FEDERATION OF PUBLIC EMPLOYEES, DISTRICT NO. 1, PACIFIC COAST DISTRICT, M.E.B.A., AFL-CIO, APPELLANT,
v.
PUBLIC EMPLOYEES RELATIONS COMMISSION AND CLERK OF THE CIRCUIT AND COUNTY COURTS OF THE SEVENTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT OF BROWARD COUNTY, APPELLEES
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Deputy clerks of the circuit court are not public employees under Chapter 447, Florida Statutes, and thus cannot be represented by a collective bargaining unit.
Appellant sought certification of a union for deputy clerks. The Public Employees Relations Commission (PERC) dismissed the petition based on preceden…
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PER CURIAM.
Appellant filed a petition with the Public Employees Relations Commission seeking approval and certification of the Federation as the collective bargaining representative for a unit of public employees, to-wit: the deputy clerks of the Circuit Court of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit. After an evidentiary hearing, the Hearing Officer recommended the petition be dismissed. From an order of the Commission adopting the Hearing Officer's recommendation and dismissing the petition, appellant has perfected this appeal.
The Hearing Officer, the Commission and appellee relied upon the case of Murphy v. Mack, 358 So. 2d 822 (Fla.1978), which held that, although the sheriff is a public employer under Florida law, deputy sheriffs are not public employees — they are appointed pursuant to section 30.07, Florida Statutes (1975). Therefore, deputy sheriffs are not governed by the provisions of Chapter 447, Florida Statutes (1975). The ratio decidendi of that case is entirely applicable to deputy clerks of the circuit court. They are appointed by the clerk to act for him and are not public employees in the statutory sense used in Chapter 447, Florida Statutes.
Accordingly, we affirm the decision of the Public Employees Relations Commission on authority of Murphy v. Mack.
DOWNEY, GLICKSTEIN and WALDEN JJ., concur.
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Serv. Emps. Int'l Union, Local 16, AFL-CIO v. Pub. Emps. Relations Comm'n, 752 So. 2d 569 (Fla. 2000)…e practical effect in this context. A deputy sheriff appears to work for the sheriff in the same manner that a municipal police officer works for his or her chief. . We disapprove Federation of Public Employees v. Public Employees Relations Comm’n, 478 So. 2d 117 (Fla. 4th DCA 1985).…
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Fla. Pub. Emps. Council 79 v. Martin Cnty. Prop. Appraiser & Fla. Pub. Emps. Relations Comm'n, 521 So. 2d 243 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988)…s held to be sufficient to confer deputy status in Murphy v. Mack, 358 So. 2d 822 (Fla.1978) (wherein the supreme court held that deputy sheriffs are not public employees), and Federation of Public Employees v. Public Employees Relations Commission, 478 So. 2d 117 (Fla. 4th DCA 1985) (wherein it was held that the employees of the Clerk of the Circuit and County Courts of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit of Bro-ward County were not public employees [*244] insofar as they were appointed deputy clerks by the cle…
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Serv. Emps. Int'l Union v. Pub. Emps. Relations Comm'n, 720 So. 2d 290 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998)…for the sheriff and subject the sheriff to liability for their misdeeds or maldeeds were the sole bases for the decision in Murphy, then clearly our task is at an end. Indeed, Federation of Public Employees v. Public Employees Relations Commission, 478 So. 2d 117 (Fla. 4th DCA 1985), so interpreted the Murphy decision and held that deputy court clerks are not public employees. Our concern is that the supreme court in Murphy seemed to emphasize the law enforcement aspect of the deputies’ powers and duties an…
Authorities Cited
- Murphy v. Mack, 358 So. 2d 822 (Fla. 1978)