Kreutzer: Misclassified Non-Exempt Public Worker Gets No Civil Service Protections

A government employee hired into a position expressly classified as exempt from civil service is not entitled to the protections of the civil service system upon the employee’s release from the position, even if a court finds that, based on the duties of the position, it should not have been classified as exempt. Kreutzer v. City and County of San Francisco (2008) 166 Cal.App.4th 306.

In this opinion, we conclude that a government employee hired into a position expressly classified as exempt from civil service is not entitled to the protections of the civil service system upon the employee’s release from the position, even if a court finds that, based on the duties of the position, it should not have been classified as exempt. We also hold that where a government employee is released from employment for reasons characterized only as non-disciplinary, and not otherwise publicly disclosed, the employee’s liberty interest in reputation has not been infringed, and the employee is entitled to no relief. Accordingly, we reverse the trial court’s judgment in this case, which ordered a government employer to reinstate a former exempt employee into a non-exempt position.

A petition for review was filed, and yesterday, the Supreme Court denied review. You can download a complete copy of the Kreutzer opinion from the court's website in PDF or MS Word format.