Did Harahan's city personnel rules or its police department rules govern a civilian police employee's compensatory time?

Plain-English summary

Harahan's police chief asked which personnel rules governed a civilian employee he had hired for his department, and whether that employee could earn compensatory time after the regular workweek. In 2005, the Attorney General concluded that the police department's rules, rather than the city's general personnel manual, controlled on the facts described. The chief supervised the department and its personnel, subject to the mayor and aldermen's budget limits on allotted police positions.

The opinion also said the department's compensatory-time rule controlled despite the city's ban on comp time for other city employees. The chief reported that the police department allowed overtime but budget limits sometimes prevented cash payment for extra hours. On that account, the AG said compensatory time was allowed for the overtime. The answer was tied to Harahan's statutes, the described city ordinance, and the department's rules.

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 Harahan's city employee manual cover a civilian hired by its police chief?

The AG concluded that the civilian police employee fell under the police department's rules rather than the city's general rules. The request said the city ordinance named City Hall, maintenance, and recreation employees but omitted police department employees.

Could the police employee earn compensatory time if other city employees could not?

The opinion said yes under the department policy described by the chief. It treated the department's rules as controlling for that employee and noted the chief's account that budget constraints sometimes prevented cash overtime payments.

Did the police chief have unlimited authority over department staffing?

No. The AG described the chief's control over daily department operations and personnel while identifying the statutory limit: mayor and aldermen could set the number of police positions through the budget.

Background and statutory framework

Chief Peter L. Dale said he had hired a civilian police employee whose salary came from the police budget. Harahan's city personnel ordinance omitted police department employees and prohibited compensatory time for the city employees it covered. The police department's own rules allowed comp time after the regular work schedule. The AG used R.S. 33:362 and R.S. 33:423.2 to distinguish the municipal governing body's employment powers from Harahan's elected chief's authority to appoint, discharge, and supervise police personnel within budget limits.

Citations

• R.S. 33:362 (municipal governing authority's ordinance powers discussed in the opinion).
• R.S. 33:423.2 (Harahan police chief's appointment and discharge authority).

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/05-0084

Original opinion text

August 18, 2005
OPINION 05-0084

9 – Civil Service Commission
Mr. Peter L. Dale
77- Officers – Local & Municipal
Chief of Police
R.S. 33:362
City of Harahan
R.S. 33:423.2
Administrative Offices
A civilian employee of the Harahan Police
6441 Jefferson Highway
Department would fall under the Rules and
Harahan, LA. 70123
Regulations of the Police Department and
not the City of Harahan Rules and Procedures.

Dear Chief Dale:

This office is in receipt of your request for an opinion of the Attorney General in regard to a civilian employee of the Harahan Police Department. You ask whether this civilian employee falls under the rules of the City of Harahan (Ordinance 1316) or the rules of the Harahan Police Department even though he is not a civil service employee, and you also question if this employee is permitted to earn compensatory time for hours worked over the regular work week.

In this matter you set forth the following:

1. The City of Harahan is governed by the Lawrason Act. The Harahan Police Department employees are governed by the LA State Fire and Police Civil Service Board Rules, the Harahan Civil Service Rules, and the Rules and Regulations of the Harahan Police Department. As the elected Chief of Police of the City of Harahan and the Appointing Authority for the Harahan Police Department, I feel that a civil employee hired by me, whose salary is paid out of my budget, falls under the Rules and Regulations of the Harahan Police Department and not the City of Harahan Rules and Procedures.

2. A copy of Ordinance 1316 (Personnel Manual for City Employees is attached.

3. This ordinance makes reference to employees of City Hall, the Maintenance Department and the Recreation Department. It does not make any reference to the employees (whether civilian or civil service) of the Harahan Police Department. The police department is omitted from any reference in Ordinance 1316, the Rules and Procedures of Harahan.

Page 2

Chief Peter L. Dale
OPINION 05-84
Page 2

4. I hired the civilian employee. Neither the mayor nor the city council had to approve the hiring.

5. The City of Harahan prohibits their employees (City Hall, Maintenance Dept. and Recreation Department) from earning compensatory time. The Harahan Police Department approves the earning of comp time after the regular work schedule is concluded.
The Harahan Police Department also approves overtime being paid after the regular work week is concluded, however, the budgetary restraints prohibits monetary payment for hours worked over the regular work week all the time, thus compensatory time.

In Atty. Gen. Op. No. 98-460 this office answered questions regarding authority of an elected chief of police and his municipal governing authority. Therein this office pointed out that the court observed in Thibodeaux v. Hernandez, 702 So.
2d 1157 (La.App 1997), that while R.S. 33:362(A)(1) and (3) empowers the board of aldermen to provide by ordinance policies and procedures “regulating the employment of municipal employees including the hiring and firing of such employees”, the statute “fails to mention police officers.”

It was further observed therein that an elected chief of police has control over the administration of his department in a Lawrason Act municipality, and is the final authority in the day-to-day operation of his office and equipment. The governing authority cannot revoke or impair the inherent powers of an elected chief of police to supervise the operation of the police department and assign its personnel and control its equipment.

Moreover, R.S. 33:423.2, City of Harahan; appointment and discharge of police personnel by chief of police, provides as follows:

Notwithstanding the provisions of R.S. 33:402(4) or R.S. 33:423 or any other provisions of law to the contrary, in and for the city of Harahan, the chief of police shall appoint and discharge police personnel subject to the budgetary limitations of the mayor and board of aldermen pertaining to the number of allotted positions for the police department.

Therefore, it would appear, except for budgetary limitations, the Chief of Police for Harahan supervises the operation of his department and personnel, and we would conclude a civil employee of the Department would fall under the Rules and Regulations of the Harahan Police Department and not the City of Harahan Rules and Procedures.

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Chief Peter L. Dale
OPINION 05-84
Page 3

Insofar as whether the police employee is permitted to earn compensatory time for hours worked over the regular work week inasmuch as the City prohibits their employees from earning compensatory time, we find your rules would control; and as we understand your comments, while the Police Department allows for overtime hours worked over the regular work week, the budgetary restraints prohibits this in monetary payment. Thus, for the overtime, compensatory time is allowed.

We hope this sufficiently answers your request, but if we can be of further assistance, do not hesitate to contact us.

Very truly yours,

Charles C. Foti, Jr.
Attorney General

By:___
BARBARA B. RUTLEDGE
Assistant Attorney General
CCF,Jr/BBR

Page 4

Chief Peter L. Dale
OPINION 05-84
Page 4

OPINION 05-84

9 – Civil Service Commission
77 – Officers – Local & Municipal

R.S. 33:362
R.S. 33:423.2

A civilian employee of the
Harahan Police Department would fall under the Rules and Regulations of the
Police Department and not the City of Harahan Rules and Procedures.

Mr. Peter L. Dale
Chief of Police
City of Harahan
Administrative Offices
6441 Jefferson Highway
Harahan, LA. A70123

Date Released: August 18, 2005