McGillicuddy

Six of the plaintiffs were trackmen and the seventh was a car repairer in the employ of the City and County of San Francisco. On April 8, 1932, plaintiffs were removed from their respective positions by defendants without cause and without an opportunity to be heard. Other persons were immediately employed to fill said positions. Claiming the benefits of the civil service regulations, plaintiffs brought this action for declaratory relief. From a judgment in favor of plaintiffs, defendants appeal.

Section 142 of the new charter of the City and County of San Francisco (Stats. 1931, p. 2973), which went into effect January 8, 1932, provides: “The civil service rights, acquired by persons under the provisions of the charter superseded by this charter, shall continue under this charter.” Appellants concede that said section protects the rights, if any, which respondents may have acquired under the old charter, but appellants contend that respondents were “emergency employees”, that “they had no standing as civil service employees” and “therefore had no civil service rights to be protected under the provisions of section 142” of the new charter.

We are therefore called upon to examine…