Could a Louisiana firefighter or police officer receive paid sick leave again after an old off-duty injury recurred?

Plain-English summary

The Opelousas Fire and Police Civil Service Board asked about a firefighter or police officer whose old back injury recurred years after a period of sick leave. The attorney general's office said in 2000 that an injury or illness did not have to occur on duty for either group to receive the sick-leave benefits discussed.

The office then distinguished the two statutes. It said the firefighter provision did not restrict its 52-week sick-leave period to a calendar year. Drawing on an earlier opinion, it said a firefighter who fully recovered, returned to active service, and later became ill or seriously injured could qualify for the benefit again. The police provision, by contrast, set its 52-week aggregation within a calendar year.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2000. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Firefighters at the time

The opinion said an off-duty injury could qualify under the fire sick-leave statute. It also said no fixed period of service was required between sick-leave periods, while describing recovery and return to active service before a later illness or serious injury.

Police officers at the time

The opinion likewise said off-duty illness or injury could qualify. It read the police statute as limiting the 52-week sick-leave aggregation to a calendar year and quoted an offset for workers' compensation benefits actually received.

Civil service boards at the time

The office treated the fire and police sick-leave statutes as different on the calendar-year issue. Its answer concerned the hypothetical recurrence described by the board, not a finding about a particular employee's medical condition.

Common questions

Q: Did sick leave depend on whether the injury happened while working?
A: The 2000 opinion said no for both firefighters and police officers under the statutes it discussed.

Q: Could a firefighter receive the statutory sick-leave benefit after an earlier period ended?
A: The opinion said yes where the firefighter completely recovered, returned to active service, and later became ill or seriously injured.

Q: Did the firefighter have to work a set number of days between sick-leave periods?
A: The opinion said no specific amount of on-the-job time was required between periods.

Q: Did the police sick-leave rule use the same time period as the fire rule?
A: No. The office said the police provision aggregated at least 52 weeks during a calendar year, while the firefighter provision had no calendar-year limit.

Background and statutory framework

The opinion compared R.S. 33:1995 for firefighters with R.S. 33:2214 for police department employees. It quoted the fire provision's full-pay leave for qualifying sickness or incapacity and the police provision's leave aggregated during a calendar year. It used earlier attorney general opinions to address off-duty injuries and renewed firefighter leave.

Citations and references

• R.S. 33:1995 (firefighter sick leave)
• R.S. 33:2214 (police sick leave)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/00-0284

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain; the linked PDF is authoritative.

September 11, 2000
OPINION 00-284

71-1-1
Municipal Fire & Police Civil Service
Mr. Jessie Bellard
R.S. 33:1995; R.S. 33:2214
Opelousas Fire & Police Firefighter is entitled to fifty-two week period for sick leave. No specific
Civil Service Board
amount of time must be served on the job between sick leave periods. The
fifty-two week sick leave period is not restricted to one calendar year. In
318 North Court Street
contrast, the sick leave authorized policemen limits the fifty-two weeks to one
Opelousas, LA 70570
calendar year. Both firemen and policemen are entitled to sick leave
benefits even though the injury or illness may have occurred off-duty.
Dear Mr. Bellard:

You raise the following hypothet in your correspondence to this office:

A fireman or a police officer took a year of sick leave for a back injury.
This injury occurred and the leave was taken five years ago. The injury has reoccurred. Does it matter whether the injury occurred while the individual was on-duty or off-duty? Is that employee entitled to another year of sick leave?

R.S. 33:1995 authorizes sick leave for firemen and provides:

§ 1995. Sick leave

Every fireman in the employ of a municipality, parish or fire protection district to which this sub-part applies, shall be entitled to full pay during sickness or incapacity not brought about by his own negligence or culpable indiscretion for a period of not less than fifty-two weeks.

R.S. 33:2214 authorizes sick leave for policemen and pertinently provides:

§ 214. Annual vacation; sick leave; recovery from third persons

B. (1) Each employee of the police departments of the municipalities covered by this Subpart, except the city of Westwego, shall be entitled to and given with full pay a sick leave aggregating not less than fifty-two weeks during any calendar year when the conditions actually warrant.
Any police department employee who draws such full pay during sick

Page 2

Mr. Jessie Bellard
OPINION 00-284
Page 2
leave shall have such pay decreased by the amount of worker’s compensation benefits actually received by such employee.

A fireman is entitled to sick leave benefits even though the injury or illness may have occurred while he was off-duty. See Attorney General Opinion 87-295. The same rule applies to policemen. See Attorney General Opinions 78-1379 and 80-471.

Attorney General Opinion 81-286 is responsive to the second part of your inquiry. R.S. 33:2214(B) limits the fifty-two week period of sick leave to one calendar year. In contrast, R.S. 33:1995 makes no such limitation. Thus, as per this office in Opinion 81- 286, “if after complete recuperation and return to active service the fireman is taken ill or incurs serious injury, he would be again entitled to the benefit provided at Section 1995.”

Should you have further questions, please contact this office.

Very truly yours,

RICHARD P. IEYOUB
ATTORNEY GENERAL

BY: ________ KERRY L. KILPATRICK
ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL

KLK:ams

Page 3

Mr. Jessie Bellard
OPINION 00-284
Page 3

71-1-2 Municipal Fire & Police Civil Service

R.S. 33:1995; R.S. 33:2214

Firefighter is entitled to fifty-two week period for sick leave. No specific amount of time must be served on the job between sick leave periods. The fifty-two week sick leave period is not restricted to one calendar year. In contrast, the sick leave authorized policemen limits the fifty-two weeks to one calendar year. Both firemen and policemen are entitled to sick leave benefits even though the injury or illness may have occurred off-duty.

Mr. Jessie Bellard
Opelousas Fire & Police
Civil Service Board
318 North Court Street
Opelousas, LA 70570

Date Received:
Date Released: September 11, 2000

KERRY L. KILPATRICK
ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL