Sunnyvale Public Safety Officers Ass'n v. City of Sunnyvale

Opinion

EMERSON, J.

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Appellants in this action are the Sunnyvale Public Safety Officers Association (hereafter the association) and Daniel Stoops, president of the association, individually and as a member of the class of Public-Safety Officers in and for the City of Sunnyvale.

1

The association is the recognized employee representative for the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety, whose members serve as police officers and fire fighters in the respondent city. Certain Sunnyvale police officers asserted a grievance against the city, claiming that they were entitled to overtime pay. Bypassing the city’s procedure for the administrative settlement of grievances, appellants filed in the superior court a complaint for money damages on theories of breach of contract and/or

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negligence. The court entered judgment in favor of the city on the ground that appellants had failed to exhaust their administrative remedies before filing suit. This appeal is from the judgment.

Briefly stated, the complaint of appellants was based on the following facts. Police members of the association, because of rotating shift assignments, were sometimes required to work two 8-hour shifts within a 24-hour period, plus an extra 15 minutes at the beginning of each shift. Fire fighter members, who worked 24-hour shifts, worked an extra 15 minutes on each shift. Both groups of members claimed that they were entitled to overtime pay for time worked in excess of 8 hours per day by police members and in excess of a 24-hour shift with respect to fire fighter members.

The wages, hours and working conditions of the association’s members were the subject of a memorandum of understanding, executed by the city and the association, which was in effect at the times here pertinent. That agreement recited that the city and the association “. . . [met and conferred] in good faith and did reach agreement on those matters within the scope of representation.” Matters within the scope of representation were defined as “. . . all matters relating to employment conditions and employer-employee relations, including, but not limited to wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment.” It is clear that the members’ complaint was a matter relating to wages and hours and was within the scope of representation.