Simpson v. Cranston

• Citation: 362 P.2d 492,56 Cal.2d 63,13 Cal.Rptr. 668
• Court: United States State Supreme Court (California)
• Decision Date: 01 June 1961
• Parties: , 362 P.2d 492 Doris M. SIMPSON, as Executrix, etc., Respondent, v. Alan CRANSTON, as Controller of the State of California, et al., Appellants. S. F. 20624.

Page 668

13 Cal.Rptr. 668

56 Cal.2d 63, 362 P.2d 492

Doris M. SIMPSON, as Executrix, etc., Respondent, v. Alan CRANSTON, as Controller of the State of California, et al., Appellants.

S. F. 20624.

Supreme Court of California, In Bank.

June 1, 1961.

Stanley Mosk, Atty. Gen., Marcus Vanderlaan, Robert L. Bergman and Willard A. Shank, Deputy Attys. Gen., for appellants.

A. Brooks Berlin and Alvin A. Lobree, San Francisco, for respondent.

SCHAUER, Justice.

This mandamus proceeding was instituted by one Robert T. Simpson, ¹ an inspector of the Division of Narcotic Enforcement, Department of Justice, of the State of California, against certain state officials as defendants to compel the approval of Simpson's claim seeking payment for uncompensated overtime hours allegedly worked by him prior to and during the year 1948. Simpson was a civil service employe. The trial court ordered issuance of the peremptory writ directing defendants to approve the claim in the sum of $9,715.50 for overtime worked during the period from February 6, 1943, to and including June 9, 1948, and this appeal followed. We have concluded that applicable statutes, as well as previous decisions of this court, are clear that employes in positions allocated to the classification of that held by Simpson may not recover pay for overtime worked during the subject period of time, and that the judgment should therefore be reversed.

It is established law in this state that in the absence of statutory provisions a public employe is not entitled to compensation for overtime worked. (Adams v. City of Modesto (1960), 53 Cal.2d 833, 835, 3 Cal.Rptr. 561; Martin v. Henderson (1953), 40 Cal.2d 583, 589-590, 255 P.2d 416.) Moreover, 'In the absence of a statutory provision therefor, time off granted for work done in excess of * * * (reasonable work) hours is not given as of right, but is allowed in accordance with the necessities of the duties to be performed. (Citations.) The fact that normal hours of work are established and compensating time off is provided for work beyond those hours does not, of itself, give the employee a right to payment for overtime.' (Martin v. Henderson (1953), supra, 40 Cal.2d 583, 590(4), 255 P.2d 416, 420.)

As further stated in the Martin case, 40 Cal.2d at page 589, 255 P.2d at page 419, 'Prior to February 6, 1943, the effective date of section 150.5 of the State Civil Service Act, supra, there was no statutory provision for overtime compensation.' The subject section (150.5) was added to the State Civil Service Act in 1943 and, as above-mentioned, became effective February 6, 1943. (Stats.1943, ch. 20, sec. 2, p. 136; now, with changes immaterial here, found in Government Code, sec. 18005.) Its relevant provisions are: 'Upon a separation from service, without fault on his part, a person shall be entitled to a lump sum payment as of the time of separation * * * for any time off to which the person is entitled by reason of previous overtime work where compensating time off for overtime work is provided for by the appointing power or by the rules of the (State Personnel) board. Such sums shall be computed by projecting the accumulated time on a calendar basis so that the lump sum will equal the amount to which the employee would have been paid had he taken the time off but not separated from the service. * * *' ²

Thereafter, effective June 7, 1943, sections 73 and 73.5 were added to the State Civil Service Act (Stats.1943, ch. 1041, secs. 1-2, pp. 2976-2977; now Gov.Code, secs. 18020-18024), and, together with section 150.5, provided 'a comprehensive system of overtime computation and compensation.' (Martin v. Henderson (1953) supra, 40 Cal.2d 583, 591(7a), 255 P.2d 416, 421.) Section 73.5 dealt with non-civil service employes and is not relevant here. Section 73, ³ concerning civil service employes, among other things directed the State Personnel Board, for 'purposes of determining eligibility for overtime compensation,' to allocate civil service employes employed on a monthly salary basis into four groups or classes according to hours worked per week, including '(4) Classes which can not be included in any plan of payment for overtime because: (a) While requiring at least 40 hours per week, the duties and responsibilities are such that they do not adapt themselves to a maximum number of hours per week.' (Italics added.) Pursuant to this directive the personnel board in August, 1943, promulgated its Rule 27 establishing the work week groups specified by section 73, and providing in paragraph d of section 1 of Rule 27, that 'd. The provisions of this rule do not apply to positions allocated to classes in group 4 and nothing in this rule shall be construed to prevent a state agency from allowing compensating time off to employees in such classes when they are required to work in excess of the normal work week established by the employing agency for employees in this group.' Simpson was at all times here involved allocated by the board to this work week group 4, which by the provisions of § 73 'can not be included in any plan of payment for overtime.' ⁴

It thus appears that although section 73 specifically declares that group 4 employes (including of course, Simpson) 'can not be included in any plan of payment for overtime,' nevertheless both the Legislature (in the last paragraph of section 73) and the personnel board (in Rule 27, section 1, paragraph d) in the interests of a fair policy and of efficient management and satisfactory employment relations expressly provided that even though group 4 employes could not be paid for overtime work the involved state agencies were still not forbidden to grant (under certain circumstances and within a limited time) compensating time off in lieu of overtime worked. Such a policy appears to logically and reasonably contemplate and provide for the exigencies of employment in a group 4 class, such as that of narcotic inspector.

Thereafter, in 1945, the entire State Civil Service Act was placed in the Government Code, with former section 150.5 becoming section 18005 of the Government Code and former section 73 becoming sections 18020-18024 (i. e. a part of art. 2, ch. 1, pt. 1, div. 5, tit. 2) of that code. ⁵ No substantive changes were made, however, until the amendment of sections 18020-18024 in 1947 (Stats.1947, ch. 1304), which for the first time permitted the personnel board to provide for overtime compensation for employes in work week group 4. Thus, effective September 19, 1947, the definition of group 4 found in section 18020 was changed to read: '(4) Classes and positions with unusual conditions or hours of work requiring the establishment by the Personnel Board of special provisions governing hours of work or methods of compensation for overtime.' ⁶

The personnel board did not, however, make any provisions for overtime for group 4 employes until June 9, 1948. Instead, on September 19, 1947, the day that the 1947 amendments to sections 18020-18024 became effective, the board adopted a resolution stating that 'except as may be provided hereafter, employees * * * allocated to Group 4 shall not receive overtime compensation but may be allowed compensating time off as permitted by the appointing power for work in excess of the work week, if any, established by the appointing power for such classes or positions in his agency.' Thereafter, effective June 9, 1948, the board, as part of a general reorganization of the overtime rules, for the first time made extensive provision for employes in group 4. June 9, 1948, is also the cut-off date of Simpson's claim and of the judgment rendered in this case; it is only as to overtime allegedly worked prior to June 9, 1948, that the claim was filed and that the trial court ordered it approved. Presumably Simpson received either compensating time off or cash payment if he worked any overtime subsequent to that date.

It is thus apparent that although section 150.5 of the Civil Service Act provided in general terms for cash payment, upon separation from service, for overtime worked by certain employes after February 6, 1943, section 73 of the act declared in express language that employes in group 4, which included Simpson, 'can not be included in any plan of payment for overtime.' We also believe that the provisions of section 73 indisputably control those of section 150.5, both because section 73 (effective June 7, 1943) was a later enactment (see Union League Club v. Johnson (1941), 18 Cal.2d 275, 278(2), 115 P.2d 425), and because a special statute dealing expressly with a particular subject controls and takes precedence over a general statute covering the same subject. (In re Williamson (1954), 43 Cal.2d 651, 654(1), 276 P.2d 593; Burum v. State Compensation Ins. Fund (1947), 30 Cal.2d 575, 586(4), 184 P.2d 505.) The provisions of the subject special statute continued in effect until June 9, 1948, and thus bar Simpson's claim for overtime worked previous to that date and subsequent to June 7, 1943, the effective date of section 73.

Petitioner, however, relies upon section 18005.5 of the Government Code, effective October 1, 1949, which states that 'Any time off to which an employee is entitled by reason of overtime worked prior to June 9, 1948, may be compensated by a lump sum payment in the manner provided in Section 18005 (formerly section 150.5 of the Civil Service Act) at any time prior to the separation of the employee from service or upon such separation * * *.' (Italics added.)

Martin v. Henderson (1953), supra, 40 Cal.2d 583, 255 P.2d 416, dealt, as already noted herein, with former section 150.5 of the Civil Service Act, effective February 6, 1943, which provided (in language strikingly similar to that of Government Code section 18005.5) for monetary payment 'for any time off to which the person is entitled by reason of previous overtime work * * *.' (Italics added.) It was there held, with respect to overtime pla...