Did Minden employees transferring from other city departments immediately qualify for fire department longevity pay?

Plain-English summary

Two new Minden Fire Department employees had transferred from other city departments. The municipal fire and police civil service board asked whether they were entitled to two-percent longevity pay. In Opinion 03-0192, the AG concluded that they first had to complete three years of continuous service in the Minden Fire Department.

The opinion read La. R.S. 33:1992(B) as requiring three years of continuous service as a member of the fire department before longevity pay began. It followed earlier Opinion 94-10, which the AG said required the three years to be with the particular fire department. The transferred employees' prior city work did not itself satisfy that fire department service requirement.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2003. 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.

What the opinion meant at issuance

Transferring city employees

The AG said service in another Minden department did not qualify the new fire department employees for immediate longevity pay. The three-year continuous-service period had to be in the fire department itself.

Fire department and civil service board

The opinion tied the two-percent longevity increase to continuous service with the particular fire department. Its conclusion applied to the two transfers described in the board's request.

Common questions

Q: Did work in another Minden department count toward the fire department's three-year threshold?
A: No. The AG required continuous service with the Minden Fire Department.

Q: When did the AG say a firefighter could begin receiving longevity pay?
A: After three years of continuous service in that particular fire department under the statute discussed.

Q: What earlier opinion did the AG rely on?
A: La. Atty. Gen. Op. No. 94-10, which the letter described as requiring three years with a particular fire department.

Background and statutory framework

La. R.S. 33:1992(B), as quoted in the letter, provided a two-percent salary increase for each additional year after three years of continuous fire department service, through twenty years. The AG applied that text and its earlier Opinion 94-10 to two employees transferring into Minden's fire department.

Citations and references

Statute quoted: La. R.S. 33:1992(B). Earlier opinion: La. Atty. Gen. Op. No. 94-10.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/03-0192

Original opinion text

~t~te o~
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
RICHARD P. IEYOUB
430 FANNIN ST.

ATTORNEY GENERAL
ROOM 309
TELEPHONE: (318) 227-3790
71101-5537
FAX: (318) 226-7144

OCT 4 2003
OPINION NO. 03-0192

71-1-1
MUNICIPAL RRE & POLICE CIVIL SERVICE

La. R.S. 33:1992(B)

It is apparent that before a member of the ~re deflamnent can receive longevity pay, he or she must 11mt have eelved continuously
Mr. Guy Mandino
in the Minden Fire Department for three yeem. This ofTme
Minden Municipal Fire & Police
previously addressed a similar issue in La. Atty. Gen. Op. No. 94-
10 which opined that the yeem of continuous sereico just be for
Civil Service Board
three y~am w~h a pa~’ular fire department.
520 Broadway
Minden, LA 71055

Dear Mr. Mandino:

Your request for an Attomey General’s opinion has been forwarded to me for research and reply. Specifically, you ask if two new employees of the Minden Fire Department, who transferred from other departments of the City of Minden, are entitled to two percent longevity pay with the Minden Fire department?

The answer to this question is found in La. R.S. 33:1992(B) which states:

§ 1992
B. From and after the first day of August, 1962, each member of the fire d.e0artment who has had three years continuous service shall receive an increase in salary of two percent for each year of additional service up to and including twenty years. Both the base pay and accrued longevity shall be used in computing such longevity pay.
(Emphasis added).

After a careful reading of the statute, it is apparent that before a member of the fire department can receive longevity pay, he or she must first have served continuously in the Minden Fire Department for three years. This office previously addressed a similar issue in La. Atty. Gen. Op. No. 94-10 which opined that the years of continuous service must be for three years with a particular fire department.

Page 2

Mr. Guy Mandino
OPINION NO. 03-0192
Page - 2 -

We trust this sufficiently answers your questions. However, if you should need anything
further, do not hesitate to contact this office.

Very truly yours,

RICHARD P. IEYOUB
ATTORNEY GENERAL

FRANCES J. PI’~AN
ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL

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