Managing Accountability and Liability in Extra Duty & Secondary Employment
Extra duty work in policing is commonplace for many law enforcement agencies across the country.
Most agencies either have a coordinated off duty program or have policies in place that allow their officers to work extra duty in some capacity outside of their regular duty shifts.
However, not all agencies have policies in place to ensure those officers are working a reasonable number of hours of extra duty work or policies to help manage a critical incident when those occur during extra duty employment. Extra duty employment and rules surrounding it vary from state to state and from agency to agency.
If you don’t have a coordinated program, does your agency have policies in place to mitigate the risk of officer fatigue, maintain relationships with employers when an officer doesn’t show up for a job the employer has paid for, and manage officer accountability?
When officers are working extra duty they ultimately still represent the agency for which they are primarily employed. However, many agencies do not allow their officers to work in an extra duty capacity while in their agency issued uniform. Again, this varies from state to state and agency to agency. Regardless, agencies need policies in place regarding what types of jobs they allow their officers to work in order to reduce the risk of liability when an officer is required to take police action when working in an extra duty capacity.
For example, the extra duty policy for the Ogden Police Department in Ogden, Utah states “Officers who accept off-duty employment must clearly understand that they are not in a position to hire themselves out as an Ogden police officer. When such employment is accepted, the officer does so as a private person.” Additionally, any liability associated with an incident or injury to the officer while working extra duty is the responsibility of the employer rather than the agency.
When an officer is required to take police action while working extra duty, such as using force, what requirements are in place to maintain accountability? Many agencies will handle the use of police powers as if the officer were working in an on-duty capacity. Again, the Ogden Police Department treats their officers required to take police action “as if the officer were on duty”.
If your agency doesn’t have any policies surrounding extra duty or secondary employment work, it is highly recommended to establish one that is comprehensive and clearly communicated to agency members in order to reduce risks and increase accountability. Use of an off duty or extra duty management platform can assist with enforcement of agency policies and rules as well as provide a mechanism for clear reporting.
Here are a few recommendations:
Place limits on the number of extra duty hours an officer can work. For example, the Tucson Police Department in Tucson, Arizona only allows their members work “thirty (30) hour per week”
Restrict extra duty and secondary employment to officers that are off probation, in good standing, and up to date on all of their training
Ensure employers meet your requirements and maintain minimum liability insurance
Ensure your policies meet local, state and federal law and have been reviewed by your agency or jurisdiction legal team
Assign a coordinator to oversee your extra duty employment program to ensure enforcement of policies and maintain consistency and fairness including maintaining consistency with any union contracts or labor agreements
The PowerDetails platform can provide agencies with tools to more efficiently manage their extra duty employment program and increase accountability. Our reporting system provides over 50 standardized reports to help agencies enforce policies and reduce officer fatigue.
Agencies can post and assign jobs with one click, and utilize our system to seamlessly and automatically invoice employers and pay officers. Additionally, the PowerDetails platform can help to ensure fair and equitable distribution of jobs as well as streamline communication with agency personnel and employers.
Lastly, by building an API with your agency’s on-duty platform, PowerDetails can utilize on duty information to automatically enforce policy in terms of limits to overtime or extra duty hours worked per 24 hours, per week or per month.
To learn more about how PowerDetails can help you address accountability issues surrounding extra duty employment, you can contact us to learn more.
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