Civil Service Com. v. Velez

In Civil Service Com. v. Velez (1993) 14 Cal.App.4th 115, the Court addressed an administrative agency's ability to consider late-filed appeals by civil service employees such as Koerting. There, the employee Velez was notified by her employer, the San Diego Air Pollution Control Board, that she was to be terminated for committing incompetent, inefficient and dishonest acts as a senior payroll clerk. ( Id. at p. 117.) The termination notice stated that Velez had 10 days to file an appeal contesting her termination with the Commission. (Ibid.) However, because of a miscommunication with her union representative, Velez's appeal was filed several days late. (Ibid.) Velez requested that the Commission hear her late-filed appeal, but the Commission denied the request, finding that there were no "extraordinary circumstances" justifying consideration of the late filed appeal. (Ibid.) Velez petitioned the superior court for writ of mandate to compel the Commission to hear her appeal. ( Velez, supra, 14 Cal.App.4th at p. 118.) The court granted the petition, and the Commission appealed. (Ibid.) On appeal, we upheld the trial court's decision and held that because civil service employees have vested rights to their employment and in order to protect "'the merit basis of the personnel system'", relief from late-filed civil service appeals should be granted where (1) the delay is short; (2) there is no prejudice; and (3) the error was excusable. ( Id. at pp. 122-123.)