Borough of Spotswood, NJ Article III Off-Duty Employment

[Adopted 10-8-2003 by Ord. No. 2003-016]

§ 28-22 Outside employment of off-duty Borough police.

A. Purpose. For the convenience of those persons and entities which utilize the services of off-duty law enforcement officers of the Borough of Spotswood Police Department, and to authorize the outside employment of Borough police while off-duty, the Borough of Spotswood establishes a policy regarding the use of said officers in compliance with Attorney General Formal Opinion 1997- No. 23.

(1) Members of the Spotswood Police Department shall be permitted to accept police-related employment from private employers or school districts only during off-duty hours and at such time as will not interfere with the efficient performance of regularly scheduled or emergency duty of the Borough.

(2) Any person or entity wishing to employ off-duty police shall first obtain the approval of the Chief of Police or his or her designee, which approval shall be granted, if, in the opinion of the Chief or his or her designee, such employment would not be inconsistent with the efficient functioning and good reputation of the Police Department and would not unreasonably endanger or threaten the safety of the officer or officers who are to perform the work.

B. Escrow account.

(1) To assure the timely payment of wages to police officers who perform off-duty services, and to meet the requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Borough of Spotswood hereby establishes a trust fund to be known as the "Off-Duty Employment Escrow Account," which trust fund shall be dedicated for the receipt of fees collected from private persons or entities for the payment of wages to police officers for off-duty or outside employment services.

(2) Any person or entity requesting the services of an off-duty officer in the Spotswood Police Department shall estimate the number of hours such law enforcement services are required, which estimate shall be approved in writing by the Chief of Police, or his or her designee, and shall establish an escrow account with the Chief Financial Officer of the Borough of Spotswood by depositing an amount sufficient to cover the rates of compensation and administrative fees set forth in Subsection D for the total estimated hours of service.

(3) In an instance where the number of hours required is unknown and cannot be reasonably estimated, or is anticipated to be in excess of 10 days, the person or entity requesting the services of an off-duty law enforcement officer shall deposit an amount sufficient to cover the rate of compensation and administrative fees set forth in Subsection D for the equivalent of 10 days prior to the commencement of any work. Any unused portion of the deposit shall be returned or credited against the final amount owed.

(4) Prior to posting any request for services of off-duty law enforcement officers, the Chief of Police or his or her designee shall verify that the balance in the escrow account of the person or entity requesting services is sufficient to cover the compensation and fees for the number of hours specified in the request for services. The Chief of Police or his or her designee shall not post a request for services from any person or entity unless all fees and compensation required in the manner described above have been deposited with the Chief Financial Officer. All payments must be remitted directly to the Borough of Spotswood. No officer shall provide any such services for more hours than are specified in the request for services.

(5) In the event that funds in such an escrow account should become depleted, service of off-duty law enforcement officers shall cease, and requests for further or future services shall not be performed or posted until additional funds have been deposited in the escrow account in the manner prescribed above. In the event of an unforeseen emergency situation that would require an officer to remain beyond the time for which funds have been posted, the Chief of Police or his or her designee may waive the requirements for posting additional funds after the first 10 hours for any person or entity exhibiting a previous satisfactory payment history. However, payment for additional hours shall be made by the person or entity requiring the extended service within 48 hours.

(6) The person or entity requesting such services shall be responsible for ensuring that sufficient funds remain in the escrow account in order to avoid any interruption of services.

(7) Failure to pay. In the event the person or entity contracting for such services should fail to pay any balance due for services performed by the members of the Spotswood Police Department, this matter would be forwarded to the Borough Attorney for the appropriate legal action to collect said funds.

(8) Exemption. All public utility companies that are under the jurisdiction of and regulated by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities are exempt from the provisions set forth in this section requiring advance payment to the escrow account; providing; however, that there are no amounts previously due that are outstanding prior to any officer engaging in any further off-duty assignments.

C. Requests for services.

[Amended 8-17-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-11]

(1) All requests to the Borough for services of all off-duty law enforcement officers in the Spotswood Police Department shall be forwarded to the Chief of Police or his or her designee for posting at least 36 hours before such services are required.

(2) In emergency situations, request to the Borough for the services of off-duty law enforcement officers in the Spotswood Police Department shall be made as necessary to the Chief of Police or his designee, who shall make every effort to accommodate such request in a reasonable manner in his or her discretion.

(3) Any law enforcement officers, when so employed by the Borough, shall be compensated at the following hourly rate and treated as an employee of the Borough; provided, however, the wages earned for outside employment shall not be applied toward pension benefits of law enforcement officers so employed.

D. Rates of compensation; administrative fee; payment for services.

[Amended 2-2-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-02; 10-5-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-13; 8-17-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-11]

(1) Effective September 12, 2020, the rate for off-duty law enforcement officers charged to a third-party vendor shall be the higher of an officer's overtime rate or $80 per hour. This shall not apply to any outside jobs funded by the Borough or outside jobs funded by the Board of Education, which rates shall be paid at the officer's overtime rate.

(2) Effective March 1, 2015, there shall be a four-hour minimum for all requests for services of off-duty law enforcement officers. The four-hour minimum shall not apply to any outside jobs funded by the Borough or outside jobs funded by the Board of Education. Requests for off-duty employment by a third-party vendor shall be scheduled in four-hour blocks. There shall be a four-hour minimum for all off-duty law enforcement officers scheduled for services.

(3) Effective September 12, 2020, the fee for police vehicle and fuel shall be $20 per hour.

(4) Effective September 12, 2020, an additional administrative fee of 8% is hereby established to cover administrative costs, overhead and out-of-pocket expenses of the Borough of Spotswood.

E. Cancellation. Effective March 1, 2015, cancellation/booking within 36 hours of the scheduled start time for an outside-duty job will result in the billing of two hours straight-time pay respectively.

[Amended 2-2-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-02; 8-17-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-11]

F. Public emergency. The Chief of Police or his or her designee shall have the authority to order any police officer engaged in off-duty assignments within the Borough to respond to an emergency situation within the Borough of Spotswood. The Chief of Police or his designee shall also have the right to order an off-duty assignment to be terminated whenever said assignment creates an unacceptable risk to the health, safety and welfare of the off-duty officer and/or the citizens of the Borough of Spotswood. In the event that a police officer is assigned to an emergency situation, the Police Chief or his designee shall make note of said off-duty assignment. In any situation where an off-duty police officer is called to an emergency situation, said person or entity shall not be responsible for the payment of the officer's hourly rate, administrative fee or any other fees to the Borough of Spotswood until such time as said police officer and/or equipment returns to the assignment with the off-duty employer.