Harris v. State Personnel Bd

In Harris v. State Personnel Bd. (1985) 170 Cal.App.3d 639, a California State University employee took an absence without leave and was deemed to have automatically resigned. (Id. at p. 641.) After an adverse decision by the Board, he filed a petition for mandamus, which resulted in a new decision reinstating him. The question on appeal was whether he was entitled to backpay upon reinstatement. (Id. at p. 642.) In concluding that the employee's backpay claim under the former Tort Claims Act (former Gov. Code, 810 et seq.), the court observed: "The shield provided government by the Tort Claims Act expressly excludes actions arising on contract. . Appellant's claim is for wages he alleges are owed to him by his employer arising out of his contract of employment. He seeks no damages for tortious conduct. He seeks payment for services he was to have rendered and wages he would have earned but for his involuntary discharge and the long delay before reinstatement. . . . His mandamus action, therefore, is not subject to demurrer for failure to comply with the Tort Claims Act." (Id. at p. 643.)