Do part-time police officers in Arkansas cities get the 15-day annual vacation that the statute requires for police department employees?
Plain-English summary
State Representative Joey Carr asked whether Arkansas Code § 14-52-106's vacation-leave requirement applies to part-time law-enforcement officers, or whether it is limited to full-time officers.
Attorney General Tim Griffin concluded the statute applies to part-time officers. Section 14-52-106(a)(1) requires the head of each police department to grant "each employee annual vacation leave of not less than fifteen (15) working days with full pay." The AG built four arguments:
- "Employee" is an umbrella term. Black's Law Dictionary defines an employee as someone who works for another under a contract of hire. Both part-time and full-time workers fit.
- "Each employee" means every employee. Random House Webster's defines "each" as "every one of two or more considered individually." Arkansas case law has affirmed that "each" means "each one" or "every individual one."
- The legislature limited other benefits to full-time officers explicitly. A.C.A. § 14-52-114(a) restricts military leave to "paid, full-time municipal police officer[s]." That contrast shows the legislature knew how to use "full-time" when it meant to.
- Courts cannot add words to an unambiguous statute. Even if a court suspected the omission was unintentional, it cannot read "full-time" into a statute the legislature did not draft that way.
The opinion then briefly addresses Question 2: no other Arkansas statute provides a different specific vacation-leave amount for part-time municipal police officers.
What this means for you
If you are a police chief or municipal HR director
Based on this opinion, every part-time officer on your roster is entitled to at least 15 working days of paid vacation per year. The statute uses "working days," not calendar days, so a part-time officer who normally works two days a week would receive 15 working days, not 15 calendar days. The phrase "with full pay" matters too: vacation pay should reflect what the officer would normally earn during those working days. The statute is a floor, not a ceiling, so a department can offer more.
Audit your benefits handbook and pay practices. If your department's policy is "full-time only" for vacation, that is not consistent with this AG opinion or the statute's plain text.
If you are a part-time municipal police officer
You are entitled to the 15-day minimum based on this opinion, regardless of whether your department's local policy says otherwise. If your department refuses, the AG's opinion is persuasive but not binding; a court would have to enforce. Practical first step: raise it with your chief or HR, citing this opinion and § 14-52-106(a)(1). If that fails, consult a labor and employment attorney.
If you are a city attorney or mayor
Two compliance issues to think through. First, retroactivity: the AG opinion clarifies what the statute always meant, but past denials of vacation could create wage-claim exposure. Talk to your insurer and counsel about how far back exposure could run. Second, budget impact: if you have not been paying part-time officers vacation, factoring that cost in for the next budget cycle is the conservative move.
If you are a city council member or budget officer
This is a small but real budget item. Multiply the number of part-time officers by their daily wage and at least 15 working days. The cost is mandatory under the statute as the AG reads it. If your city has multiple law-enforcement classifications (auxiliary, reserve, special officer), check whether they are properly classified as "employees" of the police department or as something else, because the statute's reach turns on the employer-employee relationship.
If you are a part-time officer's union representative or counsel
The opinion strengthens a wage claim for missed vacation. The AG's reasoning, especially the contrast with § 14-52-114(a)'s explicit "full-time" limit, is direct citation material for any grievance or lawsuit.
Common questions
Q: I work part-time for a city police department. How much vacation do I get?
A: At least 15 working days per year with full pay, based on the AG's reading of § 14-52-106(a)(1).
Q: My city says only full-time officers get vacation. Are they right?
A: Not under this opinion. The statute applies to "each employee," and the AG concluded that includes part-time officers. AG opinions are not binding on a court, but they are persuasive authority. Bring it up with your chief or city attorney.
Q: Does the statute apply to county sheriff's offices or the state police?
A: No. Section 14-52-106 applies to municipal police departments. Sheriff's offices and state police have separate compensation and benefits frameworks.
Q: What about overtime pay or sick leave?
A: This opinion is limited to annual vacation leave under § 14-52-106. Other benefits (sick leave, overtime, holiday pay) are governed by separate statutes, local ordinances, or collective bargaining agreements.
Q: Could the legislature change this?
A: Yes. The legislature could amend § 14-52-106 to limit vacation leave to full-time officers, the way § 14-52-114 limits military leave. Until they do, the AG reads the current statute to cover part-time officers.
Q: Is there pro-ration for part-time hours?
A: The opinion does not address pro-ration. The statute says "not less than fifteen (15) working days with full pay" without distinguishing by FTE. The conservative reading is no pro-ration; the statute gives a floor of 15 working days.
Background and statutory framework
A.C.A. § 14-52-106 sits within Title 14, Subtitle 4 (Cities and Towns), Chapter 52 (Police Departments). The provision interpreted here, subdivision (a)(1), requires the head or chief of each police department to "[g]rant each employee annual vacation leave of not less than fifteen (15) working days with full pay."
The AG's analysis draws a sharp contrast between § 14-52-106 and the neighboring military-leave statute, A.C.A. § 14-52-114(a), which expressly limits military leave benefits to "paid, full-time municipal police officer[s]." The Arkansas Supreme Court's interpretive doctrine (citing Justice Wood's dissent in Tilley v. Malvern National Bank, citing Scalia & Garner) presumes that material variation in terms reflects variation in meaning. When the legislature drops "full-time" in one place and includes it in another within the same subchapter, courts treat that as deliberate.
The AG also cited BHC Pinnacle Pointe Hosp., LLC v. Nelson, 2020 Ark. 70, for the principle that courts will not "read into a statute language that was not included by the legislature." Statutes are interpreted as written.
The fallback question is whether the statute is ambiguous, because ambiguity could open the door to legislative-intent inquiry. The AG cited Crain Family Holdings v. Ford Motor Co., 2021 Ark. App. 361, for the test: a statute is ambiguous only if "open to more than one construction." "Each employee" is not, on the AG's reading, open to more than one construction.
Citations and references
Statutes:
- A.C.A. § 14-52-106(a)(1) (annual vacation leave for police department employees)
- A.C.A. § 14-52-114(a) (military leave for full-time municipal police officers)
Cases:
- First Nat'l Bank of Izard County v. Garner, 86 Ark. App. 213, 167 S.W.3d 664 (Ark. App. 2004) (defining "each")
- Wickham v. State, 2009 Ark. 357, 324 S.W.3d 344 (ordinary meaning of statutory text)
- BHC Pinnacle Pointe Hospital, LLC v. Nelson, 2020 Ark. 70, 594 S.W.3d 62 (courts will not read words into a statute)
- Crain Family Holdings, LLC v. Ford Motor Co., 2021 Ark. App. 361, 635 S.W.3d 346 (statutory ambiguity test)
- Tilley v. Malvern National Bank, 2017 Ark. 343, 532 S.W.3d 570 (material variation in statutory terms)
Source
Original opinion text
Opinion No. 2024-054
July 19, 2024
The Honorable Joey L. Carr
State Representative
311 East Delta Road
Blytheville, Arkansas 72315
Dear Representative Carr:
I am writing in response to your request for my opinion about annual vacation leave for part-time law-enforcement officers employed by municipal police departments. You ask the following two questions:
- Do the provisions of A.C.A. § 14-52-106 apply to part-time law-enforcement officers in any function or capacity?
- Does A.C.A. § 14-52-106 or any other Arkansas statute convey or provide certain or specific amounts of vacation leave to part-time law-enforcement officers employed by a municipal police department?
RESPONSE
Question 1: Do the provisions of A.C.A. § 14-52-106 apply to part-time law-enforcement officers in any function or capacity?
Yes. Subdivision (a)(1) requires "[t]he head or chief of each police department [to] [g]rant each employee annual vacation leave of not less than fifteen (15) working days with full pay[.]" This applies to part-time law-enforcement officers for four reasons.
First, "employee" is an umbrella term that includes both full-time employees and part-time employees. Black's Law Dictionary defines an "employee" as "[s]omeone who works in the service of another person (the employer) under an express or implied contract of hire."
Second, "each employee" means every employee, both part-time and full-time. Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary defines "each" as "every one of two or more considered individually or one by one." Thus, the "ordinary and usually accepted meaning in common language" of "each employee" receiving leave is that every employee will receive annual vacation leave.
Third, elsewhere in the same subchapter, the General Assembly explicitly limited military leave to only "paid, full-time municipal police officer[s]." When interpretating this provision, a reviewing court will assume this change is intentional: "different words have different meanings." In other words, when the statutory language applies only to a subset of employees, it is explicitly limited.
Fourth, even if a reviewing court believes the General Assembly mistakenly left out "full-time" in A.C.A. § 14-52-106(a)(1), the court cannot add in that phrase. A reviewing court could believe that leaving "full-time" out was unintentional because part-time employees do not usually receive the same amount of vacation time as full-time employees. But the provision is not ambiguous, so a court cannot supply "full-time."
Question 2: Does A.C.A. § 14-52-106 or any other Arkansas statute convey or provide certain or specific amounts of vacation leave to part-time law-enforcement officers employed by a municipal police department?
Yes. As discussed above, A.C.A. § 14-52-106(a)(1) states that "each employee" of a municipal police department must receive "annual vacation leave of not less than fifteen (15) working days with full pay[.]" I have found no other statute that would control.
Assistant Attorney General Jodie Keener prepared this opinion, which I hereby approve.
Sincerely,
TIM GRIFFIN
Attorney General