California State Employees Ass'n v. Trustees of California State Colleges

DEVINE, J.

This is a companion case to

California State Employees Assn.

v.

Trustees of the California State Colleges, ante,

p. 530 [47 Cal.Rptr. 73] this day decided. This one presents the questions: (1) May the Trustees of the California State Colleges engage architects to design state college buildings and to serve as consultants in planning campuses, other than architects who are civil service employees

1

(2) If question (1) be answered “yes,” may the independent architects be retained without a factual determination in each ease that the contract is essential because the existing civil service

[543]

agency cannot perform the services and that, therefore, the public interest would suffer?

In the superior court, where judgment of dismissal was made after sustaining of demurrer without leave to amend the complaint, appellant was willing to rest its case on the point which appellant made in the companion case, namely, that employees of state colleges are not exempt from civil service. On appeal, appellant contends that the independent architects are

not

employees of the state colleges and, therefore, are not entitled to the exemption contained in article XXIV, section 4, subdivision (a) (8) of the Constitution of California, even if it be determined that employees of the colleges are exempt.

It has been decided, in the companion case, that persons employed by the state colleges are exempt from civil service because the state colleges are the statutory successors of the normal schools and state teachers colleges.

We hold that the independent architects are “persons employed by” the state colleges within the meaning of the constitutional exemption. The fact that they may be independent contractors for certain purposes is not of controlling importance. Although independent contractors, the architects are persons employed by the institutions. This principle has been held in cases applying it conversely to the application made here. In