{
  "id": 922611,
  "name": "Jerry DONALDSON, Anthony Graham, Eddie Lunsford, Ruben Camp, Maurice Green, & the Fraternal Order of Firemen v. Jerry TAYLOR, Mayor of the City of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, & Ray Jacks, Fire Chief",
  "name_abbreviation": "Donaldson v. Taylor",
  "decision_date": "1997-01-27",
  "docket_number": "96-72",
  "first_page": "93",
  "last_page": "96",
  "citations": [
    {
      "type": "official",
      "cite": "327 Ark. 93"
    },
    {
      "type": "parallel",
      "cite": "936 S.W.2d 551"
    }
  ],
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    "id": 8808,
    "name": "Arkansas Supreme Court"
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    "name_long": "Arkansas",
    "name": "Ark."
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    {
      "cite": "Ark. Code Ann. \u00a7\u00a7 14-53-101",
      "category": "laws:leg_statute",
      "reporter": "Ark. Code Ann.",
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    {
      "cite": "Ark. Code Ann. \u00a7 14-51-212",
      "category": "laws:leg_statute",
      "reporter": "Ark. Code Ann.",
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    {
      "cite": "470 N.E.2d 1268",
      "category": "reporters:state_regional",
      "reporter": "N.E.2d",
      "year": 1984,
      "pin_cites": [
        {
          "parenthetical": "where the court held \"days\" in a municipal sick-leave ordinance referred to eight-hour days as applied to fire fighter, where that fire fighter worked a twenty-four-hour day with forty-eight hours off"
        }
      ],
      "opinion_index": 0
    },
    {
      "cite": "255 Ark. 813",
      "category": "reporters:state",
      "reporter": "Ark.",
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        8724829
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      "weight": 2,
      "year": 1973,
      "opinion_index": 0,
      "case_paths": [
        "/ark/255/0813-01"
      ]
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    {
      "cite": "Ark. Code Ann. \u00a7 14-53-108",
      "category": "laws:leg_statute",
      "reporter": "Ark. Code Ann.",
      "year": 1995,
      "opinion_index": 0
    }
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  "last_updated": "2023-07-14T16:50:41.435320+00:00",
  "provenance": {
    "date_added": "2019-08-29",
    "source": "Harvard",
    "batch": "2018"
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  "casebody": {
    "judges": [],
    "parties": [
      "Jerry DONALDSON, Anthony Graham, Eddie Lunsford, Ruben Camp, Maurice Green, & the Fraternal Order of Firemen v. Jerry TAYLOR, Mayor of the City of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, & Ray Jacks, Fire Chief"
    ],
    "opinions": [
      {
        "text": "Tom Glaze, Justice.\nIn this case, appellant-firemen, who work twenty-four-hour shifts, argue that, commencing January 1, 1993, the City of Pine Bluff erroneously changed its policy in calculating their sick leave. Their dispute with the City centers on the interpretation of Ark. Code Ann. \u00a7 14-53-108 (Supp. 1995), which in relevant part provides as follows:\n(a) (1) From and after April 11, 1969, all fire fighters employed by cities of the first and second class shall accumulate sick leave at the rate of twenty (20) working days per year beginning one (1) year after the date of employment.\n\u25a0 (2) If unused, sick leave shall accumulate to a maximum of sixty (60) days unless the city, by ordinance, authorizes the accumulation of a greater amount, in no event to exceed a maximum accumulation of ninety (90) days, except for the purpose of computing years of service for retirement purposes.\n(b) (1) In cities having sick leave provisions through ordinance, the total sick leave accumulated by the individual fire fighter shall be credited to him and new days accumulated under the provisions of this section until the maximum prescribed in subsection (a) of this section is reached.\n(2) Time off may be charged against accumulated sick leave only for the days that a fire fighter is scheduled to work. No sick leave as provided in this section shall be charged against any fire fighter during any period of sickness, illness, or injury for any days which the fire fighter is not scheduled to work.\nIn calculating sick leave under \u00a7 14-53-108(a)(l) and (2), the City prior to January 1, 1993, determined that a fireman working a twenty-four-hour shift who missed his or her entire shift due to illness was charged only one eight-hour day of sick leave. After January 1-, 1993, the City redefined a sick day as eight hours, so that a fireman missing an entire twenty-four-hour shift would be charged three days (3x8 = 24) of his or her accumulated sick leave.\nThe firemen working twenty-four-hour shifts brought this suit requesting declaratory relief urging the trial court to hold that the City\u2019s interpretation of \u00a7 14-53-108 was wrong, and violated the Pine Bluff Civil Service Commission\u2019s rules and regulations dealing with the firemen\u2019s sick-leave policy. The trial court denied the appellant-firemen\u2019s request for relief, and among other things, held that the term \u201cworking day\u201d as employed in \u00a7 14-53-108 must be construed to refer to an eight-hour day rather than a twenty-four hour shift. In so holding, the trial court further determined that the City\u2019s new sick-leave policy conformed with the statute\u2019s language. We agree, and therefore, affirm.\nThe crux of the firemen\u2019s argument is that the trial court misinterpreted the term \u201cworking day\u201d to mean the hours worked within a twenty-four-hour period, and that the City is clearly wrong when it charged three days of sick leave when a fireman misses one twenty-four-hour period. In further support of this argument, the firemen also submit that the City\u2019s civil service regulations define \u201cworking day\u201d as meaning \u201ctour of duty.\u201d They suggest that, when using that definition, \u201cworking day\u201d as utilized in \u00a7 14-53-108 is intended to mean hours worked within a twenty-four-hour period or a tour of duty. We disagree.\nFirst, we point out that the terms \u201cworking day\u201d and \u201ctour of duty\u201d found in Pine Bluff\u2019s civil service regulation were previously found in \u00a7 14-53-108, but were later omitted when the statute was amended by Act 842 of 1983. The General Assembly enacted Act 842 after this court\u2019s decision in City of Fort Smith v. Brewer, 255 Ark. 813, 502 S.W.2d 643 (1973), where in calculating firemen\u2019s holidays, the statutory term \u201cworking days\u201d was construed by this court to mean an eight-hour day rather than a twenty-four-hour shift. See also Kalb v. Village of Oak Lawn, 470 N.E.2d 1268, (Ill. App. 1 Dist. 1984) (where the court held \u201cdays\u201d in a municipal sick-leave ordinance referred to eight-hour days as applied to fire fighter, where that fire fighter worked a twenty-four-hour day with forty-eight hours off).\nSecond, we also note that the Pine Bluff Civil Service Commission\u2019s regulations as they refer to firemen\u2019s sick leave have little meaning here, since Arkansas law prohibits such commissions from exercising any control over the normal routine day-to-day operations of a fire department. See Ark. Code Ann. \u00a7 14-51-212 Supp. 1995). Clearly the City of Pine Bluff has the authority to operate and manage its fire department, including its fire fighter\u2019s hours of duty, holiday compensation, annual vacation, and sick leave. See Ark. Code Ann. \u00a7\u00a7 14-53-101 -108 (1987 and Supp. 1995). Commensurate with that authority, the City, by ordinance pursuant to \u00a7 14-53-108, chose to change its policy so as to limit sick leave to ninety days for those firemen employed on twenty-four-hour shifts.\nWe should also mention that the City of Pine Bluff\u2019s actions were well within the time restrictions of \u00a7 14-53-108, but the same cannot be said of the argument offered by appellants. Appellants concede that, if our court should adopt their interpretation of \u00a7 14-53-108 and proposed calculation of sick-leave benefits, a fireman could actually use up to nine months of sick leave. Obviously, such a result clearly runs contrary to \u00a7 14-53-108(a)(2) which limits sick leave to sixty days unless, by ordinance, the city authorizes an amount not to exceed ninety days .\nFor the reasons above, we affirm.\nAppellants cite Webster\u2019s Encyclopedia Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language which defines \u201cworkday\u201d as meaning the hours worked within a twenty-four hour period.\nFiremen who work eight-hour days, five days per week are admittedly limited to ninety days of accumulated sick leave.\nWe note that \u00a7 14-53-108(c)(l) and (2) provides for paid benefits upon retirement or death, but payment for unused sick leave shall not exceed three months\u2019 salary unless, by ordinance, the city authorizes four and one-half months\u2019 salary.",
        "type": "majority",
        "author": "Tom Glaze, Justice."
      }
    ],
    "attorneys": [
      "Robert A. Newcomb, for appellants.",
      "Carol Billings, City Attorney, for appellees."
    ],
    "corrections": "",
    "head_matter": "Jerry DONALDSON, Anthony Graham, Eddie Lunsford, Ruben Camp, Maurice Green, & the Fraternal Order of Firemen v. Jerry TAYLOR, Mayor of the City of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, & Ray Jacks, Fire Chief\n96-72\n936 S.W.2d 551\nSupreme Court of Arkansas\nOpinion delivered January 27, 1997\nRobert A. Newcomb, for appellants.\nCarol Billings, City Attorney, for appellees."
  },
  "file_name": "0093-01",
  "first_page_order": 121,
  "last_page_order": 124
}