Fugitt v. City of Placentia

In Fugitt v. City of Placentia (1977) 70 Cal.App.3d 868, two probationary city employees were terminated from their employment and sought a writ of mandate requiring the City of Placentia to pay their wages and other benefits for the period they were prevented from working due to wrongful discharge. (Id. at p. 870.) Because civil service rules limiting removal were inapplicable to the petitioners, they relied on a memorandum of understanding to support their claim for benefits. (Id. at pp. 871, 874-875.) The Fugitt court held that if the discharges were arbitrary and capricious under the memorandum's grievance proceedings, then the employer must either impose a less serious form of discipline not subject to such procedures or reinstate the plaintiffs with backpay for the period during which they were wrongfully deprived of their positions. (Id. at p. 875 & fn. 2.) The court explained, "It is clear from a review of the memorandum of understanding that the City of Placentia is under a duty to pay petitioners' salaries pursuant to the schedule adopted in the memorandum of understanding unless that duty is legally extinguished. Here the City of Placentia attempted to extinguish its duty to pay petitioners' salaries by terminating their employment. Thereupon the petitioners invoked the grievance procedure established by the memorandum of understanding." (Id. at p. 872.) "The effect of article XVI of the memorandum of understanding is to give probationary employees the right not to be arbitrarily and capriciously discharged. This right is a part of his employment contract just as in the case of a civil service employee. 'A wrongfully discharged employee, both private and public, is entitled to damages which tend to make him whole; in short, compensatory damages. (Civ. Code, 3300.) ' (Currieri v. City of Roseville (1975) 50 Cal.App.3d 499, 507.) Mandamus is proper to compel the payment of back salary to a city employee for the period during which he was wrongfully discharged." (Fugitt, at p. 876.)