Opinion ID: 1386458
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: demotion of the captains

Text: On December 24, 1975, the Manager of Safety issued an order demoting sixty Fire Captains to the rank of Lieutenant, effective January 1, 1976. The Captains were demoted according to the seniority systemthat is, they were reduced in rank in the reverse order in which they had been appointed. The City concedes that the demotions were not for disciplinary reasons. Nonetheless, the City contends it has the power to order the demotions for nondisciplinary reasons. We do not agree with this position. A proper analysis of these demotions requires a brief review of the Denver civil service system. The Charter of the City and County of Denver designates the ranks in the classified service of the Fire and Police Departments. Two such ranks in the Fire Department are Captain and Lieutenant. See Denver City Charter Chap. C, Sec. 5.45. The Charter also creates a Civil Service Commission, which is granted the power to make and enforce rules, provide for promotion, and undertake review of disciplinary actions involving the employees in the classified service. See Denver City Charter Chap. C, Sec. 5.54, et seq. This court has previously observed that the purpose of the civil service amendments to the City Charter was to eliminate the `spoils system' of appointments and dismissals and make the acts of the mayor and department heads, concerning their actions in such matters, subject to the review of the career service board. Fallon v. Nicholson, 136 Colo. 238, 316 P.2d 1054. In furtherance of this purpose, the Civil Service Commission employs the merit system in recommending the persons to be promoted. This takes into account past performance and seniority, as well as performance on impartial competitive examinations administered by the Commission. Denver City Charter Chap. C, Secs. 5.62, 5.67. When a vacancy occurs, the Commission provides the appointing authority with three names of the most qualified applicants. Denver City Charter Chap. C, Sec. 5.65. Once an appointment is made, it is probationary for one year. At the end of the year, if the employee has performed satisfactorily during the probationary period, the appointment becomes permanent. Denver City Charter Chap. C, Sec. 5.69. A permanent classified service employee is subject to discharge, reduction in grade, fine and suspension (emphasis added) for violating departmental rules and regulations. Denver City Charter Chap. C, Sec. 5.73. Nonetheless, this disciplinary action is reviewable by the Civil Service Commission and by the courts. Denver City Charter Chap. C, Sec. 5.73. The City contends that it has the absolute power to demote civil service employees from rank to rank at any time if it does so to achieve greater economy and efficiency within the Fire Department. The City points to a number of City Charter sections in support of its position. Charter provision A1.1 grants to the Mayor all executive and administrative powers given to the City by the state Constitution and the City Charter. Charter provision A1.7 specifies that the Mayor and his cabinet formulate the general administrative policies of the City. More specifically, Charter section A1.9 gives the Mayor and his cabinet the power to make rules and regulations for all employees under their control, to reduce or increase their number from time to time as in their judgment the service may require   . (Emphasis added.) In addition, Charter section C5.80-2 reserves to the City the power to control the table of organization of the Fire Department. These grants of power explicitly give the City the power to reorganize the Fire Department and to even lay off employees if done in good faith. Moreover, a fireman may be demoted to a lower rank for disciplinary reasons as long as the procedures in the City Charter are followed. However, in our view, the absolute power to demote a segment of a rank of classified employees to a lower rank for economy or budgetary reasons is not implicit in the grant of these other powers. It is significant to note that employees holding ranks in the civil service acquire vested property interests in the ranks that they hold. Civil Service Commission of the City and County of Denver v. District Court, 186 Colo. 308, 527 P.2d 531. These valuable rights include job security, seniority rights, disability and sick benefits, pension rights   . Police Pension and Relief Board v. Behnke, 136 Colo. 288, 316 P.2d 1025. Of course, a civil service employee can be dismissed, suspended, or demoted for disciplinary reasons, but these actions must be taken according to the procedures and under explicit authority granted by the City Charter. See Goss v. Justice of District Court of Holyoke, 302 Mass. 148, 18 N.E.2d 546. This court has previously commented on the rights and protections afforded one holding a civil service rank under the Denver City Charter in Bratton v. Dice, 93 Colo. 593, 27 P.2d 1028: Dice, being in the classified service, had by every requirement, earned his office, first by examination, then by selection, after selection, proved satisfactory on his probationary record, and then became permanently in the service. The framers of the charter manifested an intention to protect him, as well as all other officers, against the arbitrary and capricious actions of a superior officer, and it would be a dangerous doctrine for this court to establish, and say, that the appointing officer under the civil service regulations, can at his will deprive a subordinate officer of his fixed right and property even for a moment of time, without being subject to the laws and Constitution of the land. Civil service, if it means anything, means protection in the enjoyment of earned rights thereunder, otherwise its pretensions are a mockery.    We are also unpersuaded by the City's argument that the Civil Service Commission rules and the collective bargaining agreement implicitly give it the power to demote firemen for nondisciplinary reasons. Rule IX, Sec. 4(h) of the Civil Service Commission provides:    or if, for any cause, the number of persons holding that rank be decreased, then the last man promoted shall be returned to the rank and position held before such promotion.    Moreover, this provision cannot be construed to grant a power, but merely provides for the manner of return to a rank. Similarly, although Article VI of the 1976 collective bargaining agreement reserves to the City many powers, it does not explicitly or implicitly reserve the power to demote firemen for nondisciplinary reasons. Certainly, there can be no legitimate quarrel with the City's endeavor to operate its fire department in a more economical and efficient manner. However, the City does not have either the express or implied authority to demote a particular grade of firemen to a lower rank for reasons of economy and efficiency. [3] In the present case, the Fire Captains had acquired vested interests in their ranks which could only be divested in accordance with the powers and procedures specified in the City Charter. The civil service system is designed to protect its classified employees from arbitrary actions of superiors and its procedures must be respected. Certainly, the City should endeavor to operate in an efficient and economical manner. However, only proper means may be used to accomplish this commendable goal. In this case, the means used with respect to the Captains exceeded the powers accorded the City by its Charter. To accomplish what the City sought to do here would require inclusion of express authority in the Charter.