§2491. Establishment and maintenance of employment lists

            Except for the positions of entrance firefighter, entrance police officer, entrance jailer, secretary to the chief, departmental records clerk, and for the entrance classes for which the operation and maintenance of radio, alarm, or signal systems for the respective fire or police service is the primary duty, the board shall establish and maintain employment lists containing names of persons eligible for appointment to the various classes of positions in the classified service, as follows:

            A. Names of regular employees who are demoted from any class for a reason other than disciplinary action shall be placed upon the reinstatement list for the class from which they were demoted in the order in which the demotions were made.

            B. Only the names of regular employees who have been laid off in accordance with the provisions of R.S. 33:2499 shall be eligible for entry upon the reemployment list. The names of such persons shall be entered upon the reemployment list for the class from which they were laid off in the order in which the lay-offs were made.

            C. A name placed upon either the reinstatement or the reemployment list shall remain thereon for a period of four years. The board, however, may remove the name of any person who refuses an offer of employment following a certification from either list.

            D.(1) Except as provided for in Paragraphs (2) and (3) of this Subsection, names of persons attaining a passing score on a promotion test shall be placed upon the promotion employment list for the class for which they were tested, from highest to lowest, according to their total departmental seniority. The names of persons attaining a passing score on a competitive test shall be placed upon the competitive employment list for the class for which they were tested, from highest to lowest, according to their final test scores.

            (2)(a) Names of persons attaining a passing score on the promotional test in the Lafayette Police Department for the rank of lieutenant or above, or in the Lake Charles Police Department, shall be placed upon the promotion employment list for the class for which they were tested, from highest to lowest, according to their total promotional seniority in the next lower class. If two or more persons possess an equal amount of promotional seniority, the names of those persons shall be placed on the promotional list in the order of departmental seniority, from highest to lowest.

            (b) An employee with the Lake Charles Police Department who is a member of the armed forces of the United States and is at an official training, active training exercise, or active duty deployment on the date of a promotional test for which he is qualified and eligible shall have his name placed upon the promotion employment list with promotional seniority credit back to the original testing date provided the employee takes and attains a passing score on the promotion test upon his return from training or active duty deployment. In addition, his name shall remain on the promotional employment list for forty-eight months following his attainment of a passing score on the promotion test.

            (3) Names of persons attaining a passing score on the promotional test in the Crowley Police Department shall be placed on the promotion employment list for the class for which they were tested, from highest to lowest, according to their total promotional seniority in the next lower class. If two or more persons possess an equal amount of promotional seniority, the names of those persons shall be placed on the promotional list in the order of departmental seniority, from highest to lowest.

            E. Any person whose name is placed upon the competitive employment list for the entrance or lowest ranking class in the classified service who has served in the armed forces of the United States of America during the times of war, and has been honorably discharged or discharged under honorable conditions, shall have added to his final test score a total of five points at the time of placing his name upon the list. Proof of such service and discharge shall be required by the board or the state examiner in any manner it deems advisable.

            F.(1) The minimum and maximum period for which a name may remain upon a competitive employment list established and maintained by the board for any of the various classes of positions in the classified fire and police service shall be twelve and eighteen months, respectively, for each list.

            (2)(a) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the minimum and maximum period for which a name may remain upon a promotional employment list established and maintained by the board for any of the various classes of positions in the classified fire and police service shall be twelve and forty-eight months, respectively, for each list.

            (b) Except as provided in R.S. 33:2491.4(D), the provisions of this Paragraph shall apply to any promotional employment list established and maintained by the board pursuant to this Part for any of the various classes of positions in the classified fire and police service containing the names of eligible persons on and after August 1, 2013.

            G. The employment lists for which eligibles are obtained from the results of tests given for that purpose shall be reestablished in the manner further provided by this Part.

            H.(1) Except as provided in Paragraphs (2) and (3) of this Subsection, when new names are to be placed upon a promotion list for a given class, the remaining names thereon shall be rearranged with the new names so that all names appearing upon the list for the class shall rank, from highest to lowest, according to total departmental seniority.

            (2) When new names are to be placed upon a promotion list for a given class in the Lafayette Police Department for the rank of lieutenant or above, and in the Lake Charles Police Department, the remaining names thereon shall be rearranged with the new names so that all names appearing upon the list for the class shall rank, from highest to lowest, according to total promotional seniority in the next lower class from which the promotion list is established. If two or more persons possess an equal amount of promotional seniority, the names of those persons shall be placed on the promotional list in the order of departmental seniority, from highest to lowest.

            (3) When new names are to be placed on a promotion list for a given class in the Crowley Police Department, the remaining names thereon shall be rearranged with the new names so that all names appearing on the list for the class shall rank, from highest to lowest, according to total promotional seniority in the next lower class from which the promotion list is established. If two or more persons possess an equal amount of promotional seniority, the names of those persons shall be placed on the promotional list in the order of departmental seniority, from highest to lowest.

            (4) When new names are to be placed upon a competitive list for a given class, the remaining names thereon shall be rearranged with the new names so that all names appearing upon the list for the class shall rank, from highest to lowest, according to their final test scores.

            I. For purposes of entrance firefighter, entrance police officer, entrance jailer, secretary to the chief, departmental records clerk, and for the entrance classes for which the operation and maintenance of radio, alarm, or signal systems for the respective fire or police service is the primary duty, the state examiner shall establish and maintain a statewide eligibility list containing names of persons eligible for appointment to these classes by any municipality, parish, or fire protection district under the municipal fire and police civil service system.

            Amended by Acts 1981, No. 937, §1; Acts 1992, No. 213, §1; Acts 1993, No. 186, §1; Acts 2006, No. 216, §1, eff. July 1, 2006; Acts 2013, No. 331, §1; Acts 2015, No. 240, §1, eff. Aug. 1, 2016; Acts 2015, No. 243, §1, eff. June 29, 2015; Acts 2016, No. 177, §1; Acts 2016, No. 178, §1; Acts 2016, No. 283, §1; Acts 2019, No. 224, §1; Acts 2020, No. 38, §1; Acts 2024, No. 230, §1.