Could an elected Louisiana police chief cash out accrued vacation when leaving office?

Plain-English summary

In 2005, the Louisiana Attorney General told Amite's elected police chief that, absent a specific local provision, he could not receive payment for 240 hours of claimed accrued annual leave when leaving office. The AG treated an elected chief as a municipal officer, not an employee whose leave accumulated under ordinary personnel rules.

The opinion pointed to the governing body's role in fixing municipal-officer compensation by ordinance. It also relied on an earlier AG opinion about elected police chiefs and on a court decision distinguishing a chief's officer status from employee status. Its conclusion was expressly framed around the absence of a specific provision from the Amite City Council.

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

Could the Amite chief receive pay for his claimed unused vacation? A: The AG answered no in the absence of a specific provision from the city council. It said an elected chief could not accrue annual leave merely as an employee would.

Why did officer status matter?
A: The AG said the elected police chief was a municipal officer, not a municipal employee. It cited Cogswell for the statement that an elected chief “may not be relegated to the status of an employee.”

Who set an elected chief's compensation under the opinion? A: The opinion quoted the rule that the board of aldermen fixed municipal officers' compensation by ordinance. It directed the chief to examine the compensation allowed in his jurisdiction.

Did the AG consider a specific Amite leave ordinance? A: It did not identify one. The conclusion began “Absent any specific provision from the Amite City Council,” limiting the answer to that premise.

Background and legal basis

Chief Parker Gabriel asked whether he could be paid for 240 hours of annual leave on leaving elected office. The AG cited R.S. 33:381's classification of the chief of police as a municipal officer. It also discussed Opinion 85-766, which had rejected accrued annual leave for an elected chief, and quoted Cogswell v. Town of Logansport on elected-chief officer status.

The source has inconsistent section numbers for the municipal-officer compensation provision, referring to both R.S. § 404.1 and R.S. 33:401.1. This page does not resolve that discrepancy; the opinion's factual conclusion and its quoted compensation text are reproduced below.

Citations

• R.S. 33:381 (municipal officers identified in the opinion).
• Cogswell v. Town of Logansport, 321 So. 2d 774, 780 (La. App. 2d Cir. 1975).

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/05-0007

Original opinion text

March 10, 2005
OPINION NUMBER 05-0007

LSA – R.S. 33:321
LSA – R.S. 33:381
LSA – R.S. 33:401.1

Chief Parker C. Gabriel, Jr. Sauls v. Tangipahoa Parish School Board, 273 So. 2d 899 (La. App.
1973)
Chief of Police
Cogswell V. Town of Logansport, 321 So. 2d 774 (La. App. 2d Cir.
Amite City Police Department 1975)
101 Oak Street
Absent any specific provision, an elected chief of police is not
Amite, LA 70422
entitled to receive compensation for any accrued annual leave
because, as a municipal officer, he is not allowed by law to accrue
Dear Chief Gabriel: annual leave.

You requested of this Office an Opinion regarding the ability of an elected Chief of Police in a Lawrason Act Municipality to be compensated for 240 hours of accrued leave upon leaving office.

The Lawrason Act Statutes are found at LSA-R.S. 33 § 321, et seq.

R.S. 33§ 381 (Municipal office) states in pertinent part:

A. The officers of every municipality shall be a mayor, aldermen, a chief of police, a tax collector, and a clerk.

B. The mayor and chief of police in all municipalities shall be elected at large. The clerk or chief of police may be a tax collector or assessor, if the board of aldermen so decides. Municipalities where the chief of police is appointed rather than elected as of August 1, 1970, may continue to operate with an appointive chief. (Emphasis Added)

Since the Chief of Police is defined by law as a “Municipal Officer,” then compensation would be covered under R.S. § 404.1 (Compensation of municipal officers), which states:

The board of aldermen 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

Page 2

Opinion No. 05-0007
Mr. Parker C. Gabriel, Jr.
Chief of Police
Amite City Police Department
Page: -2-

their compensation and the compensation of any non- elected municipal officer and may increase the compensation of other elected officials. However, the board of aldermen shall not reduce the compensation of any elected official during the term for which he is elected. (Emphasis Added).

Therefore, an elected Chief of Police must first inquire of the Board of Aldermen, or other appropriate governing body, to determine the compensation allowed in the specific jurisdiction.

In Opinion No. 85-766, the then-Mayor of Opelousas asked whether an elected chief of police of a municipality is entitled to accrue and be paid for vacation leave.

The response to that request cited the case of Sauls v. Tangipahoa Parish School Board, (App. 1973), 273 So. 2d 899, (sic) where the court held that a parish superintendent of schools is a public officer rather than a public employee, and that in the absence of specific statutory provisions, a public officer is not entitled to sick leave. The response also cited a previous opinion where this Office had determined that an elected chief of police is not entitled to sick leave which is applicable to municipal police employees.

The Opinion concluded that an elected chief of police of a municipality is not permitted to accrue annual leave or vacation time, nor is he eligible to be paid under the guise of having accrued such leave.

More on point to your particular question, in Cogswell v. Town of Logansport, 321 So. 2d 774, 780 (La. App. 2d Cir. 1975), the Court ruled that:

The elected chief of police is an 'officer' of the town and may not be relegated to the status of an employee. See R.S. 33:381.

Since statute, jurisprudence, and subsequent Opinions from this Office have all held that an elected police chief in a Lawrason Act municipality is an “officer” and not an “employee, according to R.S. 33:401.1, then compensation shall be determined by a specific statutory provision from the local governing authority.

Absent any specific provision from the Amite City Council, it is the Opinion of this Office that you are not entitled to receive compensation for any accrued annual leave because a municipal officer is not allowed by law to accrue annual leave.

Page 3

Opinion No. 05-0007
Mr. Parker C. Gabriel, Jr.
Chief of Police
Amite City Police Department
Page: -3-

We hope this Opinion provides you with a resolution to your inquiry. Please contact this Office should you need any further assistance in this matter.

Yours very truly,

CHARLES C. FOTI, JR.
ATTORNEY GENERAL

By: _________
WILLIAM P. BRYAN, III
Assistant Attorney General

CCF, Jr./WPB, III/sfj

Page 4

SYLLABUS
OPINION NUMBER 05-0007

LSA – R.S. 33:321
LSA – R.S. 33:381
LSA – R.S. 33:401.1

Sauls v. Tangipahoa Parish School Board, 273 So. 2d 899 (La. App. 1973) Cogswell V. Town of Logansport, 321 So. 2d 774 (La. App. 2d Cir. 1975)

Absent any specific provision, an elected chief of police is not entitled to receive compensation for any accrued annual leave because, as a municipal officer, he is not allowed by law to accrue annual leave.

Chief Parker C. Gabriel, Jr.
Chief of Police
Amite City Police Department
101 Oak Street
Amite, LA 70422

DATE RECEIVED:

DATE RELEASED: March 10, 2005

William P. Bryan, III
Assistant Attorney General