How many paid vacation days do Texas police officers and firefighters get?

Plain-English summary

A state senator asked the Attorney General how many vacation days police officers and firefighters get in a city of more than 30,000 people, because two parts of the same statute seemed to point in different directions. Section 142.0013 of the Local Government Code says in subsection (b) that a firefighter or police officer in such a city, once regularly employed in the department for at least a year, is entitled to 15 paid vacation days a year. Subsection (c) says firefighters and police officers must get the same number of vacation days (and holidays, or days in lieu) as the city's other municipal employees. The question was what happens when a city's general policy for its employees would give more, or less, than 15 days.

The Attorney General concluded the two subsections do not actually conflict; they fit together. Reading them in harmony, subsection (b) sets a floor of 15 paid vacation days for officers with at least a year of service, while subsection (c) ties officers to the city's general vacation schedule. So an officer receives whichever amount is greater in his particular case. If the city gives long-tenured employees 20 days a year, an officer with that much service gets 20, not 15. An officer with less than a year of service, who does not yet qualify under subsection (b), gets whatever the city gives all employees with under a year of service. The bottom line: in a city over 30,000, an officer is entitled to the larger of the subsection (b) amount or the subsection (c) amount.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1993. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here. Section 142.0013 of the Local Government Code may have been amended since 1993; confirm the current statute before relying on anything described here.

What the opinion meant for those who asked

For cities over 30,000 and their police and fire departments: The opinion told these cities that subsection (b)'s 15 paid vacation days is a minimum, not a ceiling. A city had to give a qualifying officer the larger of 15 days or whatever its general policy provided to comparable employees.

For firefighters and police officers: The opinion described an officer with at least a year of service as guaranteed at least 15 paid vacation days, and as entitled to more if the city's general schedule (for example, a longer-service tier) would give more. An officer with under a year of service fell under the city's general policy for that group.

Background and statutory framework

Section 142.0013 of the Local Government Code addresses duty and vacation for fire and police department members in larger municipalities. Subsection (b) entitles a member in a municipality over 30,000 who has been regularly employed in the department for at least one year to 15 paid vacation days a year, and directs municipal officials to designate the off-duty and vacation days. Subsection (c) provides that firefighters and police officers receive the same number of vacation days and holidays (or days in lieu) granted to other municipal employees.

To reconcile the two, the office applied the settled rule that a court reads all parts of a statute to give effect to each where feasible, citing Black v. American Bankers Insurance Co. and Brown v. Owens, and the codified version of that canon in Government Code section 311.026, under which a special or local provision is construed with a general one so both have effect, and if they irreconcilably conflict the special provision prevails as an exception. Treating subsection (b) as a specific guarantee operating against subsection (c)'s general rule, the office concluded subsection (b) sets a 15-day minimum for qualifying officers while subsection (c) measures them against the city's general schedule, so the officer receives whichever is greater.

Common questions

How many paid vacation days does a Texas police officer or firefighter get in a city over 30,000?
At least 15 a year once regularly employed in the department for a year, under subsection (b). If the city's general vacation policy would give a comparable employee more, the officer gets the larger amount under subsection (c).

Do subsections (b) and (c) of section 142.0013 conflict?
The office said no. It read subsection (b) as a minimum guarantee and subsection (c) as tying officers to the city's general schedule, with the officer entitled to whichever is greater.

What about an officer with less than a year of service?
That officer does not yet qualify under subsection (b)'s one-year requirement, so the office said he should receive whatever vacation time the city gives all employees with under a year of service.

Citations

Statutory provisions discussed:

• Local Gov't Code § 142.0013 (vacation days for fire and police department members; subsections (a), (b), (c))
• Gov't Code § 311.026 (special or local provision prevails over a conflicting general provision)

Cases discussed:

• Black v. American Bankers Insurance Co., 478 S.W.2d 434 (Tex. 1972)
• Brown v. Owens, 674 S.W.2d 748 (Tex. 1984)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/dan-morales/dm-0270
• Original PDF: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/1993/dm0270.pdf

Original opinion text

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

Office of the Attorney General
State of Texas

DAN MORALES
ATTORNEY GENERAL

November 3, 1993

Honorable O.H. "Ike" Harris
Chair
[Committee name illegible in scan] Affairs
Texas State Senate
P.O. Box 12068
Austin, Texas 78711

Opinion No. DM-270

Dear Senator Harris:

You have requested our opinion regarding the number of vacation days to which police officers and fire fighters are entitled in a city with a population of more than 30,000. Section 142.0013 of the Local Government Code provides:

(a) A member of a fire or police department in a municipality with a population of more than 25,000 may not, except in an emergency, be required to be on duty more than [number illegible in scan] in a week.

(b) A member of a fire or police department in a municipality with a population of more than 30,000 is entitled to 15 vacation days each year with pay if the member has been regularly employed in the fire or police department for at least one year. The municipal officials supervising the fire and police departments shall designate the days of the week during which a member of a fire department or police department is not required to be on duty and the days during which the member is allowed to be on vacation.

(c) A fire fighter and a police officer shall be granted the same number of vacation days and holidays or days in lieu of vacation days or holidays granted to other municipal employees.

Specifically, you inquire about the possible conflict between subsections (b) and (c) in cities with a population of greater than 30,000.

It is axiomatic that all portions of a statute be harmonized if it is feasible to do so, and effect given to each. Black v. American Bankers Insurance Co., 478 S.W.2d 434 (Tex. 1972); Brown v. Owens, 674 S.W.2d 748 (Tex. 1984). Subsections (b) and (c) of section 142.0013 may be harmonized by construing subsection (b) as an exception to the more general rule of subsection (c). Section 311.026 of the Government Code provides that, where "a general provision conflicts with a special or local provision, the provisions shall be construed, if possible, so that effect is given to both. On the other hand, if there remains an irreconcilable conflict between the two provisions," the special or local provision prevails as an exception to the general provision.

Construed in this light, subsection (b) applies only to those fire fighters and police officers who (1) are employed by a "municipality with a population of more than 30,000," and (2) have been "regularly employed" in their respective departments "for at least one year." Subsection (b) provides a minimum for those individuals: 15 vacation days each year with pay. If, however, a city's policy is to grant to its employees who have served at least 25 years of service vacation in the amount of 20 days per year, a fire fighter or police officer with 25 years service in that particular city would also be entitled to 20 vacation days. Likewise, a fire fighter or police officer with less than one year of service should receive whatever vacation time is awarded to all municipal employees with less than one year of service. Thus a fire fighter or police officer in a city of more than 30,000 must be granted the maximum vacation time available under either subsection (b) or subsection (c), whichever is greater in his particular case.

SUMMARY

A fire fighter and a police officer in a city of greater than 30,000 is entitled to the number of vacation days granted under either subsection (b) or subsection (c) of section 142.0013 of the Local Government Code, whichever is greater.

DAN MORALES
Attorney General of Texas

WILL PRYOR
First Assistant Attorney General

MARY KELLER
Deputy Attorney General for Litigation

RENEA HICKS
State Solicitor

MADELEINE B. JOHNSON
Chair, Opinion Committee

Prepared by Rick Gilpin
Deputy Chief, Opinion Committee