Kelly v. Caldwell Parish Police Jury

740 So. 2d 783, 1999 WL 624127
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedAugust 18, 1999
DocketNo. 32,082-CA
StatusPublished

This text of 740 So. 2d 783 (Kelly v. Caldwell Parish Police Jury) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kelly v. Caldwell Parish Police Jury, 740 So. 2d 783, 1999 WL 624127 (La. Ct. App. 1999).

Opinion

|, STEWART, J.

This case arises out of a dispute between the plaintiff, Joy Kelley, and her former employer, Caldwell Parish Police Jury, the defendant, for payment of certain unused annual and sick leave which she claimed to be due and owing to her from the defendant. The trial court rendered judgment in favor of Kelley, which entitled her to the earned but unused sick leave and annual leave due from the period of 1970 through 1984. The defendant, Caldwell Parish Police Jury, appeals the trial court judgment, urging three assignments of error. We amend and as amended affirm.

FACTS

The plaintiff, Joy Kelley (“Kelley”), was employed by the Caldwell Parish Police Jury (“Police Jury”) from May 1, 1969 until June 1995. After termination of her employment the Police Jury tendered a check to Kelley for accrued and unused leave. On August 17, 1995, Kelley filed a petition seeking compensation for 138 days of annual leave and 150 days of sick leave.

Kelley’s petition alleges that until she received a copy of the 1984 revision of the policy manual regarding sick and annual leave, she thought she only had a total of seven (7) days a year for sick and annual leave combined. However, the policy was ten (10) sick days and fourteen (14) annual leave days a year.

There are two key documents which reflect the Police Jury’s employment policy. “Annual Leave 701:1” sets out the Police Jury’s vacation policy and “Sick Leave 502:1” sets out the sick leave policy.

Sick Leave 502:1 reads, in pertinent part:

“Sick leave shall be credited to a permanent full-time employee at the rate of 10 days per year as of 1978. Sick leave may be accumulated with no set limit on number of days an employee may accumulate ...
Each Supervisor/Department head shall keep records of accrued sick leave, sick leave taken and balance of sick leave for each employee.”

1?,Annual Leave 701:1 reads, in pertinent part:

“Each full-time employee shall be entitled to annual leave with pay in accordance with the following schedule: 14 days per year — all employees.
Earned annual leave not taken by an employee may be accumulated and carried forward into the next calendar year. Accumulated annual leave shall not exceed thirty (30) working days at any one time.”
Upon separation from service, payment for the accrued annual leave up to date of separation shall be paid. The rate of pay shall be computed on the basis of [785]*785the rate the employee is receiving at the time of separation.”

However, the Police Jury changed rules 502:1 and 701:1 by a resolution adopted February 28, 1984. The Resolution provides, in pertinent part, that:

Upon termination, retirement or resignation, each employee will be paid as follows: Employees with 10 years or less a maximum of 90 days accumulated sick leave and annual leave combined. Employees with 10' years or moré not to exceed 105 sick leave and annual leave combined.

The trial in this matter was held on January 7, 1998. On June 17, 1998, the trial court rendered judgment in favor of Kelley, which entitled her to the earned but unused sick leave and annual leave due from the period of 1970 through 1984. In response thereto, the Police Jury filed a Motion to Clarify the June 17, 1998 ruling. A hearing was held on the motion at which time the court ruled that Kelley was to be given credit for accrued sick leave from 1970 to 1978 at one (1) day per month and from 1978 to 1984 at ten (10) days per year. The court further explained that although there was no provision for compensation, that not to compensate Kelley would be to penalize a person who does not become sick and goes to work every day. The trial court also found that Kelley was entitled to thirty (30) days of annual leave-from 1970 to 1984 which is the maximum amount allowed by Section 701:1 of the policy manual. A final judgment was rendered on August 25,1998, awarding Kelley $10,237.50, plus legal interest from August 17, 1995 and for all costs of the proceedings.

JjsLAW

Factual findings should not be reversed on appeal absent manifest error. Rosell v. ESCO, 549 So.2d 840, 844 (La.1989). If the trial court or jury’s findings are reasonable in light of the record reviewed in its entirety, the court of appeal may not reverse, even though convinced that had it been sitting as the trier of fact, it would have weighed the evidence differently. Sistler v. Liberty Mutual Ins. Co., 558 So.2d 1106, 1112 (La.1990).

Under the provisions of LSA-R.S. 23:631 a resigning or discharged employee is entitled to recover vacation pay accruing prior to his discharge, unless the employer’s established policy precludes compensation for unused vacation days. Vacation pay, like commissions, is considered to be wages for the purpose of LSA-R.S. 23:631. Potvin v. Wright’s Sound Gallery, Inc., 568 So.2d 623, 627 (La.App. 2 Cir.1990); Tompkins v. Schering Corporation, 441 So.2d 455 (La.App. 2d Cir.1983).

DISCUSSION

In the instant case, on appeal no one seriously disputes Kelley’s entitlement to ten days paid annual leave per year and to compensation for any accrued annual leave time at the time of her resignation. The controversy is over how much, if any, accrued but unpaid annual and/or sick time Kelley was entitled to at the time of her resignation.

The Police Jury argues that the trial court erred in ordering Kelley be compensated for sick leave accumulated during a time period no such right or expectation existed and cites Bouillion v. City of New Iberia, 95-120 (LaApp. 3 Cir. 5/31/95) 657 So.2d 397 in support of their argument.

In Bouillion, retired classified city employees sought to compel the City of New Iberia to pay them for sick leave accumulated before enactment of a rule providing for payment of accumulated sick leave, as the plaintiff attempts to do in |4the case at hand. The Bouillion court held that the rule would not be applied retroactively such that classified employees and unclassified employee would be compensated for sick leave accumulated before the rule was enacted, since such application would constitute retroactive pay increase prohibited by Constitution.

[786]*786There are two pivotal issues on appeal: 1) whether Kelley proved that she had accumulated unused sick and/or annual leave that she was entitled to be compensated for during the period of 1970-1984 and 2) if Kelley had accumulated unused sick and/or annual leave during the period of 1970-1984, was Kelley entitled to compensation.

Kelley, who was in a supervisory position, testified that she kept no record of the days she took off during the 1970-1984 time period. Kelley’s proof and justification of her entitlement to more leave prior to 1984 centered upon her statement that she only took off seven days each year for vacation and sick time and was docked for any absences over seven days. She further contends that she had the mistaken belief that only seven days for both vacation and sick leave were afforded her. The more recent police jury records (post-1984) are most significant in showing that Kelley was aware of the ongoing tally of her leave time but had never requested an adjustment of her total accumulated leave.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Bouillion v. City of New Iberia
657 So. 2d 397 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1995)
Potvin v. Wright's Sound Gallery, Inc.
568 So. 2d 623 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1990)
Tompkins v. Schering Corp.
441 So. 2d 455 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1983)
Rosell v. Esco
549 So. 2d 840 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1989)
Sistler v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co.
558 So. 2d 1106 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1990)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
740 So. 2d 783, 1999 WL 624127, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kelly-v-caldwell-parish-police-jury-lactapp-1999.