Opinion
August 19, 1999
71-1-1 Municipal Fire Police Civil Service
Honorable Gregory N. Marcantel Following work day may not be Mayor considered holiday when holiday P.O. Box 1249 falls on employee's day off. Jennings, LA 70546 Employee's birthday is not a statutorily defined legal holiday, but authority may so declare said birthday a legal holiday for police employees.
Dear Mayor Marcantel:
In response to your first inquiry of recent date, note that the Louisiana Constitution grants to the legislature plenary power over the minimum wage and law standards of firemen and policemen. Thus, R.S. 33:1999 regarding compensation for firefighters' work on holidays is applicable to all home-rule charter municipalities. See LSA-Const. Art. 6, Section 14 (1974);Spillman vs. City of Baton Rouge, 441 So.2d 1243 (La.App. 1st Cir. 1983); writ den., 446 So.2d 1213 (La. 1984); Ruby vs. City of Shreveport, 427 So.2d 1267 (La.App. 2nd. Cir. 1983);writ den., 433 So.2d 154 (La. 1983), copies attached.
R.S. 33:1999 regarding firefighters is entitled "work on holidays" and provides:
A. Firefighters in municipalities, parishes, and fire protection districts who are required to work on holidays as provided for in Subsection B of this Section shall receive in addition to the compensation to which such employee would be entitled under laws and pay plans now in effect, compensation at the rate of one times his usual salary, to be determined by reducing his average monthly salary to an hourly scale; provided that in lieu of additional compensation, governing authorities, at their option, may grant fire department employees time off from work for which such additional compensation would be due and payable to said employees.
B. Firefighters in municipalities, parishes, and fire protection districts shall be entitled to not less than ten holidays per year. Such holidays shall be named by the governing authority of the municipality, parish, or fire protection district pursuant to their established holiday policy.
In response to your second question, the local governing authority has within its discretion the authority to declare police employees' birthdays to be holidays for purposes of additional compensation granted by R.S. 33:2214.1. See Attorney General Opinion 81-1236, copy attached.
R.S. 33:2214.1 regarding policemen is entitled to "work on holidays" and provides:
All municipal police department employees to which this Subpart applies who are required to work on Christmas, New Year's Day, July 4th, and Labor Day, and/or on any other two state legal holidays to be selected and designated by the local governing authority, shall receive, in addition to the compensation to which such employee would be entitled under laws and pay plans in effect, extra compensation at the rate of one times his usual salary, to be determined by reducing his average monthly salary to an hourly scale but which, in no event, shall be less than two times the hourly rate payable to the employee for straight or regular time under laws or pay plans in effect; provided, that in lieu of additional compensation, governing authorities, at their option, may grant police department employees time off from work for which such additional compensation would be due and payable to said employees.
Nothing in this Section shall preclude a local governing authority from granting to its municipal police department employees covered hereby, additional holidays; provided payment therefore is not less than required by the provisions of this Section.
In response to your third question, the following work day may not be considered an employee's holiday when a holiday occurs on an employee's normal day off. See Attorney General Opinion 81-1236, copy attached.
Should you have further questions, please contact our office.
Very truly yours,
RICHARD P. IEYOUB ATTORNEY GENERAL
BY: KERRY L. KILPATRICK ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL KLK:ams
OPINION NUMBER 81-1236
March 16, 1982
71-1-1 . . . MUNICIPAL FIRE POLICE CIVIL SERVICE R.S. 33:2214.1 R.S. 33:1999
Following work day may not be considered holiday when holiday falls on employee's day off. Employee's birthday is not legal holiday, but authority may so declare for police employees. Additional compensation is one times the regular rate of pay.
Mr. James A. Norris, Jr. City Attorney City of West Monroe Courthouse Building West Monroe, LA 71291
Dear Mr. Norris:
In your letter dated November 16, 1981, which was referred to this office by Mr. Maxie E. Cox, State Examiner, Municipal Fire and Police Civil Service, this office has been requested to address an inquiry concerning holidays and compensation for police and fire employees in the City of West Monroe. Specifically, the letter asked:
1. Whether or not the following work day should be considered the employee's holiday when a holiday occurs on an employee's normal day off.
2. Whether or not an employee's birthday should be included as a holiday.
3. Whether or not the employee should be compensated one and one half (1 1/2) times the normal rate of pay.
In response to the first question, with regards to municipal firemen, R.S. 33:1999 states that firemen required to work on Christmas, New Year's Day, July 4th, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and National Memorial Day shall be paid additional compensation or be granted time off. A similarly stated provision governing municipal police employees, R.S. 33:2214.1, states that police employees required to work on Christmas, New Year's Day, July 4th, Labor Day, and/or two other state legal holidays selected by the local governing authority shall be paid additional compensation or be granted commensurate time off. The extra pay is payable only to firemen and/or police employees who actually work on those specific holidays. (Opinions of the Louisiana Attorney General, January 21, 1971)
However, in specific regards to the police employees, the Legislature, in the language of R.S. 33:2214.1, specifically provides that the local governing authority may grant additional holidays whereupon the additional compensation would be merited. As such, if the day that follows a holiday which falls on a police employee's day off is itself declared a holiday, then the additional compensation would be permissible. The Legislature included no such grant of authority in regards to firemen, but instead, specifically named the holidays upon which firemen could qualify for additional pay. For the local governing authority to classify the next regular working day on which a fireman would work as a holiday for the sake of granting the employee additional pay without such authority to do so, amounts to payment of a bonus for services rendered not ordinarily meriting additional pay. Therefore, such a grant of holiday status to the next regular working day is prohibited by Article VII, Section 4 of the 1974 Constitution. Except as otherwise provided for police employees, the City of West Monroe is obligated to pay the additional compensation only for those employees who work on a holiday.
Secondly, an employee's birthday is not recognized as a legal holiday which triggers application of R.S. 33:1999 and/or R.S. 33:2214.1 in regards to additional compensation. However, as stated above, R.S. 33:2214.1 permits the local governing authority the discretion to declare any other holidays for police employees other than those named as state legal holidays. As such, the local governing authority has within its discretion the authority to declare police employees' birthdays to be holidays for purposes of additional compensation.
Thirdly, the additional compensation set forth in R.S. 33:1999 and R.S. 33:2214.1 is in the amount of one times the employee's regular rate (amounting to double regular pay for holiday worked), rather than one and one half (1 1/2) times the normal rate.
In conclusion, generally, the following work day may not be considered an employee's holiday when a holiday occurs on an employee's normal day off. Secondly, an employee's birthday is not a legal holiday for purposes of additional compensation, although R.S. 33:2214.1 grants the local governing authority the power to so declare it in regards to police employees. The additional compensation for working on a holiday is one times the regular rate.
Sincerely,
William J. Guste, Jr. Attorney General
By: Kenneth C. Dejean Chief Counsel