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Generally Art. 7, Sec. 14 of the Louisiana Constitution bars retroactive compensation, but that there are some instances where the Attorney General has said that such retroactive payments are allowable. Those involve factual situations were the public entity has obligated itself to make the payments and the payments are not gratuitous “bonuses.” With the fact pattern relayed, this may be one of those situations, but the District should have the District’s attorney review AG Op. No. 20-0074, AG Op. No. 19-0011, AG Op. No. 18-0015, AG Op. No. 97-0394, AG Op. No. 95-0165A, and AG Op. No. 94-0241 and determine whether the District did obligate itself to make these premium payments to the firemen.
For 2022, the District’s board may consider instituting a policy for hazard pay prospectively for a limited amount of time in order to address the ongoing risk the firemen face. This would not be a lump sum payment but for a certain % of hazard pay above their hourly rate for actual hours worked. Due to the ongoing evolution of the public health emergency, the policy could be initially for three months (1/1/22 to 3/31/22) and reviewed for an extension upon expiration
Louisiana Legislative Auditor website: 05/06/2025 01:25:07 AM
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