CopyAgo (Fla. Att'y Gen. 1985).
Published | Florida Attorney General Reports
...ARE THE STATE ATTORNEYS AUTHORIZED TO ADOPT A CLASSIFICATION AND PAY PLAN WHICH PERMITS THE DESIGNATION OF ADDITIONAL HOLIDAYS DECLARED BY THE COURTS AS `PAID HOLIDAYS' FOR THEIR EMPLOYEES? As your questions as stated above present related issues, they will be answered together. Section 27.25 (1), F.S., provides express statutory authority and direction for the state attorneys of all judicial circuits to develop jointly a classification and pay plan for their employees in accordance with the policies and procedures of the Ex...
...110, is generally applicable to all state employees, it appears that those provisions of Part I provide certain minimum requirements and standards with respect to the employees of the state attorneys and thus apply to any classification and pay plan developed by the state attorneys pursuant to s 27.25 (1)....
...My analysis of the provisions of Part I of Ch. 110, however, failed to reveal any provision which circumscribes or limits the authority of the state attorneys of Florida to provide for administrative leave in any classification or pay plan developed in accordance with s
27.25 (1), F.S., except to the extent that s
110.118 , F.S., and s
110.119 , F.S....
...As neither Part I of Ch. 110 , F.S., nor any other statute which has been brought to the attention of this office, specifies particular types of leave or administrative leave, with the above noted exceptions, it thus appears that the state attorneys are authorized by s 27.25 (1), F.S., to develop a classification and pay plan and that such plan may provide for the granting of leave by the individual state attorneys....
...In the absence of legislative clarification, I am unable to conclude that the legislative specification of eight paid holidays in s
110.117 , F.S., precludes the state attorneys of Florida from providing in the classification and pay plan required by s
27.25 (1) for administrative leave for their employees on such additional holidays as may be declared by the courts or local governments in their respective circuits and on which days access to the courts and government buildings containing the offices of the state attorneys may be restricted....
...mited thereby). Accordingly, in light of the exemption of positions in the judicial branch from the Career Service System (and the statutory provisions and rules relating to leave for such career service employees) and in view of the provisions of s 27.25 (1), F.S., it appears that the state attorneys have been granted the discretion to formulate the types of leave available to employees of their offices and the compensation for such leaves. This office is reluctant, however, to approve or disapprove of such provisions for leave as it cannot make the requisite policy determination for the state attorneys which is implicit in the state attorneys' implementation of s 27.25 (1), nor can this responsibility be delegated to this office....
...ision authorizing the exercise of such authority. It is clear that the employees of the state attorneys' offices are subject to and governed by s
110.117 , F.S., which by its express terms is applicable to all state branches and agencies. However, s
27.25 (1), F.S., in its direction to the state attorneys to develop a classification and pay plan for their employees appears to constitute a general grant of authority to the state attorneys to formulate certain personnel policies to be included within such plan. See , In re Advisory Opinion to the Governor, supra . In view of the exemption of the employees of the state attorneys' offices from the statute and rules regulating leaves and absences for career service employees and the provisions of s
27.25 (1) which appear to grant the state attorneys the general authority to regulate personnel matters, I cannot state, in the absence of any legislative or judicial direction on this matter, that the state attorneys do not possess sufficient author...
...individual state attorneys to grant administrative leave to his or her employees on such days as are declared by the courts or local governments to be holidays additional to those paid holidays otherwise provided for, in view of the provisions of s 27.25 (1), F.S., which appear to grant the state attorneys the discretion to formulate the types of leave available to employees of their offices and the compensation therefor; however, in view of the general discretion as to personnel matters granted by s 27.25 (1), and in the absence of legislative or judicial direction, I cannot state that the state attorneys do not possess sufficient authority to develop a classification and pay plan which permits the designation of additional holidays declared by the courts as `paid holidays' for their employees....
