Can a Louisiana fire district call a full-time firefighter a contractor and give only some civil-service benefits?

Plain-English summary

Brownsfield Fire Protection District No. 3 proposed hiring a firefighter/operator on contract to work a full-time shift schedule. The worker would receive pay matching a full-time firefighter, paid holidays and vacation, state supplemental pay, and longevity pay, but no paid sick leave or state retirement enrollment. The civil service board asked whether it could create that position.

The attorney general said no. Firefighting and related operator jobs were among the classified civil-service positions in La. R.S. 33:2541(A). The exception for part-time or temporary workers did not fit the full-time job described. Calling the worker a contractor while withholding some benefits would remove a regularly classified position from civil service and violate that law.

The office stopped there. It expressly did not decide whether the proposed plan would also violate the separate equal-recognition-and-compensation statute identified in the request.

What this means for you

Fire district boards and hiring officials

The opinion classified the proposed full-time firefighter/operator role by its duties and schedule, rather than by the contract label. It said the part-time and temporary exception did not cover a full-time position with the described pay and longevity benefits.

Civil service boards

The opinion treated the described job as classified service under La. R.S. 33:2541. It distinguished the district's ordinary hourly contract workers used to meet staffing needs from this proposed full-time position.

Firefighters considering a contract role

For the position described, the attorney general said a contract arrangement that supplied some but not all full-time civil-service benefits would violate civil-service law. The opinion did not separately decide a claim under the equal-recognition-and-compensation statute.

Common questions

Q: Can the district give a full-time firefighter a contract instead of classified civil-service status?
A: Not for the role described. The attorney general said full-time firefighter/operator duties fell within classified service and the proposed contract would circumvent the statute.

Q: Are part-time or temporary fire district workers treated differently?
A: The opinion said La. R.S. 33:2541(B)(4) put part-time and temporary employees in unclassified service. The proposed job was neither, because it required full-time shifts and included longevity pay.

Q: Did withholding sick leave and retirement make the worker a contractor?
A: No. Those omissions were part of the proposed plan, but the office classified the job by its full-time duties and schedule and said the partial-benefit arrangement violated civil-service law.

Q: Did the opinion decide whether the district also violated an equal-compensation law?
A: No. Having found a civil-service violation, the attorney general expressly declined that separate question.

Background and statutory framework

The proposed worker would work full-time firefighter/operator shifts and receive several benefits associated with a full-time firefighter, while losing sick leave and retirement enrollment. The district described its ordinary contract workers as hourly staff used to fill staffing needs. The attorney general found the proposed new role different.

La. R.S. 33:2541(A) placed firefighting and certain operation positions in classified service. La. R.S. 33:2541(B)(4) excluded part-time or temporary workers. The opinion said that exception was not a way to move a full-time classified fire position into a contract arrangement. It left the separate La. R.S. 33:1969 issue unanswered.

Citations and references

• La. R.S. 33:2541(A) (classified fire positions)
• La. R.S. 33:2541(B)(4) (part-time and temporary exception)
• La. R.S. 33:1969 (separate issue the office did not decide)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/24-0018

Original opinion text

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

STATE OF LOUISIANA
DEPARTMENF OF JUSTICE
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
P.O. Box 94OO
BATON RoLuE, L.
70801—9005

Liz MURRILL
ATTORNEY GENERAL
June 10, 2024
OPINION 24-0018

Mr. Michael Reynerson
Employee Representative/Board Secretary
Brownsfield Fire Protection District #3 Civil Service Board I I 420 Plank Road
BatonRouge LA70811 .. .

71-1-1 Municipal Fire & Police Civil Service —
. ..

La. R.S. 33:2541

Establishing a full-time contract position that would receive some, but not all, benefits associated with a full-time civil service position would violate civil service laws.
Dear Mr. Reynerson:

Our office received your request for an opinion regarding whether Brownsfield Fire Protection District #3 Civil Service Board can hire a contract employee to serve in a full- time position and be eligible for some, but not all, benefits associated with a full-time civil service firefighter/operator position.

As described in your request, the proposed contract employee would work a full-time shift schedule, receive pay equal to that of a full-time firefighter/operator, receive paid holiday and vacation time, and receive state supplemental pay and longevity pay. You further described that the proposed contract employee would not receive paid sick leave or be enrolled in the state retirement system.

It is the opinion of this office that the above described position is that of a classified civil service employee and that such an arrangement would circumvent civil service laws and constitute a violation of these laws.

Louisiana Revised Statute 33:2541(A) provides that classified service shall comprise every position listed therein. Of the positions listed, included are the positions of “fire fighting” and “operation and maintenance of radio, fire alarm or signal system.”1 Notably, La. R.S. 33:2541(B)(4) provides that part-time or temporary employees hold positions that are unclassified. This is why, typically, a fire protection district can hire unclassified contract employees that work in an otherwise classified position on a part-time or temporary basis.

As described in your opinion request, your ordinary contract employees are paid on an hourly basis to “fulfill staffing needs.” However, the new position that is being

1 La. R.S. 33:2541(A)(2) and 2541(A)(5).

Page 2

OPINION 24-0018
Mr. Michael Reynerson
Page 2

contemplated is that of a full-time position in which the employee would work full-time shifts and be eligible for longevity pay. This leads us to conclude that the position is neither part-time nor temporary. As result, the position described is one that falls within classified civil service.2

This is in line with our opinion in La. Atty. Gen. Op. No. 01-282, wherein this office concluded that administrative department employees of political subdivisions could be hired on a contract basis, but that it was essential that such employees be limited to positions not otherwise regularly performed by civil service employees. As in La. Atty. Gen. Op. No. 01 -282, we conclude that the exception provided by La. R.S. 33:2541 (B)(4) for part-time or temporary employees was not intended as a means to remove full-time classified positions of the fire protection district from civil service by placing them under a contract.

In conclusion, establishing a full-time contract position of a firefighter/operator that would receive some, but not all, benefits associated with a full-time civil service position would violate civil service laws.3

We trust that this opinion of the Attorney General adequately responds to your inquiry. However, if our office can be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

With best regards,

LIZ MURRILL
ATTORNEY GENERAL

                                          BY        ‘      (               ‘   ( ( !/p £

Olivia G. BoiIdreaIx
Assistant Attorne’ General

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2 See also La. Atty. Gen. Op. No. 04-01 92A, wherein this office concluded that a fire protection district could

contract with an individual as an independent contractor to perform the services of a fire chief, but that the district would be required to create a classified fire and police civil service system that would include the position of fire chief in the classified service. Having found that your proposed hiring plan violates civil service laws, we do not address whether your plan would violate the equal recognition and compensation statute set forth in La. R.S. 33:1969, which was specifically mentioned in your opinion request.