EXHIBIT A – PPD REGULATION NO. 53-2024 (APPROVED)
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Palmer Police Department
[Docket No. 53-2024]
The Scope of Reasonableness When Denying An Application For Employment On The Basis of
An Alternate Account; Supplemental Statutory Authority To Impose Rules, Policies, and
Procedures Which Could Deny Employment On Grounds of An Alternative Account.
AGENCY: Palmer Police Department
ACTION: Rule, Policy, or Procedure Pursuant To 2 R. Stat. § 3208.
SUMMARY: Rule 53-2024 (the “Rule”) is an in-house interpretation of the Administrative
Procedure Act (“APA”) and the scope of its mandatory review requirements under Section 3235.
As required under Section 3235, agencies shall determine if an applicant is an alternative account
under “reasonableness.” The APA, however, does not enshrine a standard for determining
reasonableness. The Agency interprets this section, 2 R. Stat. § 3235, to encompass a
“preponderance of evidence” standard—that is, of course, more likely than not that the applicant
is an alternative account within the meaning of Section 3235.
DATES: This Rule is effective April 10, 2024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: AhmadKapalot, Captain of the Palmer Police
Department; T4K3NW, Lieutenant of the Palmer Police Department; or, for information regarding
the approval and review of this rule: Stickza, Solicitor General of the Department of Justice.
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I. BACKGROUND
The APA empowers agencies with the authority to “promulgate additional rules, policies, or
procedures which would…extend [the law] to disallow employment…” 2 R. Stat. § 3208.
Consistent with that authority, the Palmer Police Department—an agency within the meaning of
the APA—promulgates this rule to interpret the APA’s silent and ambiguous provisions.
Specifically, this rule clarifies the scope of the APA’s required “reasonableness” standard in cases
where agencies deny employment on the basis of an alternate account. This Rule extends only to
employment decisions made by, and on the behalf of, the Palmer Police Department
II. ANALYSIS
The authority of the Palmer Police Department to promulgate additional rules and policies
regarding hiring requirements is derived from the APA, 2 R. Stat. § 3201, et seq. The Agency takes
no issue with its statutory authority to do so; it does, however, contend that Section 3235’s
“reasonableness” standard is broad, and therefore silent on the matter. As such, the Agency asserts
its rule-making authority to furnish guiding light for future application decisions.
This rule finalizes and interprets the definition of “reasonableness” within the context of Section
3235. In its untouched form, this standard is not explicitly defined, and “reasonableness” may,
upon universal application, be subject to differing interpretations. Traditionally, “reasonableness”
is based on if a decision that is made was legitimate “and designed to remedy a certain issue under
the circumstances at the time.”1
The circumstances, context, and language of Section 3235 all confirm that the denial of an
application based on “reasonableness” would mean, at a minimum, that it was a legitimate decision
to deny the applicant because, more likely than not, the account was an alternative. This standard,
of course, is designed to remedy a “certain issue,” because reasonableness permits agencies to sort
through alternative account applications in a faster manner.
III. FINALIZED RULE
2 R. Stat. § 3235
1 Hayes, Adam. “Reasonableness Standard: What it is, How it Works, Examples.” Investopedia. (Accessed May 2024).
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Authority and Issuance
For the reasons set forth under “II. ANALYSIS,” the Agency interprets 2 R. Stat. § 3235 as follows:
SUBCHAPTER III ADMINISTRATIVE COURT PROCEDURES
2 R. Stat. § 3235 Departments shall background check applicants and new
hires on the following criteria:
(i) The likelihood that the applicant is an alternative
account; denials based on Subsection (i) shall be
supported by reasonable grounds that the account
is more likely than not an alternative account.
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Date: April 10, 2024 Signed: Solicitor General Stickza
