Could Iota require police officers to stay six months after paid training and raise its clerk's salary without an ordinance?
Apply this to your situation
This page answers the general question as of 2001. Ask about yours and see what current Louisiana law means for your facts, with citations you can check.
Plain-English summary
Iota's mayor asked whether the town could require officers to remain for six months after town-funded training and whether its board could raise the town clerk's pay without an ordinance. In 2001, the attorney general's office said the board could enact an employment policy and contract term requiring the post-training period. If an officer left early, the remedy would be for breach of contract, potentially including stipulated damages tied to training expenses; the town could not compel continued service.
For the clerk, the opinion said compensation had to be fixed and changed by ordinance. A cost-of-living increase therefore required the board to use that form.
Currency note
This opinion was issued in 2001. 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.
Iota officials at the time
The office said the board's employment-policy authority covered an officer's six-month post-training contract term. It also said the clerk's compensation could be increased only by ordinance.
Police officers at the time
The opinion said an early departure could support a contract remedy but could not be met by forcing the officer to keep working.
Town clerk at the time
A board-approved increase needed an ordinance under the statute the office quoted.
Common questions
Q: Could a town require officers to stay after town-paid training?
A: The opinion said an ordinance and employment contract could impose the six-month term.
Q: Could the town force a departing officer to finish that term?
A: No. The office identified breach-of-contract relief, not compelled service, as the remedy.
Q: Could the clerk's salary rise by a board vote without an ordinance?
A: The opinion said compensation changes had to be enacted by ordinance.
Background and statutory framework
La. R.S. 33:362(A)(3) assigned employment-policy authority to the board of aldermen. The opinion cited Louisiana Constitution of 1974, Article I, Section 3, when rejecting compelled service. It applied La. R.S. 33:404.1's ordinance requirement to the clerk's compensation.
Citations and references
- La. R.S. 33:362(A)(3) (employment policies)
- Louisiana Constitution of 1974, Article I, Section 3 (involuntary servitude)
- La. R.S. 33:404.1 (municipal-officer compensation)
Source
- Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
- Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/00-0487
Original opinion text
March 7, 2001
OPINION NO. 00-487
Honorable John D. Sittig
Mayor, Town of Iota
116 Duson Avenue
Iota, Louisiana 70543
Dear Mayor Sittig:
Your request for an Attorney General=s opinion has been forwarded to me for research and reply. Specifically, you ask:
1) Whether Iota can require police officers to remain employed by Iota for six months after they have received training which is paid for by the town?
2) Whether the Town Clerk can receive a cost of living salary increase from the Board of Aldermen or does the increase have to be done by ordinance?
The answer to your question is found in La. R.S. 33:362(A)(3) which states:
(3) Subject to law, including R.S. 33:423.2 and 423.3, and applicable civil service rules and regulations, the board of aldermen shall, by ordinance, provide policies and procedures regulating the employment of municipal employees including the hiring and firing of such employees. (Emphasis added).
As is readily apparent from this statute, the legislature has given the Board of Aldermen the power to determine policies and procedures for the employment of municipal employees. Since police officers are employees of the municipality, in your case, Iota, the Board of Aldermen has the power to enact ordinances which regulate their employment. A requirement in the employment contract that police officers remain in the employ of the Town of Iota for six months following training is certainly within these powers authorized by Section 362(A)(3).
It should be noted that the remedy in a case where an officer has contracted to work for six
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Honorable John D. Sittig
OPINION NO. 00-487
Page - 2 -
months and then leaves your employ prior to that time is for breach of contract. According to the Louisiana Constitution of 1974, Article I, Section 3, slavery and involuntary servitude are prohibited, meaning that you cannot require the officer to continue employment by the Iota police department. However, you may consider what is called stipulated damages which could require the officer to repay training expenses and other amounts you have expended if he breaches the terms of the employment contract.
Your second question is addressed in La. R.S. 33:404.1 which states in pertinent part:
The board of alderman shall by ordinance fix the compensation of the mayor, aldermen, clerk, chief of police, and all other municipal officers. The board of aldermen may by ordinance increase or decrease their compensation and the compensation of any nonelected municipal officer .... (Emphasis added).
As is stated in this statute, the compensation of the clerk is fixed by ordinance and may be increased or decreased by ordinance.
We trust your questions have been answered. However, if you should need anything further from this office, do not hesitate to contact us.
Very truly yours,
RICHARD P. IEYOUB
ATTORNEY GENERAL
BY:_______
FRANCES J. PITMAN
ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL
RPI:FJP:sc
a:\00-487.op
OPINION NO. 00-487
71 - MUNICIPALITIES
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La. R.S. 33:362(A)(3)
La. R.S. 33:404.1
La. Const. Of 1974 Article 1, Section 3
The Board of Aldermen may enact an ordinance which requires police officers to remain in its employ for six months following training.
The compensation of the town clerk in a Lawrason municipality is fixed by ordinance and may be increased or decreased by ordinance.
Honorable John D. Sittig
Mayor, Town of Iota
116 Duson Avenue
Iota, Louisiana 70543
DATE RECEIVED: 11/27/00BR DATE RECEIVED: 12/04/00SH
DATE RELEASED: March 7, 2001
FRANCES J. PITMAN
ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL
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