Superior Court of the City and County of San Francisco

Respondent former city employees (employees) sought a writ of mandate to compel appellants, a municipality and its officers, to grant the municipal employees vacation pay. The Superior Court of the City and County of San Francisco (California), held for the employees and also directed city officials to certify payrolls showing the employees' entitlement to pay and to pay the employees. The city and its officials appealed.

The employees were members of a group whose wages were fixed by collective bargaining agreements which made no provision for paid vacations; the business partners received no paid vacation for the fiscal year of 1949-1950. Later, San Francisco Municipal Code § 151.4 was enacted. § 151.4 provided vacation pay to city employees whose right to paid vacations had been disallowed because of conflicting collective bargaining agreement provisions. No payment was made to the employees in the instant suit because their employment was terminated before the effective date of § 151.5. The court held that (1) § 151.4 demonstrated an intent to allow the employees pay for vacation in connection with services performed prior to its effective date; (2) the retroactive payments to the employees did not constitute a gift of public funds in violation of Cal. Const. art. IV. §§ 31, 32 because the compensation of municipal employees was a municipal affair and not subject to the prohibitions of §§ 31 and 32; (3) the trial court did not err directing the city officials to certify and approve the payrolls; and (4) because there was existing no municipal fund to pay the claims, the trial judge erred by directing payment.

The portion of the judgment which commanded the officers to pay the claims was reversed; in all other respects, the judgment was affirmed.