Clarifying Statutes Regarding Regulations for Fire and Police Departments: When Does the City Board of Directors Need to Adopt the Rule
Lawrence v. City of Texarkana, 2011 Ark. 42 (2011)
The Supreme Court of Arkansas delivered an opinion on February 9, 2011 that clarified the interpretation of two important statutes for fire and police departments. The opinion analyzed when fire and police departments may terminate an employee for impermissible conduct that violates a regulation not adopted by the City Board of Directors.
In this case, the appellant was a fire department employee who fled the scene of a domestic dispute disturbance and was subsequently arrested by the police. The appellant was unable to make it to work due to the arrest but switched shifts with a fellow employee. As a result, the Department discharged the appellant because the circumstances surrounding the arrest and his inability to make it to work violated the Department’s disciplinary policy. The appellant argued his termination was wrongful because he was fired according to a rule that clearly dealt with the day-to-day operations and the only body that could adopt such a rule, pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. § 14-51-301(d), was the City Board of Directors.
The two statutes implicated are as follows:
Ark. Code Ann. § 14-51-302. Departmental rules and Regulations.
All employees in any fire or police department affected by this chapter shall be governed by rules and regulations set out by the chief of their respective police or fire departments after rules and regulations have been adopted by the governing bodies of their respective municipalities.
Ark. Code Ann. § 14-51-301. Rules and regulations generally.
(a)(1) The board provided for in this chapter shall prescribe, amend, and enforce rules and regulations governing for the fire and police departments of their respective cities.
(d) The commission shall adopt such rules not inconsistent with this chapter for necessary enforcement of this chapter, but shall not adopt any rule or rules which would authorize any interference with the day-to-day management or operation of a police or fire department.
The court concluded that “as long as the rules approved by the Commission do not interfere with the Department’s day-to-day operation, they are validly approved in compliance with state law.” This allowed section 14-51-301 to be read harmoniously with section 14-51-302. The court determined that the Commission’s enforcement of the Department’s disciplinary policy, which allows termination for criminal conduct, was not an interference with the Department’s day-to-day operations. Thus the test is not whether the conduct falls within the category of day-to-day activities, but whether the rule interferes with the Department’s ability to carry out its normal operations.
By: Brandon Tittle
