SENATE BILL REPORT

SHB 2402

BYHouse Committee on State Government (originally sponsored by Representatives Rector, Betrozoff, Dellwo, R. Meyers, Belcher, Miller, Brekke, Hankins, Hine, Cooper, H. Myers, Crane, Fraser, Peery, Heavey, Todd, Valle, Braddock, Winsley, Anderson, Pruitt, Holland, Van Luven, Brough, Wang, Wineberry, Kremen and Ferguson)

Revising the leave sharing program to include sick leave.

House Committe on State Government

Senate Committee on Ways & Means

Senate Hearing Date(s):February 23, 1990

Senate Staff:Ken Kanikeberg (786-7715)

AS OF FEBRUARY 21, 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.  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:

A state employee 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 employees receive under current law with compensation for illness, injury, and emergencies.

Appropriation:    none

Revenue:    none

Fiscal Note:      requested January 11, 1990

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