Did new Greater Lafourche Port Commission employees have to join the state retirement system?

Plain-English summary

The Greater Lafourche Port Commission asked whether new and future staff had to join the Louisiana State Employees' Retirement System, known as LASERS. The 2013 opinion concluded participation was mandatory for employees unless an individual statutory exemption applied. The AG treated commission employees as state-service employees for the retirement statute.

The opinion distinguished commissioners from employees. It said part-time commission members were public officials generally excluded from public retirement membership unless a grandfather provision applied.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2013. 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.

Historical summary

New port commission employees

The AG said LASERS membership followed from state-service employment unless the person fell into one of the specific exclusions in La. R.S. 11:413.

Commission members

The opinion treated part-time board members separately from hired employees and found no LASERS membership based solely on board service, apart from possible grandfather provisions.

Common questions

Did every new port commission employee have to enroll in LASERS?

The AG said yes unless a particular employee qualified for a statutory exclusion.

Were port commissioners members merely because they sat on the board?

No. The opinion treated part-time members as public officials excluded from membership based on that position, subject to any applicable grandfather rule.

Could the port commission choose a different plan for its new hires?

The AG described LASERS membership as mandatory for covered employees. It did not identify general plan choice for the commission.

Background and statutory framework

La. R.S. 34:1651 governed the commission. The AG applied La. R.S. 11:411's mandatory state-service membership language and La. R.S. 11:413's exemptions. It also considered the distinct treatment of part-time commission members.

Citations

• La. R.S. 34:1651: commission authority.
• La. R.S. 11:411: mandatory membership rule.
• La. R.S. 11:413: individual exemptions.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/13-0097

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain — the linked PDF is authoritative.

~tate of 1fiouisiana
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
P.O. BOX 94005
BATON ROUGE
70804-9005
JAMES D. "BUDDY" CALDWELL
ATIORNEY GENERAL

AUG 132013
OPINION 13-0097

90-A-1 PUBLIC FUNDS & CONTRACTS
La. RS. 34:1651
Mr. Chett C. Chiasson
La. RS. 11 :411
Executive Director
La. RS. 11:413

Greater Lafourche Port Commission Employees of the Greater Lafourche Port Commission must participate in the Louisiana State Employees' Retirement
Post Office Drawer 490
System unless a particular employee is exempt by the
Galliano, Louisiana 70354
provisions ofLa. R.S. 11 :413.

Dear Mr. Chiasson:

You have requested an opinion regarding whether new hires and/or future employees of the Greater Lafourche Port Commission ("Commission") are required to participate in the Louisiana State Employees' Retirement System ("LASERS").

The Commission is a political subdivision of the State and is governed by the provisions of La. R.S. 34:1651, ef seq. Membership in LASERS is governed by La. R.S. 11:411 and is mandatory for all employees in state service unless specifically excluded by law.
La. R.S. 11 :411 (a) provides that membership in LASERS shall be as follows: "[e]ach person who becomes an employee in the state service, except those specifically excluded or as to whom an option or election is provided in this Section, shall become a member of the system as a condition of employment." The word "shall" is mandatory.
La. R.S. 1:3.

La. R.S. 11 :403 de"fines the following terms for purposes of the laws regulating LASERS:

(4) "Agency" means any governmental body employing persons and includes departments, agencies, boards, commissions, and courts.

(11) "Employee" means any person legally occupying a position in the state service.

(12) "Employer" means the state of Louisiana or any of its boards, commissions, departments, agencies, and courts which are contributing members of the Louisiana State Employees' Retirement System.

It is our opinion that the Commission meets the definition of an agency and employer for purposes of LASERS laws. We have also confirmed with LASERS that the Commission

Page 2

Mr. Chett C. Chiasson
Opinion 13-0097
Page -2­

is presently a contributing employer to the retirement system. Therefore, membership in LASERS for new employees of the Commission is mandatory unless a particular employee falls into a class of employees that is exempt from membership by La. R.S. 11:413. 1

We also want to note that although employees of the Commission must participate in LASERS unless specifically excluded by La. R.S. 11:413, the Commission members are not eligible for LASERS membership based on their position on the Commission. Commission members are part-time public officials who, unless they meet certain grandfather provisions, are excluded from membership in any public retirement system by La. Const. art. X, Sec. 29.1 (A)(3) and La. R.S. 11 :164(A)(3).

Based on the foregoing, it is the opinion of this office that participation in LASERS is mandatory for new hires and/or future employees of the Commission unless a particular employee is exempt from membership by La. R.S. 11 :413.

We trust this adequately responds to your request. However, if our office can be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Yours very truly,

JAMES D. "BUDDY" CALDWELL
Attorney General .

By: ~H~
Lindsey K. H nter
Assistant Attorney General

1 La.R.S. 11:413 provides that certain classes of employees and officers shall not become members of LASERS. Examples of these classes of employees include, but are not limited to, those who contribute to another retirement system, those who receive a per diem in lieu of earned compensation, and persons employed on a part time basis (except those with ten or more years of creditable service in LASERS). See La. R.S. 11 :413 for the full list of those employees exempted from LASERS membership.