, snd also suhjeot to statutory regulations. "'8 are informed by the Poard of Control that its regulations:
(1) ?ermit an understandinz betweenthe %perlntendent Of the Rospital and its emplogeos that they may real@, or be dlsoharged, at any tine ulthout notice. ?ermit the subdeslon and approve1 of ~8 8uppl8men-
(2) to1 payroll, ooverlng wages or sslery earned and unpeld; immedf- atelg upon the xeveranoe of employment. . (% reoomma~d this pro- cedure be rollowed.)
(3) Prohibit anyone; not an emplbyee, from staying on the grounds or th;t Rospital with&at orrioisl permlasion.
*A notioe (or disoharge) terminates the employment regardless of whether the employer had the right to give the notice." 29 Texs~ Jurleprudenoe 20. i8 our opinion that a person who has been bisohargd It
from the 8ervioe or Big f?pring Ctate Hoapltal OaMot legally, without 0rriaii permission, stay on the grollnue 0r safd hO8Ditti until he hss been paid. And it is our further opinion that it is not mandatory that Rig Cprlng Sate Bospitel pay employee8 lsovlng its servioe imaediat&y upon th6 severanoe of relations; but that suah employtea 8hould be paid within a reasonable' time, making due allowance tar the prrpuratlon of a supplemental psg- roll, its approval by the Board of Control, ieauanoe of 8 wa.rrant the Comptroller and mailing of warrant to the 6x-employee.
You ask whether you "would be liable ior suit." Thi8 presents a purely hypothetiaal queatlon.whioh this department I8 not authorized to determine. XI the prodedure above r:eoorjmended be followed, as we easume it, will be, the occasion should not' erise for deteminlng your possible liability to suit at the hands of the disohar(ged ~uiployee.
A5WiOVRD,D?'C 3, Yery truly your8