Prior Commitments:
Prior to the beginning of the football season, each member shall notify the Assignment Secretary electronically by way of the currently used web-based assignment program prior to the registration deadline date, of any prior time, day, or date commitments that he or she has during the football season that would preclude the member from officiating. The reason for the member’s unavailability shall be specific and detailed.

Conflict of Interest:
Prior to the beginning of the football season, each member shall notify the Assignment Secretary  electronically by way of the currently used web-based assignment program prior to the registration deadline date, of any possible conflicts of interest that the member may have with any particular game assignment. A conflict of interest is a factor that may be real, or perceived by others, as a bias or partiality to one team over the other that would affect the member’s judgment. Conflicts of interest include, but are not limited to; having a relative who is a player or coach of a team, being employed by a school, having administrative capabilities of a school or school district, or having an experience with a team or a coach that may cloud judgment. If a member is unsure of a potential conflict of interest, he or she should seek the opinion of the Assignment Secretary or the Board.

Assignment Turn-Backs:
After the registration deadline, the availability of a member to officiate is assumed, according to the information communicated to the Assignment Secretary electronically by way of the currently used web-based assignment program. Members cannot arbitrarily decide which games they choose, or not to choose, to officiate. Members must be willing to accept any game assignment at any level he or she is qualified to officiate, subject to the conflict of interest or time/day/date restrictions noted electronically on the currently used web-based assignment program.  “Game contract assignments received shall be considered accepted and honored; all cancellations must be made within the first twenty-four hours of acceptance of the game contract, except in extreme emergencies, and then only with the concurrence of the Assignment Secretary.”

Examples of accepted excuses for turning back a game contract include, but are not limited to:

• A family emergency that requires the presence of the member.

• An acute injury or illness of a family member that requires the presence of the member.

• Last minute employment demands that would create a significant financial impact.

Examples of unaccepted excuses include, but are not limited to:

• Lack of transportation.

• Social or athletic engagements.

• Distance to the game.

• Level of game.

• Lack of desire to do the game.

• Adverse weather conditions.

• Officiating a football game for another association.

• Officiating another sport.

• A minor injury or illness.

The applicable assignment secretary shall solely determine the validity of the excuse and if the excuse is acceptable or unacceptable.

Assignment Turn-Back Assessment

Assignments turned back or declined requires significant extra work by the applicable assignment secretary, accordingly, if a member turns back or declines an assignment anytime during or after the pre-established dates that assignment contracts are published electronically on the currently used web-based assignment program, he or she will be assessed thirty dollars ($30) for each game turned-back or declined. 

Turn-backs or declinations exempt from assessment are: 

Turn-backs exempt from assessment are:

• A season ending injury or illness, or an injury or illness requiring more than two weeks of convalescence after the injury or illness. Both of the above injuries or illnesses must require professional medical attention.

• Immediate deployment or service connected obligation of a member who is in the military.

• A member who quits the Association.

The assignment secretaries, at their discretion, may waive the assessment for an acceptable excuse as described in Paragraph 1, above.  Unacceptable excuses will always be assessed.  Decisions of the assignment secretaries may be appealed to the Mediation Committee whose decision is final. 

All assessments must be paid to the applicable assignment secretary on or before the next pre-established Association instructional meeting.  If the assessment(s) are not paid on or before this date, the member’s assignment contracts for the next assignment period will be withheld and re-distributed to other qualified members.  If the turn-back occurs after the last pre-established Association instructional meeting, the assessment must be paid to the applicable assignment secretary prior to the notification of playoff assignments or the member’s playoff assignment will be withheld.  If a playoff assignment is turned back or if any assessments are still due after the end of football season, the assessment must be paid to the applicable assignment secretary before any assignments are made the following year. 

Assignment Contract Dates:

All game assignment contracts shall be published on the currently used web-based assignment program on pre-established dates.  Games not accepted within 6 days of the day that they are published will be reassigned to another qualified member.  It is recommended that all members electronically check their schedules daily in case of games changes or cancellations, site or time changes, etc. 

Answering Machines and E-mail:
Members’ telephone answering devices and email should be monitored on a daily basis for any changes or information transmitted telephonic-ally or electronically.

Assignment Secretaries’ Exclusivity:
All Association sanctioned game assignments, assignment trades or turn-back replacements will be exclusively initiated by the applicable assignment secretary. A member may propose another member for a game assignment trade or a replacement for his or her turned-back assignment, however, all such proposals will be communicated to, coordinated with, and approved by the applicable assignment secretary. Such a replacement or trade, without applicable assignment secretary coordination and approval, may cause the member initiating such action to relinquish his or her remaining games with said action reported to the Board for their approval.

Assignment Priorities
If a time and date conflict should occur between games, scrimmages and clinics, the applicable assignment secretary shall be immediately notified for correction of the conflict. The following priorities shall prevail:

1. Probationary members’ clinic participation shall take priority over scrimmages or games of any level.

2. Games of any level take priority over scrimmages; however, the required number of scrimmages each member must participate in still prevails.

3. Post high school games take priority over all other level of games. Members working NCAA games shall not officiate any other games that day.

4. High school varsity games take priority over JV, freshmen and youth games.

5. High school JV or freshmen games take priority over youth games.

Youth Football:
Recognizing that youth football, (Pop Warner, parochial, etc), provides an integral and necessary component of the Association’s education and development of new and inexperienced members, the following criteria is used in selecting crews for this level:

1. First to be assigned: First year members.

2. Second to be assigned: Second year and transfer members.

3. Third to be assigned: Experienced certified members, preferably high school varsity crew-chiefs, who have the ability, knowledge, patience and teaching capabilities to effectively instruct, critique and evaluate probationary and transfer members

4. Fourth to be assigned: Other certified members, considering ratings, members’ availability, reliability and the subjective judgment of the applicable assignment secretary.

Excerpts from the Assignment Policies and Procedures and 2018-2019 Mechanics Manual

Assigners