Was Louisiana state supplemental police pay included when calculating city police overtime?

Plain-English summary

In 2005, the Louisiana Attorney General reaffirmed an earlier opinion on municipal police overtime. The regular salary used to determine an officer's overtime rate included state supplemental pay under R.S. 33:2218.2. The AG said that the combined amount was the basis for overtime compensation under R.S. 33:2213.

The request asked whether Opinion 91-0169 still represented the AG's interpretation. The AG answered yes. It relied on two appellate cases that included supplemental pay in overtime calculations, noted two later decisions that cited one of them with approval, and said no statutory amendment had changed the earlier analysis as of 2005.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2005. 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.

Common questions

Did the AG count state supplemental pay when calculating police overtime? A: Yes. The opinion said the supplemental pay and regular salary had to be combined to determine the overtime rate under R.S. 33:2213 and 33:2218.2.

Was the calculation based only on city-paid salary? A: No. The AG cited appellate decisions that included state supplemental pay along with city pay when calculating overtime.

Did the AG change its earlier view in Opinion 91-0169? A: No. It expressly reaffirmed that interpretation, stating that no cited statutory amendment had altered it by 2005.

Background and legal basis

Representative Robert Faucheux asked whether the earlier AG opinion remained valid. The 2005 opinion summarized Latino v. City of Bogalusa and Bruno v. City of New Orleans as supporting inclusion of supplemental pay. Its final rule was that the supplement “must be added to a police officer’s regular compensation to arrive at the rate of pay for overtime compensation under R.S. 33:2213.”

Citations

• R.S. 33:2213 and R.S. 33:2218.2 (overtime and supplemental-pay provisions identified by the AG).
• Latino v. City of Bogalusa, 295 So.2d 560 (La. App. 1st Cir. 1974).
• Bruno v. City of New Orleans, 523 So.2d 1384 (La. App. 4th Cir. 1988).

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/05-0006

Original opinion text

February 18, 2005
OPINION 05-0006

Honorable Robert R. “Bobby” Faucheux, Jr. 71 Municipalities
State Representative
71-1-1 Municipal Fire & Police Civil Service
R.S. 33:2213, R.S. 33:2218.2
P. O. Box 367
In order to compute a police officer’s rate of overtime
Gramercy, LA 70052
compensation, his regular salary must be combined
with his state supplemental pay to arrive at figure upon which overtime compensation must be based.
Dear Representative Faucheux:

You have requested this office to advise you if Attorney General Opinion 91-0169 is still a valid interpretation of current law. Our response to your question is in the affirmative.

In Opinion 91-0169, this office determined that a police officer’s overtime compensation under R.S. 33:2218.2 must be computed on his base salary plus his state supplemental pay authorized by R.S. 33:2218.2. The author of Opinion 91-0169 cited the case of Latino v. City of Bogalusa, 295 So.2d 560 (La. App. 1st Cir. 1974), where the First Circuit Court of Appeal held that city policemen were entitled to have their overtime pay computed not only on the basis of their city salary but also with the inclusion of their supplemental pay. In further support, the author cited the case of Bruno v. City of New Orleans, 523 So.2d 1384 (La. App. 4th Cir. 1988), where the Fourth Circuit held that the New Orleans Civil Service Commission had to include police officers’ state supplemental pay as well as their regular pay from the City in calculating overtime wages.

The recent cases of State Civil Service Commission v. Department of Public Safety Director, et al., 873 So.2d 636 (La. App. 4th Cir. 2004) and New Orleans Firefighters Local 632, et al., 876 So.2d 211 (La. App. 4th Cir. 2004) have both cited Latino, supra, with approval. Further, no legislative amendments to either cited statute have been made which would alter our opinion. Thus, we again determine that state supplemental pay under R.S. 33:2218.2 must be added to a police officer’s regular compensation to arrive at the rate of pay for overtime compensation under R.S. 33:2213.

Very truly yours,

CHARLES C. FOTI, JR.
ATTORNEY GENERAL

BY: _______ KERRY L. KILPATRICK
ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL
KLK:ams

Page 2

OPINION 05-0006

72 Municipalities
71-1-2 Municipal Fire & Police Civil Service

R.S. 33:2213, R.S. 33:2218.2

In order to compute a police officer’s rate of overtime compensation, his regular salary must be combined with his state supplemental pay to arrive at figure upon which overtime compensation must be based.

Honorable Robert R. “Bobby” Faucheux, Jr.
State Representative
P. O. Box 367
Gramercy, LA 70052

Date Received:
Date Released: February 18, 2005

KERRY L. KILPATRICK
ASSISANT ATTORNEY GENERAL