Could a full-time Catahoula Parish school employee also work as Sicily Island's juvenile officer?

Plain-English summary

The Sicily Island police chief asked whether a full-time Catahoula Parish School Board employee could also serve as the village's juvenile officer. In Opinion 03-0440, the Louisiana AG said the dual-officeholding and dual-employment law did not prohibit that combination, assuming the juvenile-officer position was part time.

The cited prohibition concerned simultaneously holding two full-time public positions. The letter did not establish the juvenile job's actual hours; the AG expressly made its answer on a part-time assumption.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2004. 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

School Board employees

The AG said a full-time school board job did not, by itself, bar the employee from a part-time municipal juvenile-officer role under the dual-employment provision it discussed.

Village officials

The answer rested on the juvenile-officer position being part time. The AG did not decide whether a second full-time position would be permissible and quoted the statutory prohibition on two full-time public jobs.

Common questions

Could the school employee also be Sicily Island's juvenile officer?

Yes, under the AG's stated assumption that the juvenile-officer work was part time.

Why did the distinction between full-time and part-time matter?

The statute quoted in the opinion prohibited concurrent full-time public positions. The opinion reproduced the then-existing full-time and part-time definitions.

Did the AG verify the juvenile officer's hours?

No. It said, "We assume the position as juvenile officer is part-time."

Background and statutory framework

The chief asked about combining a full-time school board job with municipal juvenile-officer work. The opinion's main paragraph and heading appear to misprint the subsection as R.S. 42:62(E); its footnote quotes the two-full-time-position prohibition as R.S. 42:63(E). A second footnote reproduces R.S. 42:62(4) and (5), the definitions of full-time and part-time work. The AG's conclusion depended on the second position being part time.

Citations and references

• R.S. 42:63(E): two-full-time-position prohibition quoted in the opinion's footnote.
• R.S. 42:62(4) and (5): work-hour definitions quoted in the opinion's footnote.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/03-0440

Original opinion text

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
P.O. Box 94005
RICHARD P. IEYOUB
TEL: (504) 342-7013
ATTORNEY GENERAL 70804-9005 FAX: (504) 342-7335

OPINION 03-0440
JAN 0 6 ZO04
Mr. Roosevelt Savage
Chief of Police
Post Office Box 45 78 DUAL OFFICEHOLDING
Sicily Island, Louisiana 71368
R.S. 42:61, et seq., R.S. 42:62(E)
Individual may be school board employee for the parish and juvenile officer for the municipality.
Dear Mr. Savage:

You have asked this office to advise whether a full-time employee of the Catahoula Parish School Board may also be the juvenile officer for the Village of Sicily.

The Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Laws, R.S. 42:61, et seq., do not prohibit this arrangement. Of concern would be R.S. 42:62(E) prohibiting one from holding two full-time positions concurrently.1 We assume the position as juvenile officer is part- time.2

Should you have other questions in which we may provide assistance, please contact this office.

Very truly yours,

RICHARD P. IEYOUB
ATTORNEY GENERAL

KLK:ams

1
R.S. 42:63(E) states:
E. No person holding a full-time appointive office or full-time employment in the govemment of this state or of a political subdivision thereof shall at the same time hold another full-time appointive office or full-time employment in the government of the state of Louisiana, in the government of a political subdivision thereof, or in a combination of these. 2 R.S. 42:62(4) and (5) provide:
(4) "Full-time" means the period of time which a person normally works or is expected to work in an appointive office or employment and which is at least seven hours per day of work and at least thirty-five hours per week of work. (5) "Part-time" means the period of time which a person normally works or is expected to work in an appointive office or employment which is less than the number of hours of work defined in this Section as full time.