CITY OF MIAMI, APPELLANT,
v.
JAMES P. SIGMAN, APPELLEE
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The City of Miami appealed an order promoting a police officer and awarding retroactive wages after he was denied veterans' preference points on a promotional examination. The court reversed, holding that the officer failed to exhaust administrative remedies by presenting his claim to the Civil Service Board before filing suit in circuit court.
The officer must exhaust administrative remedies by first presenting the question of entitlement to veterans' preference points to the Civil Service Board pursuant to the City's Civil Service Rules before pursuing judicial relief in circuit court. The circuit court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the action because the employee failed to complete the required administrative process.
[1] A party must exhaust administrative remedies before seeking judicial relief for a grievance concerning employment under civil service rules.
[2] A city ordinance providing for veterans' preference points in promotions, by referencing state statutes, incorporates those statutes by reference.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“The question of entitlement to the points was never presented to city officials or the Civil Service Board.”
Establishes that the officer failed to use the required administrative process before going to court
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceJames P. Sigman, a police officer, successfully completed the 1979 promotional examination but was denied veterans' preference points to which he clai…
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PER CURIAM.
Appellant, City of Miami, appeals from an order directing that a police officer, who was denied veterans’ preference points after successfully completing the 1979 promotional examination, be promoted to the rank of Police Sergeant with retroactive wages and other benefits. The City’s Civil Service Rules, set forth in Ordinance No. 8977, Section 2, provide that veterans’ preference points shall be given in accordance with Florida Statutes.1 The ordinance also provides a method for employees to seek redress for any violation of the rules.2 The question of entitlement to the points was never presented to city officials or the Civil Service Board.
The controlling statutes, found in Chapter 295, Florida Statutes (1983), have been construed by this court in several cases. In every case the question of entitlement to the statutory preference points was first presented to the Civil Service Board pursuant to its rules. E.g., Yates v. Rezeau, 62 So. 2d 726 (Fla.1952); City of Miami v. Farrington, 405 So. 2d 1043 (Fla. 3d DCA), rev. dismissed, 411 So. 2d 381 (Fla.1981).
Appellant challenges the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the action on grounds that the employee failed to exhaust administrative remedies, citing this court’s opinion in Pushkin v. Lombard, 279 So. 2d 79 (Fla. 3d DCA), cert, denied, 284 So. 2d 396 (1973). We agree that the filing of a lawsuit in the circuit court was premature. See also City of Miami v. Fraternal Order of Police, 378 So. 2d 20, 25 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979), cert. denied, 388 So. 2d 1113 (Fla.1980) (employee is not relieved of obligation to engage the administrative process in redressing a grievance by simply accepting as unchallengeable an adverse decision of the employer).
Reversed and remanded with directions to dismiss.
. Section 40-58, Code of the City of Miami (1980), which codifies Ordinance No. 8977, Section 2, provides:
Preferences in ranking candidates — Veterans’ preference.
[I]n promotion, preference shall be given [to veterans] in accordance with the state statutes, as amended.
. Section 40-103(b), Code of the City of Miami (1980) provides in pertinent part:
Grievances and abuses generally.
(b) Complaint by employee.
Any employee who is aggrieved by reason of what he/she considers a violation of this article [Civil Service Rules] to his/her detriment, or who has a grievance concerning his/her employment under this article, and who desires redress, shall notify the executive secretary in writing, stating the nature of his/her grievance and requesting a hearing by the board [Civil Service Board],
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Liotti v. City OF Miami, 464 So. 2d 1306 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985)…PER CURIAM. Affirmed on the authority of City of Miami v. Sigman, 448 So. 2d 533 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984).…
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Chuvez Ingram v. Miami-Dade Police Dep't, 796 So. 2d 1262 (Fla. 3d DCA 2001)…PER CURIAM. Affirmed. See § 295.11 Fla. Slat. (2000). See also City of Miami v. Sigman, 448 So. 2d 533 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984); City of Miami v. Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 20, 378 So. 2d 20, 25 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979).…
Authorities Cited
- City OF Miami v. Fraternal Order OF Police Lodge NO. 20 OF the City OF Miami, 378 So. 2d 20 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979)
- Pushkin v. Lombard, 279 So. 2d 79 (Fla. 3d DCA 1973)
- Yates v. Rezeau, 62 So. 2d 726 (Fla. 1952)
- Goldberg v. MacKauf, 284 So. 2d 396 (Fla. 1973)
- Eugenie Murrhee Suter v. Suter, 284 So. 2d 396 (Fla. 1973)
- City OF Miami v. Farrington, 405 So. 2d 1043 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981)