Could a Louisiana town's part-time assistant police chief also work full time as its water superintendent?

Plain-English summary

The mayor of Mermentau asked whether a person serving as the town's part-time assistant chief of police could also work full time as its water superintendent. In 2005, the Attorney General said the two jobs could be held together, assuming performance of one did not interfere with performance of the other. The mayor had said the assistant police chief was on duty only at night.

The AG read Louisiana's dual officeholding and employment law as prohibiting two full-time government employments, while allowing a combination of one part-time and one full-time employment. A footnote in the opinion quoted the statutory definitions: full-time work meant at least seven hours per workday and at least thirty-five hours per workweek; part-time work meant less than that full-time measure. The opinion did not assess the employee's actual hours beyond the facts the mayor supplied.

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 dual-employment law forbid the assistant chief from also being water superintendent?

The AG said no for the part-time police position and full-time water job described by the mayor, so long as fulfilling either role did not interfere with the other.

What if both jobs were full time?

The opinion said the dual-employment law prohibited holding two full-time government employments at once. Its answer depended on the police role being part time.

What hours did the opinion use to distinguish full-time from part-time work?

It quoted statutory definitions under which full-time work was at least seven hours a workday and thirty-five hours a workweek, while part-time work was below the full-time measure. Those were the definitions the AG applied in 2005.

Background and statutory framework

Mayor Myrtis Gautreaux reported that Mermentau's part-time assistant chief of police worked at night and asked about simultaneous full-time employment as municipal water superintendent. The AG cited R.S. 42:63(D) for the bar on two full-time government positions and R.S. 42:62(4) and (5) for full-time and part-time definitions. It concluded that the described combination was permissible if the two jobs did not interfere with each other.

Citations

• R.S. 42:63(D) (dual full-time employment prohibition identified by the opinion).
• R.S. 42:62(4) and (5) (definitions of full-time and part-time work quoted in the opinion).

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/05-0085

Original opinion text

April 20, 2005
OPINION 05-0085

78 Dual Officeholding
Honorable Myrtis Gautreaux
R.S. 42:61, et seq., R.S. 42:63(D)
Mayor
Part-time assistant chief of police may also hold full-time
employment as water superintendent.
104 7th Street
P. O. Box 280
Mermentau, LA 70556

Dear Mayor Gautreaux:

In response to your recent inquiry, note that our state Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Laws, R.S. 42:61, et seq., prohibits one from holding two full-time employments.1 R.S. 42:63(D) states:

E. No person holding a full-time appointive office or full-time employment in the government 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.

However, the law does not prohibit one from holding two employments where one is held on a part-time basis. See R.S. 42:62(4) and (5).2

You state this part-time assistant chief of police is only on-duty at night. A part-time assistant chief of police may also hold full-time employment as the municipal superintendent, where the fulfillment of either position does not interfere with the performance of the other.

1
R.S. 42:62(3) defines employment as:
(3) "Employment" means any job compensated on a salary or per diem basis, other than an elective or appointive office, in which a person is an employee of the state government or of a political subdivision thereof.

2
R.S. 42:62(4) and (5) state:
(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.

Page 2

Honorable Myrtis Gautreaux
Opinion 05-0085
Page 2

We hope the foregoing is helpful to you. Should you have other questions in which we may provide assistance, please contact this office.

Very truly yours,

CHARLES C. FOTI, JR.
ATTORNEY GENERAL

BY: _______ KERRY L. KILPATRICK
ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL

KLK:ams

Page 3

Honorable Myrtis Gautreaux
Opinion 05-0085
Page 2

OPINION 05-0085

78 Dual Officeholding

R.S. 42:61, et seq., R.S. 42:63(D)

Part-time assistant chief of police may also hold full-time employment as water superintendent.

Honorable Myrtis Gautreaux
Mayor
104 7th Street
P. O. Box 280
Mermentau, LA 70556

Date Received:
Date Released: April 20, 2005

KERRY L. KILPATRICK
ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL