BILL REQ. #:  H-1341.3 

Read first time 02/11/09.   Referred to Committee on Ways & Means.

     AN ACT Relating to the use of accumulated sick leave for volunteer work; adding a new section to chapter 41.04 RCW; and creating a new section.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature finds that community service is an important and vital civic responsibility. Particularly during times of economic hardship, volunteerism can help alleviate the unmet needs of citizens and communities. The legislature further finds that fostering community service in state employees will not only help communities, but also will build skills, provide experiences and opportunities, and further educate the state workforce.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 41.04 RCW to read as follows:
     (1)(a) An agency head shall permit an employee to use up to twenty-four hours of sick leave per year to perform volunteer services as provided in this subsection.
     (b) Volunteer service may be performed at a school that the employee's child attends or at a nonsectarian organization exempt from tax under section 501(c)(3) of the internal revenue code.
     (c) The employee may use up to four hours per month of sick leave, with a total of up to twenty-four hours per year, to perform volunteer service under this section.
     (d) An employee may take time off work as sick leave under this section equivalent to the time the employee spends performing volunteer service at a time other than the employee's normal shift.
     (e) Sick leave hours used under this section may not be included in the number of hours worked per week for purposes of determining any overtime hours worked.
     (f) In order to avoid using sick leave, an employee may make up time other than during the employee's normal shift to offset volunteer service performed under this section.
     (2)(a) An employee requesting to use sick leave under this section shall submit a request as provided under subsection (6) of this section to the employee's agency head, or the agency head's designee, specifying the name of the school or organization and the nature of the volunteer services to be performed.
     (b) The employee's agency must receive verification from a person at the school or organization where the employee volunteered that the employee performed the volunteer service.
     (c) All records of sick leave used for the purpose authorized in this section shall be maintained in the employee's personnel file.
     (3) To qualify to use sick leave in accordance with subsection (1) of this section, an employee must retain one hundred seventy-six hours of sick leave.
     (4) An employee of an institution of higher education as defined in RCW 28B.10.016, school district, or educational service district who does not accrue annual leave but does accrue sick leave and who has an accrued sick leave balance of more than twenty-two days may request using sick leave to perform volunteer services in accordance with this section. In no event may such an employee be permitted to use sick leave as provided for in this section if it would result in his or her sick leave account going below twenty-two days. Under this subsection, "sick leave" also includes leave accrued pursuant to RCW 28A.400.300(2) or 28A.310.240(1) with compensation for illness, injury, and emergencies.
     (5) An employee may not used sick leave to perform volunteer service that is required under a court order.
     (6) Within available funds, the department of personnel shall adopt rules to implement this section, including developing a process to request approval to use sick leave for the purposes of this section and to obtain verification from a person at the school or organization that the employee volunteered as stated. For the purpose of verifying the volunteer service of an employee, electronic communication received directly from the school or organization that the employee volunteered as stated is an acceptable form of verification.
     (7)(a) The definitions in RCW 41.04.655 apply to this section.
     (b) As used in this section, "sick leave" means leave granted to an employee for the purpose of absence from work with pay in the event of illness or injury, or both.