New Orleans City Code § 2-971 Short title.
Sec. 2-971. - Short title.
This article shall be known as the City Domicile Ordinance.
(M.C.S., Ord. No. 25242, § 1, 3-7-13)
DOMICILE EMPLOYEES
New Orleans City Code ch. 2, art. X
in effectNew Orleans City Code § 2-972 Definitions.
Sec. 2-972. - Definitions.
The following terms, when used in this article, shall have the meanings assigned in this section unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Actual domicile" means a person's principal domestic establishment, the determination of which shall be based upon such actual facts as where a person sleeps, takes his meals, has established his household, and surrounds himself with his family and the comforts of home, as contrasted with a business establishment, a residence that is not a principal home, or a mere declaration of domicile. For the purposes of this article, a person may have only one actual domicile, and that actual domicile shall be deemed to be the residence which meets the following criteria more than any other residence:
(1) He or she usually sleeps there;
(2) He or she keeps most clothing, toiletries, household appliances, and similar personal property of daily utility there;
(3) He or she is registered to vote there;
(4) He or she or a spouse with whom he or she lives has a telephone there in his or her name which is not usually on call forward to another residence;
(5) He or she directly receives and opens most non-city mail addressed to him or her there;
(6) He or she is free to enter the premises without notice to or permission from others.
For the purposes of this article, voters registered in another parish or county are presumed not to have their actual domicile in Orleans Parish.
"City of New Orleans" or "city" means the municipal corporation of the City of New Orleans and all of the attached, unattached and departmental boards and commissions, independent agencies, instrumentalities, and public benefit corporations of the city, including the Sewerage and Water Board, the New Orleans Aviation Board, the Public Belt Railroad Commission, the Audubon Park Commission, and any local public agencies that use employees in the city civil service, receive city appropriations or the proceeds of city taxes or city bonds or that are created, funded, or subject to regulation by the city, including the offices of the clerks of the municipal court and the traffic court.
(M.C.S., Ord. No. 25242, § 1, 3-7-13)
New Orleans City Code § 2-973 Policy.
Sec. 2-973. - Policy.
Except as otherwise expressly provided in this article, it shall be the policy of the city to provide employment, promotions, reemployment or reinstatement, and retention of employment opportunities with the city to persons who do or will have an actual domicile in Orleans Parish within 180 days of their employment commencing and who thereafter maintain their actual domicile in Orleans Parish.
(M.C.S., Ord. No. 25242, § 1, 3-7-13; M.C.S., Ord. No. 26035, § 1, 9-4-14)
New Orleans City Code § 2-974 Prohibitions on the hiring or appointing authority.
Sec. 2-974. - Prohibitions on the hiring or appointing authority.
Except as otherwise specifically authorized in this article, no employee of the city who has responsibility for or authority over the hiring or appointment of employees of the city shall knowingly permit any person to violate the city domicile ordinance.
(M.C.S., Ord. No. 25242, § 1, 3-7-13)
New Orleans City Code § 2-975 Exemptions.
Sec. 2-975. - Exemptions.
(a) The domicile requirement imposed by this article shall not apply to any employee of the city who was hired by the city prior to January 1, 2013, except that no employee who was previously exempted and later changed his/her actual domicile to Orleans Parish shall be entitled to retain the benefits of this exemption if that employee establishes a new actual domicile outside of Orleans Parish.
(b) The domicile requirement imposed by this article shall not apply to any commissioned law enforcement officers or recruits hired by the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD); firefighters or recruits hired by the New Orleans Fire Department (NOFD); emergency medical technicians hired by New Orleans Emergency Medical Services (NOEMS); juvenile detention officers and corrections staff of the Juvenile Justice Intervention Center; and mechanics, maintenance specialists, and maintenance technicians of the Equipment Maintenance Division. Furthermore, appropriate sensitivity training to address racial, gender, religious, and sexual orientation discrimination shall be provided for all law enforcement officers. For the purposes of this subsection, the word "hired" has the same meaning as the word "employed." Domicile waivers for juvenile detention officers and corrections staff of the Juvenile Justice Intervention Center, and mechanics, maintenance specialists, and maintenance technicians of the Equipment Maintenance Division shall be terminated on December 31, 2024.
(c) The domicile requirement imposed by this article shall not apply to any employee of the New Orleans Aviation Board during the term of his or her employment with such board and for six months thereafter, if the actual domicile of the employee is nearer to the employee's job site than the distance from the job site to the nearest point of Orleans Parish.
(d) Effective between April 1, 2025 and March 31, 2027, the requirement imposed by this article shall not apply to inspectors hired or employed by the departments of safety and permits, code enforcement and public works, and the Vieux Carré Commission and the historic district landmarks commission. An inspector hired or employed between April 1, 2025 and March 31, 2027 and exempted from the domicile requirements pursuant to this subsection shall be entitled to retain the benefits of this exemption unless and until such inspector establishes a new domicile in Orleans Parish.
(e) Part-time employees, those employees who are not classified as full-time employees, shall be exempt from the domicile requirement imposed by this article.
(f) Additional exemptions to the domicile requirement imposed by this article may be granted upon a showing of extreme hardship by an employee, on an individual, case-by-case basis, by the appointing authority of the employee subject to the approval of the chief administrative officer. Any employee who seeks to request an exemption to the domicile requirement imposed by this article shall file with the appointing authority and the chief administrative office a request for such an exemption, on a form prescribed by the chief administrative officer.
(g) Except as otherwise expressively provided in this article, under no circumstances shall any officer or employee who does not maintain an actual domicile in Orleans Parish be administered with any different treatment or negatively impacted in any way during his or her employment than an employee who is domiciled in New Orleans.
(h) The chief administrative officer shall promulgate administrative policies and procedures for the administration of and enforcement of this section within 90 days of the effective date of this ordinance. The chief administrative officer shall provide all employees exempted under this section with notice of all policies and procedures promulgated pursuant to this section.
(M.C.S., Ord. No. 25242, § 1, 3-7-13; M.C.S., Ord. No. 25793, § 1, 4-10-14; M.C.S., Ord. No. 26035, §§ 2, 3, 9-4-14; M.C.S., Ord. No. 29314, § 1, 2-2-23; M.C.S., Ord. No. 30222, § 1, 1-30-25; M.C.S., Ord. No. 30248, § 1, 3-13-25)
New Orleans City Code § 2-976 Administration.
Sec. 2-976. - Administration.
The chief administrative officer may promulgate administrative policies and procedures and internal regulations for the administration and enforcement of this article which may include uniform provisions for proof of actual domicile, reporting changes of actual domicile and other matters.
(M.C.S., Ord. No. 25242, § 1, 3-7-13)
New Orleans City Code § 2-977 Dismissal.
Sec. 2-977. - Dismissal.
Knowing failure to comply with any of the provisions of this article by officers and employees of the city shall be cause for dismissal or other disciplinary actions.
(M.C.S., Ord. No. 25242, § 1, 3-7-13)
New Orleans City Code § 2-978 State of emergency.
Sec. 2-978. - State of emergency.
In the event that a state of emergency is declared pursuant to section 4-206(3)(d) of the Home Rule Charter, the mayor, by executive order, may suspend any or all provisions of this article.
(M.C.S., Ord. No. 25242, § 1, 3-7-13)
Source: City of New Orleans, Code of Ordinances and Home Rule Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/la/new_orleans/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIICO_CH2AD_ARTXDOEMFetched: 10/28/2026