Foster v. Hindley

Citations

• 72 Wash. 657
• 131 P. 197
• 1913 Wash. LEXIS 1532

Syllabus

<p>Municipal Corporations — Officers—Civil Service Regulations —Removal—Power to Discontinue Office. Under § 24 of the Spokane charter providing that the council shall have the power to discontinue all offices and employments except certain enumerated offices, and § 55 providing for the suspension of employees by the heads of departments on filing charges, an office may be “discontinued” only by the council, and an attempted discontinuance by the mayor of the office of sanitary inspector in the health department, who was continued in office at the adoption of the new charter by § 53, is a nullity.</p> <p>Same — Charter Provisions — Adoption—Effect on Officers Continued in Office. The adoption of the new city charter of Spokane in 1910 did not discontinue the office of sanitary inspector in the health department, where the new charter only reorganized the department, and by § 53 the new charter provided that employees within the scope of the article (including sanitary inspectors) who are in office at the time of the adoption of the charter shall retain their positions unless removed for cause, and they were afterwards placed in the classified civil service list and made permanent.</p> <p>Same — Officers—Salary of Wrongfully Removed Officer. A sanitary inspector who was wrongfully separated from his office may recover the salary for the period, where he held himself ready to perform his official duties, and it is immaterial that he declined other temporary employment tendered by the city.</p> <p>Same — Officers — Wrongful Removal — Remedies — -Appeal to Civil Service Commissioner. Under § 55 of the Spokane charter providing for the suspension of an officer for cause upon a hearing, and appeal therefrom, an officer removed by subterfuge of an unauthorized “discontinuance” of the office, without a hearing, is not required to appeal.</p>