HOUSE BILL REPORT

ESSB 6452

BYSenate Committee on Ways & Means (originally sponsored by Senators von Reichbauer, Gaspard, McDonald, Newhouse and Lee)

Clarifying "annual leave" for purposes of the school district leave sharing program.

House Committe on State Government

Majority Report:  Do pass as amended.  (8)

      Signed by Representatives Todd, Chair; Anderson, Vice Chair; McLean, Ranking Republican Member; R. Fisher, Hankins, R. King, Morris and O'Brien.

House Staff:Barbara McLain (786-7135)

Rereferred House Committee on Appropriations

Majority Report:  Do pass as amended by Committee on State Government as such amendment is amended by the Committee on Appropriations (22)

      Signed by Representatives Locke, Chair; Grant, Vice Chair; H. Sommers, Vice Chair; Silver, Ranking Republican Member; Youngsman, Assistant Ranking Republican Member; Appelwick; Bowman; Brekke; Brough; Dorn; Doty; Hine; Inslee; McLean; Nealey; Peery; Rust; Spanel; Sprenkle; Valle, Wang and Wineberry.

House Staff:      Janet Peterson (786-7143)

AS PASSED HOUSE MARCH 1, 1990

BACKGROUND:

In 1989, the Legislature created a leave sharing program, where state employees can donate some of their annual leave to a fellow employee who faces losing his or her job or going on leave without pay due to an extraordinary illness or injury that has caused that employee to use all of his or her sick and annual leave reserves. Employees may donate any amount of annual leave as long as they maintain a balance of 10 days.  Under the state civil service system and the higher education personnel system, "annual leave" generally means vacation leave.

The definition of employee in the leave sharing program's enabling legislation also includes employees of school districts and educational service districts (ESD).  In practice, most school district and ESD employees are employed on nine-month contracts and do not receive vacation leave.  Instead, these employees are entitled by law to "annual leave with compensation for illness, injury, and emergencies."

There are differences in interpretation about whether the Legislature intended the type of leave received by school district employees to be shared in the shared leave program.  Although the leave is referred to as "annual leave" in statute, school district employees accrue and use this leave in much the same way state employees accrue and use sick leave, including cashing it out above a balance of 60 days.  The shared leave program does not allow sharing of sick leave.

Full-time faculty at state community colleges may be recipients but not donors under the shared leave program because they accrue sick leave but not annual leave.

SUMMARY:

An employee of a community college, school district, or educational service district who does not accrue annual leave, but does accrue sick leave, may donate a maximum of six days of sick leave per year under the shared leave program, provided he or she maintains a minimum sick leave balance of 60 days.  Donations of sick leave are expressly limited to donations from employees who do not accrue annual leave.  The sick leave allowed to be shared under the bill includes the leave school district and ESD employees receive under current law.

Fiscal Note:      No Impact.

Effective Date:The bill contains an emergency clause and takes effect immediately.

House Committee ‑ Testified For:    (State Government) No one.

(Appropriations) No one.

House Committee - Testified Against:      (State Government) No one.

(Appropriations) No one.

House Committee - Testimony For:    (State Government) None.

(Appropriations) None.

House Committee - Testimony Against:      (State Government) None.

(Appropriations) None.