Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1970 )

THE ATKDRNEY GENERAL
OF TEXAS
AUWITN,TEXAR 18711
April 22,’1970
Honorable J. W. Edgar Oplnlon No. H- 613
Commissionerof Education
Texas Education Agency Rer Authority of an independent
201 East 11th Street school district to deduct
Auatln, Texas union dues from wages of Its
custodial and maintenance
employees who consent and to
forward the deductionsto the
Dear Dr. Edgar:’ union treasurer.
Your recent letter to this office requested an opinion
concerning the above referenced subject matter In which you aak
speciflcallyas follows~
“Does the San Antonio IndependentSchool
District have legalauthority to deduct union
dues from custodial and maintenance employees’
wages upon their written aut,horizationand
forward euch deductions to the Union Treasurer.
The Board of Trustees by such conduct does not
Intend In any manner to recognize the Union (a
labor organization),as the bargaining agent for
district employees0”
The statute relating ~tothe general powers and dutiee
of the Board of Trustees of independentschool districts Is
Article 23.26 of the Texas Educatfon Code, Vernon’s Civil Statutes,
which provides, in part:
“(b) The trustees shall have the exclusive
power to manage and govern the publfc free schools
of the district.
“(d) The trustees may adopt such rulear
regulations,and by-laws as ,theydeem proper.”
Article 2.07 of the Texas Eduoation Code, Vernon’s Ctvll
Statutes, provides for the assignment, transfer or pledge of
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Dr. J. W. Edgar, page 2 (~-613)
compensationby teachers and school employees:
"(a) The terms 'teacher'and 'schoolemployee'
used in the section Include:
(1) Any person employed by any public school
district, In an executive, admlnlstratlve,or
clerical capacity, or as
teacher, or Instructor;
This office held In Attorney Caneral's Oplnlon No. O-4033 (1941)
that the predecessor of Article 2.07, supra, Article 2883a, Ver-
non's Civil Statutes, supported deductions from teachers' salaries
for participationIn a hospitalizationplan. Such opinion would
also stand as sunoort for the oronositlonthat Artfcle 2.07. suora.
specificallyauthorizes deductions from teachers' salarIes;-and*~~~
from the salaries of other employees lnciuded within the stamory
classlflcatlonsset out above, for union dues. The question is
whether or not maintenance and custodial employees are excluded
from these classlflcatlons. We hold they ai?enot so excluded.
We are required to Interpret a statute where possible
In harmony with constitutionalconsiderations. The word "admlnis-
tratlve' Is not a word of art and Is open to construction,being
said to mean mlnlsterlal and havlnu to do with dallv affairs as
dlstlngufshedfrom permanent matte&. 2 CJS 56, Admfnistrative;
Maurltz v. Schwind, 101 S.W.2d 1085, 1090 (Tex.Clv.App.1937,
error dfsm.). Consequently,admlnlstratlveemployeesmay lnclude~
custodial and maintenance employees.
Article I, Section 3 of the Texas Constftutlonand the
equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United
States Constitutioncontemplateand insure that all persons
similarly circumstancedshall be treated alike, both In nrlvlleges
conferred and In llabllltles'lmposed. Classgow v. Terreil, lOO-
Tex. 581, 102 S.W. 98 (1907); 16 Am,Jur.2d 848 C tft tlonal
Law, Sec. 487. Nevertheless,It has been repeitebD:t he?d that a
state may classify fts citizens into reasonable classes and apply
different laws, or fts laws dffferently.to the classes without
vlolatfng e ai protection. Railroad Commission of Texas v+ Mlller,
434 S.W.W r70 (Tex.Sup. 19681; Pattersonv. Clty of Dallas, 3!3>
S.W.2d 838 (Tex.Civ.App.1962, error ref. n.r.e.)# appeal dismissed
83 S. Ct. 873# 372 U.S. 2511 9 L. Ed. 2d 732. The reasonabilityof
such classiffcatfonis tested by whether it Is based upon a real
and substantialdifference having a relationshinto the subject
of the particular enactment. CiEy of Houston va Houston Independent
School District, 436 SOW.2d 568 (Tex.Clv.App.1968, modified on
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Dr. J. W. Edgar, page 3 (M-613)
other grounds 443 S.W.2d 49).
The United States Supreme Court in the case of Carrln ton
Rash 380 U S 89 13 L. Ed. 2d 675 85 S. Ct. 775 (1965)e
$mWI2d 304’(~ex.&.ap.1{64j, considered’s~lasslflcatl~nrelitlng
to voting qualificationsIncluded In Article VI, Section 2 of the
Texas Constitution. The question Involved whether a member of the
Armed Forces stationed In Texas9 who was not a resident of Texas
at the time of his entry Into military service, could vote In a
Texas primary election. The Court on certiorarifrom the Texas
Supreme Court decided that the classlflcatloncontained In the
Texas Constitutionand which denied Petitioner’sright,to vote
was a violation of the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth
Amendment0 Justice Stewart, speaking for the Court On the basis
for classification,said at 85 S.Ct., p* 780:
“There Is no Indication In the Condtitution
that occupation affords a permissiblebasis for
dlstlngulshlngbetween qualified voters within
the State0”
In like manner, equal prqtectlon of the law requires that
statutory classlflcatlonsbe made on some reasonable basis which
does not-dlscrlmlnatebetween people who would otherwise stand on
the same iooting, City of Houston, supra. As In the Carrlngton
case, supraj occupationaldifferences here do not afford a per-
mlsslble basfs for refusing custodial and maintenance employees a
service otherwlse~granted to other employees of the school~dlstrlct.
The manifest purpose of Article 2.07, Texas Education CodC, Ver-
non’s Civil Statutes, at the time It was passed by the Legislature
In 1941 as Article 2883a, was to provide school employees with a
means to pledge or assign a part of thelr wages and salaries for
payment of debts, when they were unable to furnish other security
for debts.
We, therefore, conclude that the Legislature Intended to
act constitutionallyand that pursuant to the provisions of Articles
23.86 and 2.07, Texas Education Code, Vernon’s Civil Statutes, the
trustees of an Independentschool district have the authority to
deduct union dues from custodial and maintenance employees’wages
upon their written authorizationIn accordance with Section 2.07
(b)(l) and forward such deductions to the treasurer of the union.
SUMMARY
An Independent school dfstrlct has the authority
In accordance with Section 2.07(b)(l) of the Education
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Dr. J. W. Edgar, page 4 (M-6L3)
Code through Its board of trustees to deduct union
dues from the wages of its custodial and maintenance
employees upon their written authorizationand to
forward such deductions to the union treasurer.
Oeneral of Texas
Prepared by James H. Quick
Assfstant Attorney Qeneral
APPROVEDr
OPINION COMMITTEE
Kerns Taylor, Chairman
W. E. Allen, Acting Co-Chairman
Sc.ottGarrison
Wayne Rodgers
2. T. Fortescue
Ronald Luna
MEADE F. GRIFFIN
Staff Legal Assistant
ALFREDWALKER
Executive Assistant
NOLA WRITE
First Assistant
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