Statement of Policy:

Officers are not required to work off-duty. The primary obligation and responsibility of an officer is to the department at all times. Officers should be available for overtime duty and off-duty employment shall not interfere with the ability of an officer to respond to an emergency recall to regular duty, nor should off-duty employment interfere in any way with the proper performance of an officer while on duty.  As such, the privilege to work off-duty may be restricted or prohibited.

The rules and regulations of the department as set forth in the Saint Paul Police Department Manual will govern the off-duty officer’s conduct. This policy applies to all sworn personnel including police parking enforcement officers (PEOs) and community liaison officers (CLOs). For the remainder of this general order the word “officer” refers to all of these titles, unless otherwise noted.

The rank structure will remain intact. Therefore:

  1. An off-duty account scheduler cannot schedule a supervisor within their chain of command.

  2. A commander may operate in a staff capacity only for accounts which they supervise or manage or are managed by other commanders.  Commanders are prohibited from working for or being scheduled by staff of lower rank.

  3. The chief, assistant chief, and deputy chiefs cannot work off-duty.

  4. When multiple officers are deployed at a single off-duty event, the department rank and structure will remain intact.

    Department equipment will not be used unless a contract has been negotiated with the office of the chief, except for the items necessary to be in conformity with the uniform of the day and pac-sets. Squad car usage must be approved by the senior commander or unit commander and the approval documented on the off-duty employment application.

    Squad Car Use:

    Squad car use for off-duty employment must be approved by the senior commander or unit commander and the approval documented on the off-duty employment application. Officers must notify the on-duty unit/district supervisor when taking a squad car for off-duty use.  Officers must follow the established unit/district squad sign-out protocol.  Squad cars from a unit or district’s primary operational fleet shall be used only when secondary squad cars are not available.  Squad cars will not be used in an off-duty patrol function.

    Off-Duty Vehicle Use Fee:

    Officers are not required by the department to use a department vehicle for off-duty employment. To use a department vehicle for off-duty employment, officers must complete the “Off Duty Vehicle Request” form found in TASS and submit it for inclusion to their timecard. Submission of this form signifies that the officer is acknowledging that a $20.00 deduction will be taken from their payroll.

  5. This form must be submitted for each off-duty job that a department vehicle is used, no matter the duration.

  6. This form must be submitted prior to using the department vehicle.

  7. This form applies to any department vehicle to include marked, unmarked, specialty or take-home vehicles.

    This fee applies to all ranks that work off duty.

    Officers must first complete the Off-Duty Vehicle Fee payroll deduction authorization form which is located on the intranet under Inspections. This form needs to be completed one time each year.

    Off-Duty Employment Application Form:

    The off-duty employment application must be completed prior to working off-duty. This includes officers that are compensated for scheduling off-duty employment.  A separate application must be completed for each off-duty employer and each address. The off-duty employment application form will be signed by the officer and submitted to their immediate supervisor. Once the application is approved by their immediate supervisor the application will be submitted to the inspection unit for approval.  The officer is only approved to work that off- duty job when they receive an approval email from the inspection unit.

Emergency Off-Duty Request:

If all the off-duty application form steps have not been approved, an officer will need to receive emergency approval from the commander level or above. This request will need to be in email form with an approval before the off-duty job can be worked. That approval will need to be forwarded to the inspection unit supervisor. An off-duty application will still be submitted for approval.

Off-Duty Employment Scheduler:

Sworn personnel, in good standing with the department, who are the contact and manager of an off-duty site, must submit a calendar to the inspection unit each month.  If a person outside of the department is scheduling an off-duty site, they must also submit a calendar to the inspection unit each month.  If an off-duty calendar is not submitted, officers who work the account will be denied the privilege to work off-duty at that location.  A calendar must be submitted if the employment consists of the following:

  • Type of off-duty employment is casual or permanent.

  • The off-duty employment will last for an extended period of time.

  • The officers scheduled to work that site only submit an application once for multiple shifts worked.

    The following items must be included on the calendar:

  • The managing officer’s name and contact phone number

  • Month and year

  • Site name

  • Site address

  • Hours worked to include start and end time

  • Day of the month

  • Name of the officer working (minimum of last name and first initial of first name)

    A calendar must be submitted prior to the first day of the working month and a supplemental calendar will be required at the end of the month if there are any personnel changes.

    Hours:

    Officers may not spend more than 24 hours per week in off-duty employment, whether working for others or self-employed.  These 24 hours do not include department-authorized overtime.

    Officers may exchange vacation, holiday, or compensatory time for off-duty hours. This allows officers to exceed the 24-hour off-duty maximum by the amount of substituted vacation, holiday, or compensatory time off.

    If you take a week of vacation, or a combination of vacation, holiday and compensatory time, you may work a total of 64 hours off-duty during that week.

    Supervisors shall not grant a change of shift to accommodate an officer’s off-duty employment, and at least 30 minutes must separate on-duty working hours and off-duty working hours. An exception to this rule would be if the change of hours was to accommodate departmental needs. Any such exceptions must be authorized by the employee’s supervisor prior to working the off-duty job. An example of this would be:

    Officer Smith works Monday through Friday 0900-1700 hours. This officer wants to start at 0700 hours on a particular day and has an opportunity to work an off-duty job that starts at 1530 hours. This scenario would be in violation of this policy unless Officer Smith starts at their regular time and uses personal time-off to leave two hours early or their supervisor can articulate a departmental need or benefit to starting at 0700 hours and their supervisor gives authorization prior to the start of the off-duty job.

    Off-duty officers, when placing themselves back on the payroll due to an arrest, will indicate so when filling out their overtime request in order for the department to track these activities separate from the on-duty overtime. The overtime request should be entered as “OFF DUTY REQUEST” department code D00007.

    Span and Control:

    An officer managing an off-duty employment site or event who supervises five or more, and up to 10 officers working at the same time must have a minimum rank of sergeant.

    An officer managing an off-duty employment site or event who supervises 10 or more officers working at the same time must have a minimum rank of commander.

    An officer managing an off-duty “special event” must have a minimum rank of commander.

    If an off-duty site or event uses on-duty officers for site/event related duties, the managing off-duty officer must have a minimum rank of sergeant.

Off-Duty Special Events:

Off-duty employment at an event designated as an off-duty special event must be approved by the office of the chief.  An event will be designated as an off-duty special event if off-duty employment will occur in conjunction with any of the following:

  • The event is expected to draw 1,000 people or more.

  • 10 or more officers (off-duty or a combination of off-duty and on-duty) will be working at the event at any one time.

  • The event is designated as an off-duty special event by the chief of police.

    Officers managing an off-duty special event must submit an operational (ops) plan to the senior commander in the district where the special event is being held at least one month prior to the event. The ops plan template, found on the intranet, will be required for all special events. Plans will be reviewed and approved by the district senior commander prior to submission to the chief's office. The plan will also include any event related city permits or note that permits have been applied for. Do not delay the submission of ops plans even if awaiting city permits.  Along with the ops plan, officers managing an off-duty special event must submit the off-duty employment application to the office of the chief. 

    Any off-duty jobs that fall within the footprint of a special event must be approved by the commander of that event and included in the ops plan.

    The Chief of Police or their designee retains the authority to declare any event an on-duty overtime event and assign an incident commander to lead the event when in the best interests of the city, department and/or workforce.

    Arrests:

    An on-duty squad that transports and books a prisoner for an off-duty officer will complete an original report.  The off-duty officer will complete a supplemental report.

    Notifications of Ramsey County Emergency Communications Center:

    All officers working an off-duty job must notify the Ramsey County Emergency Communications Center (RCECC) of their status prior to starting the job. The notification should be made by phone, if possible, and must include the following information:

  • Employee long number.

  • Location of job-site (if the job is mobile, use the employer's business address or main work site.)

  • Name of the employer.

  • Squad car number if a squad is being used.

  • Hours of work.

    The RCECC will:

  • Generate a case number (CN) for the off-duty event;

  • Assign a radio call number to the off-duty officer; and

  • Log the off-duty officer into the Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system.

    At the completion of the off-duty job, the officer will notify the RCECC that s/he is end of tour. The CN generated will then be closed and the squad/officer logged off CAD.

    Prohibitions to Off-Duty Employment:

  • Officers are prohibited from working off duty under any of the following circumstances: 

  • While on administrative only duty, sick leave, paid parental leave, light duty, injured on duty status, during mandatory leave following a critical incident or whose job duties are restricted due to an order of a physician.

  • While attending the Saint Paul Police Department Recruit Academy.

  • Before successful completion of their probationary period except at events approved by the chief.

  • In the capacity of a police officer while on suspension, administrative leave, executive loan, or leave of absence.

  • Employment outside the City of Saint Paul, as a police officer, unless specifically approved by the chief or an assistant chief.

  • Officers shall not work in or for any of the below listed establishments or services unless specifically approved by the chief:

    • Taxicab services.

    • Licensed on-sale liquor establishments or the entire property to which an on-sale license has been issued, except in the cases of events held at public facilities for which special licenses are issued, or hotels/motels, but not the liquor establishments located therein. Officers are also prohibited from working for a third party who is directly paid to employ security for an establishment that holds an on-sale liquor license. Exemptions may only be granted by the chief of police and must be reviewed yearly

    • Union assemblies where union business is being conducted.

    • Teenage dances not sponsored by a recognized youth organization.

    • An establishment where a labor dispute is occurring.

    • An establishment which would tend to lower the dignity of the police service in any manner or where a conflict of interest is seen to exist.

    • Any movie or commercial productions occurring within the city limits of Saint Paul, unless prior authorization from the chief of police has been granted. 

  • Employment as a police officer or other law enforcement officer for any other law enforcement agency, or for any other business the department deems inappropriate, unless specifically approved by the chief of police.

  • Employment in paid professional sports or athletics, unless specifically approved by the chief, or an assistant chief.

  • Employees who use more than 100 hours of sick leave in any calendar year, commencing on January first of each year (not including FMLA, an accommodation from human resources, birth of a child, or absence due to major medical reasons).(This clause effective January 1, 2019).

  • Interference with alert performance of police duties.

  • Other just or reasonable cause as determined by a supervisor, command officer, or chief of police.

    Uniforms:

  • Officers working off-duty will not wear raid gear, utility uniform, or attire other than the designated uniform class of the day.

  • Regardless of primary duty assignment, any officer working off-duty will be in the designated uniform class of the day, class A, B or C, as defined in General Order 202.03: Uniform Classes and Rules unless otherwise approved by the assistant chief of operations.

  • During the summer period, officers may wear a long sleeve shirt with a tie (no turtle neck) between the hours of 2200 to 0800 hours.

  • Officers approved to work off-duty in plainclothes will dress in appropriate business casual or business attire.

  • While working off-duty, department personal appearance standards (reference General Order 202.01: Personal Appearance) apply to all officers, regardless of the officer’s primary duty assignment.

  • Officers are required to wear their body armor while working off-duty.

  • Off-duty officers will be subject to inspection.

  • (See General Orders 202.01 to 202.05 for further details)

    Boards, Commissions, and Non-Profit Corporations (Compensated):

    Such participation is permitted following consultation with, and at the discretion of the chief of police.

    Off-Duty Work Outside of the City:

    All of the above regulations apply.

    No uniforms shall be worn during off-duty employment outside the city.

    Off-duty work outside the city is permitted following consultation with, and at the discretion of the chief or an assistant chief.

    Liability:

    Liability during off-duty employment rests with the off-duty officer and off-duty employer, not the City of Saint Paul.

    Non-compliance with off-duty employment General Orders may result in disciplinary action and/or to include the following:

  • Suspension of off-duty privileges, to include scheduling privileges, on a short or long-term basis.

    Revised August 9, 2019

Last Edited: July 22, 2020