Court Opinion

ID: 9629679
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 09:47:08.984608+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:07:22.652652
License: Public Domain

DONALDSON, Justice,
dissenting.
Several important questions are raised by this appeal which I feel are not properly addressed by the majority. In addition I feel that the duties of the Civil Service Commission should be properly delineated for future guidance.
The initial question presented by this appeal concerns the procedural and jurisdictional aspects of I.C. § 50-1609. My decision on this threshold issue forces me to think that the decision of the district court should be reversed and the case remanded. Other issues have also been raised concerning public employee strikes which I feel that this Court must decide. In addition, this Cqurt should interpret the substantive language in I.C. § 50-1609 and I.C. §§ 44-1801 through 44-1811 which sets forth the standards for determining whether the city fulfilled its statutory obligations and whether the firefighters were legally discharged.
I
I first address the jurisdiction and authority questions, which turn on the interpretation of I.C. § 50-1609. From this statute it must be determined what procedural steps must be followed when a civil service employee is discharged and also what obligations, authority, and jurisdiction are possessed by the civil service employer, the Civil Service Commission, and the courts under this statute. Any confusion over the meaning of I.C. § 50-1609 is understandable. The statute is extremely ambiguous and confusing.
Idaho Code § 50-1609 is set out below. To facilitate quick reference to the language in I.C. § 50-1609, I have taken the liberty of numbering the individual sentences contained in the statute.
50-1609. Removals — Suspensions—Appeals — Hearings.—[1] All persons in the classified civil service shall be subject to suspension from office or employment by the head of the department for misconduct, incompetency or failure to properly observe the rules of the department. [2] Upon suspension by the head of the department or accusation by the appointing power, any citizen or taxpayer, a written statement of such suspension or accusation, in general terms, shall be served upon the accused and a duplicate filed with the commission; provided, the head of the department may suspend a member pending the confirmation of the suspension by the appointing power, which confirmation must be within three (3) days. [3] The finding of the civil service commission upon the said charges shall be certified to the head of the department and shall forthwith be enforced and followed by him. [4] The aggrieved party *648shall, however, have the right within ten (10) days from the time of his removal, suspension, demotion or discharge as the case may be, to file with the commission a written demand for an investigation. [5] In conducting such investigation, the commission shall be confined to the determination of the question as to whether such removal, suspension, demotion or discharge was made for political or religious reasons, or was made in good faith and for cause. [6] All investigations made by the commission pursuant to the provisions of this section shall be by public hearing after reasonable notice to the accused of the time and place of such hearing. At such hearing the accused shall be afforded an opportunity of appearing in person or by counsel and presenting his defense. [7] If such judgment or order be upheld by a majority of the commission, the accused may appeal therefrom to the court of original and unlimited jurisdiction in civil suits of the county wherein he resides. [8] The court of original and unlimited jurisdiction in civil suits shall thereupon proceed to hear and determine such appeal in a summary manner; provided, however, that such hearing shall be confined to the determination as to whether the judgment or order of removal, discharge, demotion or suspension by the commission, was made in good faith and for cause, and no appeal to such court shall be taken except upon such ground or grounds.
I feel that the decision of the district court should be reversed and remanded. My reasons for reversal and remand will best be explained in a sentence by sentence analysis of I.C. § 50-1609.
The first sentence of the statute provides that a civil service employee is subject to suspension by the head of the department from his office or employment “for misconduct, incompetency or failure to properly observe the rules of the department.” Although the first sentence attempts to outline the reasons for suspension, an employee could be suspended for any of the reasons outlined in I.C. § 50-1604.1 Idaho Code § 50-1604 sets forth in detail the causes for removal, discharge, and suspension. The second sentence of I.C. § 50-1609 provides that a written statement of the suspension by the head of the department and implicitly the reasons for the suspension must be served on the suspended employee and a duplicate filed with the Civil Service Commission. The second sentence also provides that charges against an employee can originate from the appointing power (the city, rather than merely a head of a department within the city), a citizen, or a taxpayer. If the accusations originate from the appointing power, citizen, or taxpayer, these accusations must also be filed with the Commission and the employee. That portion of the *649second sentence of I.C. § 50-1609 which appears after the semicolon limits the suspension power given to a department head. This language provides that any suspension by a department head is only temporary and, to continue, must be confirmed in three days by the appointing power, i. e. the city. The third sentence of I.C. § 50-1609 provides that the Civil Service Commission is to make findings on the charges which have been lodged against the employee and that these findings are to “be certified to the head of the department and . enforced and followed by him.” Idaho Code § 50-1604 also requires findings by the Commission on charges made against an employee.
It is at this juncture that some confusion arises. The statute provides (1) for suspensions for cause, (2) the filing of a written statement of suspension or accusation, and (3) findings on the charges by the Commission. The statute, however, does not answer several questions. The first ambiguity is that regarding findings by the Commission. At this stage, the only evidence or material before the Commission is the written statement which has been filed by the employee’s accusers. Although both the third sentence of I.C. § 50-1609 and the language in § 50-1604 require findings, the Commission has very little information from which it can make findings and what little information the Commission does have comes solely from the employee’s accusers. It would be extremely difficult for the Commission to make findings based entirely upon this one-sided written statement. It must be pointed out that at this stage the Commission is given no vehicle or mechanism for gathering additional information or evidence. The statute does not contemplate an investigation unless it is requested by the accused employee. The second ambiguity relates to the authority to discharge. The first two sentences of I.C. § 50-1609 provide for suspensions for cause by the civil service employer. The third sentence, in addition to providing for findings by the Commission, specifies that the findings by the Commission on the charges are to be certified to the department head and followed by him." This language by itself leaves us at a loss as to who actually has the authority to discharge, remove, or demote an employee or otherwise deprive the employee of some benefit. Additionally, the statute does not indicate who makes the decision as to what course of action is going to be taken against the employee. Both I.C. § 50-1604 and § 50-1609 provide for removals, discharges, suspension, etc. for certain conduct. The statutes, however, do not clearly specify where the decision making authority lies concerning sanctions or who has the authority to decide what course of action is to be taken against the employee, i. e. whether the employee will be discharged, demoted, or merely deprived of some benefit for any particular course of conduct.
The following is the most logical construction of the statute and what I believe the legislature intended. It is obvious that the initiative for any action against a civil service employee must come from the employer, a taxpayer, or a citizen. Thus, it would follow that the decision as to what punishment or what action should be taken against the employee must lie with the employer. Additionally, although the Commission is obligated to take some action after the written statement is filed, it is apparent that the Commission is not obligated to conduct an intensive investigation and make detailed findings of fact before an investigation is requested. The statute merely contemplates a cursory review of the charges by the Commission at this point. At this stage, the Commission is merely obligated to examine the charges and determine if cause for discharge, suspension, demotion, etc. would exist were there facts to support the allegations made against the employee. At this stage the Commission must assume that there are facts to support the charges. If the Commission finds that cause would exist, the Commission certifies their findings back to the employer. After the Commission has certified the matter back to the employer, the employer then issues a formal order against the employee(s). The decision as to exactly what action is to be taken against the employee logically must lie with the employer.
*650With these preliminary questions out of the way, I proceed to the remaining language in I.C. § 50-1609 and my reasons for reversal and remand. The procedure which is outlined above was not initially followed in this case but this is immaterial, however, because eventually, after the mandamus action steps were taken which were sufficient to satisfy these procedure requirements.
The critical language in I.C. § 50-1069 in this appeal begins with the fourth sentence. This sentence provides that within ten days of his removal, suspension, demotion, or discharge the aggrieved employee can demand an investigation by the Commission. The fifth sentence provides that in conducting the investigation, the Commission must determine whether the removal, suspension, demotion, or discharge was made for political or religious reasons or was made in good faith and for cause. It is at this stage that the actual fact finding obligations of the Commission arise. Once an investigation is requested, the Commission must hold public hearings and receive evidence from both the employee and his accusers. At the conclusion of this investigation, the Commission must make sufficiently detailed findings of fact regarding each of the questions enumerated in the fifth sentence. In making these findings the Commission is obligated to resolve conflicting evidence and to set forth in sufficient detail the operative facts it relied upon in reaching its ultimate conclusions regarding religious and political overtones, good faith, and cause.
The problem in this appeal is that the Civil Service Commission failed to make sufficient findings of fact as required by I.C. § 50-1609. The findings issued by the Commission after the investigation were inadequate. The findings amounted to only a statement of the Commission’s ultimate conclusions, i. e. the firefighters were not discharged for political or religious reasons; the city had acted in good faith by discharging the firefighters; and the firefighters were discharged for cause because they had been absent from work because of the illegal strike. The Commission’s findings were void of any basic findings supporting its ultimate conclusions. It is a well established principle of administrative law that an agency must make findings which are sufficiently extensive and exacting to support its conclusions. 2 K. Davis, Administrative Law Treatise § 16.01, at 435-37 (1958). This Court on previous occasions has also indicated the need and desirability of such findings by agencies. Boise Water Corp. v. Idaho Public Utilities Comm’n, 97 Idaho 832, 555 P.2d 163 (1976); Mountain View Rural Tel. Co. v. Interstate Tel. Co., 55 Idaho 514, 46 P.2d 723 (1935).
It is necessary to point out the distinction between “ultimate” and “basic” facts. “An ultimate fact is usually expressed in the language of a statutory standard.” 2 K. Davis, supra § 16.06, at 450. For example, I.C. § 50-1609 sets forth certain ultimate facts which must be determined by the Civil Service Commission: (1) was the discharge for political or religious reasons; (2) was the discharge made in good faith; and (3) was the discharge for cause. “Basic” findings “are those on which the ultimate findings rest; the basic findings are more detailed than the ultimate findings but less detailed than a summary of the evidence.” 2 K. Davis, supra § 16.06, at 451. Principles of administrative law require agencies to first make basic findings from the evidence before deciding ultimate facts. The basic findings serve as a foundation for the ultimate findings.
The practical reasons for requiring administrative findings are so powerful that the requirement has been imposed with remarkable uniformity by virtually all federal and state courts, irrespective of a statutory requirement. The reasons have to do with facilitating judicial review, avoiding judicial usurpation of administrative functions, assuring more careful administrative consideration, helping parties plan their cases for rehearings and judicial review, and keeping agencies within their jurisdiction.
2 K. Davis, supra § 16.05, at 444.
The seventh and eighth sentences of I.C. § 50-1609 provide for judicial review of decisions of the Commission. After the Commission rendered its decision, the firefighters appealed to the district court pursuant to I.C. § 50-1609. Rather than remanding the action to the Commission for *651detailed statement of facts, the district court proceeded to hear the appeal.
Although this Court has not before been obligated to outline the duties and jurisdiction of the Civil Service Commission and the judiciary in civil service matters, courts from our neighboring State of Washington have addressed these questions. I find these decisions, which involve statutory language comparable in pertinent part to § 50-1609, persuasive.
In State ex rel. Perry v. City of Seattle, 70 Wash.2d 816, 420 P.2d 704 (1966), the Washington Supreme Court stated that after an investigation has been requested by an aggrieved employee, “it then becomes the function of the civil service commission . to investigate, to hold a hearing, and to reach a conclusion upon the merits of the dismissal. The commission is . the . . . fact-finding body.” Id. 420 P.2d at 707.
In commenting upon the judiciary’s function when reviewing decisions from the Civil Service Commission, the court stated that the judiciary cannot
consider the weight or sufficiency of the evidence. Appellate review is not a trial de novo. . . The court is neither a fact finding agency, a policy-making body, or a hiring hall. Its function is limited to testing the legality of the administrative procedure. . . . The crucial question is whether or not there is evidence to support the commission’s conclusion. A finding or a conclusion made without evidence to support it, is, of course, arbitrary . . . but it is not arbitrary or capricious if made with due consideration of the evidence presented at the hearing. . . . Neither the trial court nor this court can substitute its judgment for the independent judgment of the civil service commission.
Appeal of Hahn, 12 Wash.App. 243, 529 P.2d 484, 485 (1974) (quoting from State ex rel. Perry v. City of Seattle, supra, 420 P.2d at 706).
Thus under I.C. § 50-1609, the Civil Service Commission is the fact finding body. The judiciary’s function “is limited to determining whether an opportunity was given to be heard and whether competent evidence supported the charge.” Id. 420 P.2d at 708.
Because of the inadequacy of the Civil Service Commission’s findings, I believe that the district court should have remanded the cause with instructions to the Civil Service Commission to make adequate findings. The district court must give the Civil Service Commission the opportunity to fulfill its obligations and it is only after these fact finding obligations are met that the district court can properly review the decision of the Civil Service Commission.
II
There are two requirements set forth in I.C. § 50-1609. It is important to emphasize that I.C. § 50-1609 mandates that any discharge of a civil service employee must be made both “in good faith” and “for cause.” Before the Civil Service Commission can discharge any civil service employee the Civil Service Commission must first find that both “good faith” and “cause” existed.
A
GOOD FAITH
A complete and comprehensive definition of the “good faith” requirement of I.C. § 50-1609 is neither possible nor practical. Generally, this language means that a civil service employer cannot be arbitrary and capricious. The “good faith” requirement means that the employer must deal with employees in a fair, honest, and reasonable manner. Aside from the general “good faith” requirements of I.C. § 50-1609, additional good faith obligations are imposed on a civil service employer of firefighters by I.C. § 44-1801 through 44-1811, particularly I.C. § 44-1802 through § 44-1804.2 These *652statutory provisions give firefighters collective bargaining rights and obligate civil service employers “to meet and confer in good faith” when collective bargaining agreements are being negotiated. Thus, when the Civil Service Commission is determining the legality of the firefighters’ discharge, the Commission must find that the special “meet and confer in good faith” obligations of § 44-1804 were satisfied in addition to the general good faith requirements of I.C. § 50-1609.
In certain circumstances, the withdrawal of benefits after the expiration of an existing contract may constitute acts of bad faith. If benefits are withdrawn when the following fact situation is presented, the withdrawal may be an act of bad faith: (1) the public employees continue to fully perform their duties; (2) there is no question that the benefits would exist once the contract under negotiation is consummated; (3) there is no justifiable reason to believe that the payment of the benefits when there is no contract in existence would be illegal; and (4) other public employees receive similar benefits when not employed under a collective bargaining employment contract.
The firefighters claim that the city did not act in good faith, in among other things, refusing to negotiate in the period when the fact finding commission was deliberating. Idaho Code § 44-1805 3 provides that if the parties cannot reach an agreement on a contract, “any and all unresolved issues shall be submitted to a fact finding commission.” The refusal to negotiate further after all aspects of the contract have been agreed upon except those submitted to the fact finding commission does not necessarily amount to bad faith or a dilatory tactic. If the fact finding commission was dilatory, as it appears it might have been in this case, both parties should have worked in concert to compel the fact finding commission to reach a decision.
B
CAUSE
If the Civil Service Commission determines that the city has satisfied the general good faith obligations imposed by I.C. § 50-1609 and the good faith obligations of I.C. § 44-1801 through 44-1811, the Commission must then turn to the question of “cause.” It is important to again reemphasize that the question of “cause” need not be considered if the Commission determines that the city did not act in good faith. This is so because even if “cause” existed to discharge the firefighters, they could not be discharged if the city did not act in good faith.
In their cross-appeal, the firefighters argue that “cause” did not exist which would warrant their discharge. The firefighters premised this argument on the contention that they have the “right to strike.”
The firefighters allege that I.C. § 44-1811,4 which only prohibits strikes “during *653the term of [a] written contract or agreement” inferentially gives them the “right to strike” when no contract is in existence. The negative pregnant which results from the language of this statute is that strikes could not be enjoined when a collective bargaining agreement is not in existence. The question of injunctions, however, is not the issue presented by this appeal. Even if we were to address this question and construe the statute as the firefighters contend, such a ruling would have no bearing on the question of “cause.”
The firefighters ask us to hold that they have the “right to strike” because of a negative inference found in I.C. § 44-1811. If we were to hold that I.C. § 44-1811 did bestow rights on the firefighters, these rights would not include the right to withhold labor and services without fear of being discharged. The only rights the firefighters would receive if the statute were to be construed as they contend would be the right to engage in concerted labor activity, including the right to withhold employment, free from court injunction.
The firefighters in arguing that the above construction of I.C. § 44-1811 gives them the “right to strike,” claim that this “right to strike” includes all of the rights generally associated with the “right to strike” as this phrase is used and understood in federal cases dealing with federal labor relations legislation or in state cases dealing with state statutes similar to federal legislation. The firefighters argue that the inferential “right to strike” found in I.C. § 44-1811 includes the right to withhold labor and services without terminating their employment and without fear of being discharged. This argument might be valid if Idaho had legislation similar to federal enactments such as the Labor Management Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. §§ 141-144, 151-158, 159-167, 171-183, 185-187, 191-197, 557 (1947). These comprehensive federal enactments expressly provide that employees who cease work in concert to apply pressure on their employers do not cease to be employees and are not actually quitting their jobs. Labor Management Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. § 152(3) (1974). Absent comprehensive state legislation in the area of labor relations, this Court cannot adopt all of the rights normally attached to the “right to strike” when federal legislation is involved. To do so would be the exercise of a legislative power which this Court does not possess.
This is not to say that the firefighters did not have the right to withhold their labor. This is a constitutional right. U.S. Const, amend. XIII, § 1; Pollock v. Williams, 322 U.S. 4, 64 S.Ct. 792, 88 L.Ed. 1095 (1944); Jennings, The Right to Strike: Concerted Activity Under the Taft-Hartley Act, 40 Cal.L.Rev. 12 (1952). In the absence of such comprehensive labor relations legislation, however, the firefighters had no guarantee that they would not be discharged when they withheld their labor and services. Without the benefit of protective legislation, the common law rule is that anyone who refuses to work is subject to discharge. Almond v. County of Sacramento, 276 Cal. App.2d 32, 80 Cal.Rptr. 518 (1969); Newmarker v. Regents of University of California, 160 Cal.App.2d 640, 325 P.2d 558 (1958); Pierce v. Stablemen’s Union, Local No. 8760, 156 Cal. 70, 103 P. 324 (1909). Suffice it to say that “cause,” as contemplated by I.C. § 50-1609, would exist to discharge the firefighters if they refused to report to work after being specifically ordered to do so by their public employer. Whether the firefighters refused to report to work is a question of fact which should be decided by the Civil Service Commission.
Because the Commission did not make sufficient detailed findings of fact to support its finding of “good faith” on the part of the city and also that “cause” existed to discharge the firefighters the case should be reversed and the district court should remand the case back to the Civil Service Commission for specific findings.

. 50-1604. Examinations — Qualifications of applicants — Causes for removal, discharge or suspension of incumbents. — .
All incumbents and applicants thereafter appointed shall hold office, place, position or employment only during good behavior, and any such person may be removed, discharged, suspended without pay, demoted, reduced in rank, deprived of vacation privileges or other special privileges for any of the following reasons, subject to the determination of the facts in each case by the'commission:
(a) Incompetency, inefficiency or inattention to, or dereliction of duty;
(b) Dishonesty, intemperance, immoral conduct, insubordination, discourteous treatment of the public or a fellow employee, or any other act of omission or commission tending to injure the public service; willful failure on the part of the employee to properly conduct himself, or any other willful violation of the civil service rules and regulations;
(c) Mental or physical unfitness for the position which the employee holds;
(d) Dishonest, disgraceful, immoral or prejudicial conduct;
(e) Drunkenness or use of intoxicating liquors, narcotics, or any other habit forming drug, liquid or preparation to such extent that the use thereof interferes with the efficiency or mental or physical fitness of the employee or which prevents the employee from properly performing the functions and duties of any position under civil service;
(f) Conviction of a felony or a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude;
(g) Any other act or failure to act, which in the judgment of the civil service commissioners is sufficient to show the offender to be an unsuitable and unfit person to be employed in the public service.

. 44-1802. Collective bargaining rights of firefighters — Representation by bargaining agent. —The firefighters in any city, county, fire district or other political subdivision in the state of Idaho shall have the right to bargain collectively with their respective cities, counties, fire districts or political subdivisions and to be represented by a bargaining agent in such collec*652tive bargaining process as to wages, rates of pay, working conditions and all other terms and conditions of employment.
44-1803. Recognition of exclusive bargaining agent. — The organization selected by the majority of the fire fighters in any city, county, fire district or political subdivision shall be recognized as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent for all of the fire fighters in the fire department, unless and until recognition of such bargaining agent is withdrawn by vote of the majority of the fire fighters of such department.
44-1804. Obligation of corporate authorities to bargain in good faith — Entering into written contract. — It shall be the obligation of the city, county, fire district or other political subdivision through its proper corporate authorities, to meet and confer in good faith with the representative or representatives of the bargaining agent within ten (10) days after receipt of written notice from said bargaining agent of the request by the firefighters for a meeting for collective bargaining purposes. This obligation shall include the duty to cause any agreement resulting from negotiations between the bargaining agent and the proper corporate authorities to be reduced to a written contract.

. 44-1805. Submission of issues to fact finding commission. — In the event that the bargaining agent and the corporate authorities are unable, within thirty (30) days from and including the date of their first meeting, to reach an agreement on a contract, any and all unresolved issues shall be submitted to a fact finding commission.

. 44-1811. Strikes prohibited during contract. —Upon consummation and during the term of *653the written contract or agreement, no firefighter shall strike or recognize a picket line of any labor organization while in the performance of his official duties.