Also known as: simple residency requirement · residency requirements
Written by attorneys — see sources below.
A residency rule that requires an officer or employee to reside within the locality without mandating any prior period of residence there.
Sophia Singh applies for a municipal clerk position in her new city. The hiring ordinance requires only that she live inside city limits at the time of employment. City officials confirm her current address satisfies the rule and hire her without further inquiry into how long she has lived there.
Stephen Shaw moves to the state and opens a law office. The bar admission rule requires only that he maintain a current residence in the state. The admissions committee accepts his local lease and admits him without demanding proof of any prior duration of stay.
Sebastian Santos seeks admission by reciprocity after relocating. The state rule requires only that he reside in the state at the time of application. Officials verify his present address and grant admission without imposing any waiting period.
Selena Singh accepts a job with Skyline Construction on a city project. The ordinance requires only that workers live inside city limits during employment. The city confirms her current residence and allows her to begin work without any durational showing.
On August 28, 1980, the Camden City Council adopted Ordinance MC 1650 pursuant to a statewide affirmative-action program. The ordinance set minority hiring goals on all public works contracts and created a hiring preference for Camden residents with a separate one-year residency requirement. As subsequently amended, the ordinance requires that on all construction projects funded by the city, the developer or contractor shall make every effort to employ persons residing within the City of Camden. In no event shall less than forty percent of the entire labor force be residents of the City of Camden. The amended ordinance was submitted for approval to the Chief Affirmative Action Officer of the New Jersey Treasury Department in November 1980. Following brief administrative proceedings, the ordinance was designated as a state-approved affirmative-action construction program. The United Building and Construction Trades Council of Camden County and Vicinity, an association of labor organizations representing private employees in the building and construction trades in New Jersey counties, filed a notice of appeal challenging the Treasury Department's approval. The New Jersey Supreme Court certified the appeal directly to that court and upheld the ordinance. The Council appealed to the United States Supreme Court, which noted probable jurisdiction. After the Court decided White v. Massachusetts Council of Construction Employers, Inc. in 1983, the Council abandoned its Commerce Clause challenge. Camden then amended the ordinance in July 1983 by deleting the one-year residency requirement, converting the quota to a goal, and clarifying its scope, thereby narrowing the remaining dispute to the Privileges and Immunities Clause.
View caseSimple residency requirements receive rational basis review and are upheld when supported by a legitimate governmental purpose such as ensuring employees live in the community they serve.
Simple residency requirements demand only current residence in the locality. Durational requirements impose an additional waiting period before eligibility arises and trigger stricter scrutiny.
Yes. Courts uphold simple residency rules for municipal officers and employees when a rational purpose exists, such as fostering community ties or local accountability.
Supporting sources
Yes. The rule may validly require that a city council member reside in the district or ward represented, provided the classification rests on a rational basis.
…parties like appellant ultimately must seek political rather than judicial vindication. : See Eisinger, Municipal Residency Requirements and the Local Economy, 64 Soc. Sci. Q. 85, 87 (1983); Note, The Constitutionality of Residency Requirements for Municipal Employees, 24 Emory L. J. 446, 448, n. 7 (1975); Note, Municipal…