The fundamental purpose of civil service laws is to require public officials to hire, promote and discharge employees based on merit rather than political affiliation, religion, favoritism or race, which makes the commission independent. Civil service systems must protect police and fire department employees from the arbitrary and discriminatory actions of their employers in hiring and ensure that the public is protected by qualified police and fire personnel.
RCW Chapter 41.12 sets out a model civil service system for city police; RCW Chapter 41.08 is the equivalent for city fire departments. Many cities have adopted the procedures and policies in these chapters. Other cities have enacted a civil service system under RCW ¤¤ 41.08.010 and 41.12.010.
From the view of the bench, RCW Chapters 41.08 and 41.12 are "intended to allow cities and towns a local option as to methods and techniques and as to the many recognized and acceptable methods of setting up a civil service system to substantially accomplish the purpose of civil service."1
The state or a local civil service commission's role in the hiring process includes announcing the required qualifications and considering the essential job duties provided by the employer, as well as merit qualification or civil service testing and certification of the eligibility list. The appointing authority's role is to determine organizational structure, positions and job duties, with input from unions, determining the best-fit candidate from the eligibility list, and making the final hiring determination, after physical and psychological testing.
A civil service commission can transfer "ministerial duties" by local ordinance or by local commission rules to a city's human resources department without reducing the civil service system's ability to substantially accomplish the purpose of Chapters 41.08 and 41.12.2 Statutory duties of a commission having a nexus to the hiring process are set out in RCW ¤¤ 41.08.040 and 41.12.040, which provide:
It shall be the duty of the civil service commission:
- To make suitable rules and regulations not inconsistent with the provisions of this chapter. Such rules and regulations shall provide in detail the manner in which examinations may be held, and appointments [and] promotions shall be made ... .
- All tests shall be practical, and shall consist only of subjects which will fairly determine the capacity of persons examined to perform duties of the position to which appointment is to be made, and may include tests of physical fitness and/or of manual skill.
. . . .
- Provide for, formulate and hold competitive tests to determine the relative qualifications of persons who seek employment in any class or position and as a result thereof establish eligible lists for the various classes or positions.
Local rules are promulgated under the authority granted under RCW Chapter 41.08 et seq., Civil Service for City Firemen, and RCW Chapter 41.12 et seq., Civil Service for City Police Officers. The local rules provide the manner in which examinations may be held and appointments made, and must be consistent with state law.
Collective bargaining agreements may contain provisions affecting the hiring process. The statutory authority of a civil service commission does not include the authority to interpret or enforce the provisions of a collective bargaining agreement.3
In Spokane v. Civil Service Commission, the Spokane Civil Service Commission refused to recognize a change in promotion procedure negotiated between the City and the Spokane Police Guild under which an assessment center was to be used to supplement the commission's testing procedure. The City and the Guild sought and obtained a declaratory judgment requiring the commission to comply with the change.4
Where provisions of a collective bargaining agreement are applicable to the hiring process, both the appointing authority and the civil service com-
mission must honor the provisions of the collective bargaining agreement. Employee collective bargaining rights under RCW Chapter 41.56 prevail in the event of conflict with civil service law.5
For more information, feel free to contact the authors. Greg Rubstello is a member of the Ogden Murphy Wallace, P.L.L.C. Municipal Department and its Employment and Labor Law Practice Group. He can be reached at grubstello@omwlaw.com. Karen Sutherland is the chair of OMW's Employment and Labor Law Practice Group. She can be reached at ksutherland@omwlaw.com.
1 Bellingham Firefighters Local 106, Int'l Ass'n of Firefighters v. City of Bellingham, 15 Wn. App. 662 (1976).
2 Reynolds v. Kirkland Police Comm'n, 62 Wn.2d 720 (1963).
3 Civil Service Comm'n v. City of Kelso, 137 Wn.2d 166 (1998).
4 98 Wn. App. 574 (2000); see also City of Bellevue, No. 3156-A (PECB, 1990).
5 Rose v. Erickson, 106 Wn.2d 420 (1986).
