Opinion ID: 1789666
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Murtagh Decision

Text: In State ex rel Murtagh v. Department of City Civil Service a clerk employed by the City of New Orleans in the Permit Division was discharged by the Mayor. He appealed the dismissal to the Civil Service Commission of New Orleans which held that the clerk was an unclassified employee, outside the protection of civil service. In determining whether Murtagh was a classified or unclassified employee, this Court found that the fact that the power to issue permits and to hire employees necessary for the proper conduct of the Permit Division was vested in the Mayor did not render the employees of the Permit Division employees of the Mayor and therefore unclassified. This Court interpreted the phrase employees of the Mayor to include only those employees generally accepted as the office force of Mayor and not employees of other departments placed under his supervision. The thrust of the Murtagh opinion was that only the personal staff of the Mayor, his retinue, was intended by the phrase. Almost as if anticipating the argument made here by defendants, the Court in Murtagh said: If this conclusion [the conclusion that if the Mayor is responsible for the job, then the employees who do the job must be unclassified] is sound, the Commission Council merely by ordinance, may and can declassify almost any classified employment by the simple expedient of placing such employment under the Mayor's office.