Emeryville Municipal Code Art. 2 Civil Service System

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The provisions of this article shall not be amended or repealed except by a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of the electors at a general or special election. See Section 2-7.216 of this article.

Pursuant to the authority granted to the legislative body of any city within the State by the provisions of Sections 45000 through 45210 of the Government Code of the State, a civil service system is hereby adopted for the City.

(Sec. 2, Ord. 266, thereafter codified in Sec. 2.9, E.T.C.)

The Council shall appoint a Personnel Clerk whose duty it shall be to act in the capacity of a secretary and clerk for the civil service system. He shall be the custodian of all personnel records and shall be the official upon or with whom all notices, requests for hearings, complaints, including those of department heads against any person in the civil service system, and other official documents shall be served or filed.

The Personnel Clerk shall establish and maintain in card index form a roster of officers and employees in the classified service. He shall also prepare a record of the length of service of each employee in the classified service, together with a concise statement of all duties being performed by such employee, the salary being paid, and the hours of work. He shall render such additional services in connection with the civil service system as may be requested by the Council.

The duties of the office of Personnel Clerk may be combined with those of any other office in the event the work involved does not warrant the creation of a special position in the discretion of the Council.

(Sec. 4, Ord. 266, thereafter codified in Sec. 2.19, E.T.C.)

The Council shall hear all appeals or complaints filed pursuant to the provisions of this article, acting in the capacity of a Board of Review. In any investigation or hearing conducted by the Board of Review it shall have the power to examine witnesses under oath and compel their attendance or the production of evidence before the Board by subpoenas issued in the name of the City and attested by the City Clerk. It shall be the duty of the Chief of Police to cause all such subpoenas to be served, and the refusal of a person to attend or to testify in answer to such subpoena shall subject such person to prosecution in the same manner set forth by law for failure to appear before the Council in response to a subpoena issued by the Council. Each member of the Board of Review shall have the power to administer oaths to witnesses.

(Sec. 6, Ord. 266, thereafter codified in Sec. 2.24, E.T.C.)

The Council shall formulate and adopt rules and regulations for the administration of the civil service system. Any subsequent amendment to such rules and regulations may be adopted by the Council at a regular meeting of the Council. All such rules and regulations adopted shall be consistent with the provisions of this article. Such rules and regulations shall provide for the following matters in addition to such other matters as may be necessary and proper in carrying out the intent and purposes of this article:

(a) The classification of all persons in the classified service;

(b) The selection, employment, advancement, suspension, demotion and discharge of all persons in the classified service;

(c) The formulation of minimum standards and qualifications for each of the positions in the classified service;

(d) The publication of notices inviting the filing of applications for positions in the classified service. No applicant shall be considered who does not possess the minimum qualifications for holding office; and

(e) A period of probation of one (1) year before an appointment or promotion is made complete during which period a probationer may be discharged or reduced by the Council without the right of appeal if, during the performance test, the Council deems the probationer unfit or unsatisfactory for service. Any person holding a position as the result of a promotion, who shall be discharged during the probationary period in his new employment, shall automatically be demoted and returned to his former position.

No minimum or maximum age limit shall be established for any civil service examination except that the Council may fix such age limits for the employment of police officers and firefighters.

The provisions of this section shall not require the City to provide for, nor shall the City authorize the employment of, any person in a particular employment who has reached the retirement age for that particular employment prescribed by any City retirement system, but the employment of any person in any City employment while he is receiving a retirement allowance under any City retirement system by reason of prior service is hereby prohibited.

(Sec. 5, Ord. 266, as amended by Sec. 1, Ord. 330, thereafter codified in Sec. 2.10, E.T.C., as amended by Ord. 507)

The provisions of this article shall apply only to the following departments, appointive officers, and employees of the City who shall be deemed to be in the classified service of the City:

(a) All members of the Police Department on regular duty, except the Chief of Police;

(b) All members of the Fire Department on regular duty, except the Fire Chief;

(c) All regular members of the Street Department, except the City Engineer and Street Superintendent;

(d) The Deputy Tax Collector;

(e) The stenographer-telephone operator; and

(f) The janitor.

The Council, from time to time, by ordinance, may add additional departments, appointive officers and employees to those set forth in this section.

(Sec. 2, Ord. 266, as thereafter codified in Sec. 2.13, E.T.C., and Sec. 1, Ord. 276 and Sec. 1, Ord. 279, as thereafter codified in Sec. 2.14, E.T.C.)

Any person holding a position or employment in the classified service on July 24, 1936, or on the effective date of any ordinance placing positions or employments under the classified service, who shall have served in such position for a period of at least four (4) months continuously immediately prior to such effective date (time granted on account of sick leave and/or leave of absence shall not be taken into consideration) shall become a classified service employee without preliminary or working tests and shall thereafter be subject in all respects to the provisions of this article. All other persons holding positions or employments in the classified service shall be regarded as holding their positions or employments as probationers who are serving out the balance of their probationary periods before the appointments become complete.

The incumbent Chief of Police and Fire Chief shall be deemed to hold positions in the classified service, but at the ranks last held by them prior to their appointments as Chief of Police and Fire Chief, and shall be deemed to be on leaves of absence from such positions. When the Council adopts rules and regulations for the administration of the civil service system, the incumbent Chief of Police and Fire Chief, within a reasonable time thereafter, shall obtain such leaves of absence from such positions last held by them prior to their appointments as Chief of Police and Fire Chief in accordance with the provisions of the adopted rules and regulations as may be therein provided.

(Sec. 3, Ord. 266, thereafter codified in Secs. 2.15 and 2.16, E.T.C.)

All appointments to positions or employments in the classified service shall be made by the Council from the applications on file with the City in accordance with the rules and regulations adopted pursuant to the provisions of this article.

(Sec. 8, Ord. 266, thereafter codified in Sec. 2.11, E.T.C.)

Temporary appointments may be made by the Council of persons who do not possess the minimum standards or qualifications for office, or whose applications have not been filed, or who have not been certified on an eligible list as the result of an examination, or in the event those who are eligible are not immediately available. Such temporary appointments shall not continue for a longer period than three (3) months, and no person shall be eligible to serve as a temporary appointee in any one (1) or more positions for more than an aggregate period of three (3) months in any one (1) fiscal year. No credit shall be allowed upon an application, or in the giving of an examination, for service rendered under a temporary appointment.

(Sec. 8, Ord. 266, thereafter codified in Sec. 2.12, E.T.C.)

(a) Suspensions and Demotions. All persons holding positions in the classified service shall be subject to suspension without pay for a period of not exceeding thirty (30) days. All persons holding positions in the classified service shall be subject to demotion for misconduct, incompetency, inefficiency, failure to perform duties, or failure to observe the rules and regulations of the department, office or Council. Such aggrieved parties shall have the right to appeal to the Board of Review in the manner set forth in the rules and regulations adopted pursuant to the provisions of this article. Such employees shall be entitled to receive a written statement of the reasons for such action within three (3) days, and they shall have three (3) days thereafter to answer thereto in writing. Any employee who has been suspended or demoted may file a written demand with the Personnel Clerk within ten (10) days after filing his answer, requesting that the Board review such suspension or demotion. In such event the Personnel Clerk, without delay, shall file with the Board of Review a copy of the written statement of the reasons for the suspension or demotion and the answer of the employee, together with such other information as may be provided for in the rules and regulations adopted pursuant to the provisions of this article.

(b) Removal. All persons holding positions in the classified service shall be subject to removal from office or employment for misconduct, inefficiency, failure to perform duties, or failure to observe the rules and regulations of the department, office, or Council. Such aggrieved parties shall have the right to appeal to the Board of Review in the manner set forth in the rules and regulations adopted pursuant to the provisions of this article. When it is the intention of the Council to discharge an employee in the classified service, the Council shall first enter an order of suspension without pay. The period of suspension shall extend until the time allowed for an answer to the charges has lapsed, or, if an appeal is taken to the Board of Review, the suspension period shall extend until the written findings and recommendations of the Board of Review have been submitted. Such employees shall be entitled to receive a written statement of the reasons for their proposed discharge within three (3) days after the effective date of such suspension, and they shall have three (3) days thereafter to answer thereto in writing. In the event an employee files such an answer, a copy of such written charges and of such answer shall be forthwith filed with the Personnel Clerk. Such employee may file a written demand with the Personnel Clerk, within ten (10) days after filing his answer, requesting that the Board of Review review such proposed discharge. In such event the Personnel Clerk, without delay, shall file with the Board of Review a copy of the written statement of the reasons for the proposed discharge and the answer of the employee, together with such information as may be provided for in the rules and regulations adopted pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.

(c) Appeals to the Board of Review. In an appeal to the Board of Review, the Board may make, or cause to be made, such investigations as it may deem necessary. Thereafter the Board shall hold a public hearing at which time it shall hear evidence for and against the party aggrieved. Such hearings may be informally conducted, and the rules of evidence need not apply. The written conclusions or findings of the Board shall be rendered within ten (10) days after the matter is submitted and thereupon shall be certified to the Council. Such findings and conclusions of the Board may contain such recommendations as the Board shall deem warranted. The Council may thereupon affirm, revoke, or modify the action taken as in the judgment of the Council shall be deemed warranted.

No employee, however, upon taking an appeal to the Board of Review on written charges for his proposed discharge, shall be discharged unless four (4) or more members of the Board vote for his discharge and unless, upon the written findings or conclusions of the Board being certified to the Council, four (4) or more members of the Council vote to affirm the action taken by the Board. The decisions and recommendations of the Board of Review and any action taken by the Council shall be final and conclusive, except as provided in subsection (d) of this section.

(d) Appeals to the Superior Court. The right is hereby expressly reserved to any employee who is dissatisfied with any decision of the Board of Review and/or any action on such decision by the Council in suspending, demoting, removing, and/or discharging such employee to appeal from such decision of the Board and/or any action taken on such decision by the Council to the Superior Court of the State in and for the County.

(e) Vacancies. During the period of the suspension of an employee or pending the final action on proceedings to review a suspension, demotion, or proposed discharge, the vacancy created may be filled by the Council only by a temporary appointment.

(Sec. 9, Ord. 266, thereafter codified in Sec. 2.17, E.T.C.)

Whenever, in the judgment of the Council, it becomes necessary in the interests of economy or because the necessity for the position involved no longer exists, the Council may abolish any position or employment in the classified service and discharge the employee holding such position or employment. The seniority rule shall be observed in putting into effect any such reduction in personnel. Should such position or employment, or any position involving all or any of the same duties, be reinstated or created within two (2) years, the employee discharged shall be eligible to be appointed thereto in preference to any other qualified person on the eligible list for such position.

(Sec. 10, Ord. 266, as amended by Sec. 1, Ord. 330, thereafter codified in Sec. 2.18, E.T.C.)

(a) Defined. For the purposes of this section, "residence" shall mean the principal place of abode or customary domicile of the employee to which he most frequently returns at the end of his work period, where the majority of his effects for day-to-day use are maintained as designated from a room or building where he less frequently sleeps, rests and spends his leisure hours.

(b) Application of Provisions to Incumbent Employees. Except as otherwise provided in this section, every member of the civil service system of the City on April 12, 1966, shall at all times after appointment to the classified service reside and continue to maintain an actual residence within a radius of twenty (20) air miles from the intersection of Park and Hollis Streets, Emeryville, California, during the period of his employment by the City. Upon ceasing to reside within such radius, such employee shall be removed from employment, unless such change of residence is made with the written permission of the Council.

(c) Application of Provisions to Nonincumbent Employees. Any person appointed to a civil service position after April 12, 1966, who does not, at the time of such appointment, reside within a radius of twenty (20) air miles from the intersection of Park and Hollis Streets, Emeryville, California, shall establish his residence within such radius twelve (12) months after the date of his original appointment and shall thereafter maintain his residence within such radius during the period of his employment. The failure of any such person to establish and maintain his residence within such radius shall constitute a violation of the provisions of this article and shall be sufficient cause for his discharge from his civil service position, and he shall be removed from employment with the City, unless the failure to establish and/or maintain such residence is with the written permission of the Council.

(d) Exceptions. The Council may provide rules and regulations whereby the Council, in its sole discretion, may grant permission to any incumbent employee or to any appointed civil service employee to reside beyond such radius of twenty (20) air miles, subject to such conditions as the Council may impose when such residence beyond such radius is necessary to preserve the health of such employee or the health of a member of the immediate family of such employee.

(Initiative Ord. 523, adopted at a general municipal election held April 12, 1966)

No person holding a position in the classified service of the City shall seek or accept election, nomination, or appointment as an officer of a political club, organization, or circle, or take an active part in a County or municipal political campaign, or serve as a member of a committee of a political club, organization, or circle, or seek signatures to any petition provided for by any law, or act as a worker at the polls, or distribute badges, pamphlets, dodgers, or handbills of any kind favoring or opposing any candidate for election or for nomination to a public office, whether County or municipal; provided, however, the provisions of this section shall not be construed to prevent any such person from becoming or continuing to be a member of a political club, organization, or circle, or from attendance at a political meeting, or from enjoying entire freedom from all interference in casting his vote, or from seeking or accepting election or appointment to a public office, or from seeking signatures to any initiative or referendum petition directly affecting his rates of pay, hours of work, retirement, or civil service or other working conditions of such officer or employee, or from distributing badges, pamphlets, dodgers, or handbills, or from other participation in any campaign in connection with such petition, providing such activity is not carried on during hours of work or when such officer or employee is dressed in the uniform, if any, required by any department of the City.

Any willful violation of the provisions of this section or violation through culpable negligence shall be sufficient grounds to authorize the discharge of any such person.

(Sec. 11, Ord. 266, as amended by Sec. 1, Ord. 330, thereafter codified in Sec. 2.22, E.T.C.)

No officer, agent, clerk, or employee in the government of the City, directly or indirectly, shall solicit or receive, or be in any manner concerned in soliciting or receiving, any assessment, subscription, contribution, or political service, whether voluntary or involuntary, for any political purpose whatever, from any person on the eligible list or holding any position pursuant to the provisions of this article.

(Sec. 12, Ord. 266, thereafter codified in Sec. 2.23, E.T.C.)

The Council shall have the power to contract with the legislative body or board of any municipality or county within the State or with any State department for the performance by such other governmental agency of such technical services in connection with personnel selection and administration as may be desired, including the giving of examinations. In the event examinations are held, they shall be open, free, and competitive, and, in such event, appointments subsequently made shall be from persons certified as being qualified as a result of such examinations and in accordance with the rules and regulations adopted pursuant to the provisions of this article.

(Sec. 8, Ord. 266, thereafter codified in Sec. 2.21, E.T.C.)

The Council shall appropriate such funds as are necessary to carry out the provisions of this article.

(Sec. 7, Ord. 266, thereafter codified in Sec. 2.25, E.T.C.)

The provisions of this article shall not be repealed or amended, except by a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of the electors of the City at either a general or special election.

(Sec. 19, Ord. 266, thereafter codified in Sec. 2.26, E.T.C.)

No employee holding a position in the classified service at the time of any alleged violation on his part of any provision of this article and who has been discharged, or who has resigned from his position, or against whom proceedings for his discharge are pending shall be prosecuted under this section.

(Sec. 13, Ord. 266, thereafter codified in Sec. 2.27, E.T.C.)