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                                ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL NO. 5933

                        _______________________________________________

                                                            AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE

 

                                                                            C 093 L 89

 

 

State of Washington                               51st Legislature                              1989 Regular Session

 

By Senate Committee on Economic Development & Labor (originally sponsored by Senators Williams and Murray)

 

 

Read first time 3/1/89.

 

 


AN ACT Relating to an annual leave sharing program for state employees; adding new sections to chapter 41.04 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 28A.58 RCW; creating a new section; and declaring an emergency.

 

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

 

          NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1.  A new section is added  to  chapter  41.04 RCW to read as follows:

          The  legislature  finds  that:   (1) State employees historically have joined together to help their fellow employees who suffer  from, or   have   relatives   or  household  members  suffering  from,  an extraordinary or severe illness, injury, impairment, or  physical  or  mental condition  which  prevents  the  individual from working and causes great economic and emotional distress to the employee and  his or her family; and (2) these circumstances may be exacerbated because the  affected employees  use all their accrued sick leave and annual leave and are forced to take leave without  pay  or  terminate  their employment.   Therefore,  the  legislature intends to provide for the establishment of a leave sharing program.

 

          NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2.  A new section is added  to  chapter 41.04 RCW to read as follows:

          Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout sections 1 through 7 of this act.

          (1)  "Employee" means any employee of the state, including employees of school districts and educational service districts, who are entitled to accrue sick leave or annual leave and for whom accurate leave records are maintained.

          (2)  "State agency" or "agency" means departments, offices, agencies, or institutions of state government, the legislature, institutions of higher education, school districts, and educational service districts.

           (3)  "Program" means the leave sharing program established in section 3 of this act.

 

          NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3.  A new section is added to chapter 41.04 RCW to read as follows:

          The Washington state leave sharing program  is  hereby  created.  The  purpose of  the program is to permit state employees, at no significantly increased cost to the state of providing  annual leave, to come to the aid of a fellow state employee who is suffering from or has a relative  or  household  member  suffering from  an  extraordinary  or  severe illness,  injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition which has caused or is likely  to  cause the  employee  to  take leave  without  pay  or terminate his or her employment.

 

          NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4.  A new section is added  to  chapter  41.04 RCW to read as follows:

          (1)  An agency head may permit an employee to receive leave under this section if:

          (a) The employee suffers from, or has  a relative  or  household member suffering from, an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental  condition  which  is of an extraordinary or severe nature and which has caused, or is likely to cause, the employee to:

          (i) Go on leave without pay status; or

          (ii) Terminate state employment;

          (b) The employee's absence and the use of shared leave  are justified;

          (c)  The employee has depleted or will shortly deplete his or her annual leave and sick leave reserves;

          (d) The employee has abided by agency rules regarding sick  leave use; and

          (e)  The  employee  has  diligently pursued and been found to be ineligible for benefits under chapter 51.32 RCW.

          (2) The agency head shall determine the amount of leave, if  any, which  an employee  may  receive  under  this section.  However, an employee shall not receive a total of more than two hundred sixty-one days of leave.

          (3)  An employee who has an accrued annual leave balance of  more than  ten days may request that the head of the agency for which the employee works transfer a specified amount of annual leave to another employee authorized to receive leave under subsection  (1)  of  this section.   In  no event  may the employee request a transfer of an amount of leave that would result in his or her annual leave account going below ten days.

          (4)  Transfers of leave made by an agency head  under  subsection (3) of this section shall not exceed the requested amount.

          (5)  Leave  transferred  under  this section  may be transferred from employees of one agency to an employee of the same agency or, with the approval of the heads of both agencies, to an employee of another state agency.  However, leave transferred to or from employees of school districts or educational service districts is limited to transfers to or from employees within the same employing district.

          (6) While an employee is on leave transferred under this section, he  or  she shall  continue to be classified as a state employee and shall receive the same treatment in respect  to  salary,  wages, and employee  benefits  as  the  employee would normally receive if using accrued annual leave or sick leave.

          (a) All salary and wage payments made to employees while on leave transferred under this section shall be made by the agency employing the person receiving the leave. The value of leave transferred shall be based  upon  the  annual  leave value of the person receiving the leave.

          (b) In the case of leave transferred by an employee of one agency to an employee of another agency, the agencies involved shall arrange for the transfer of funds and credit for  the  appropriate  value  of leave.

          (i)  Pursuant  to  rules  adopted  by the  office  of  financial management, funds shall not be transferred under this section if  the  transfer  would  violate any constitutional or statutory restrictions on the funds being transferred.

          (ii)  The  office  of  financial management may adjust the appropriation authority  of  an  agency  receiving  funds under this section only  if  and  to  the extent  that  the  agency's  existing appropriation  authority  would  prevent  it from expending the funds received.

          (iii) Where any questions arise in the transfer of funds  or  the adjustment  of appropriation  authority,  the  director of financial management shall determine the appropriate transfer or adjustment.

          (7) Leave transferred under this section shall not be used in any calculation  to determine  an  agency's  allocation  of full time equivalent staff positions.

          (8)  The  value of any leave transferred under this section which remains unused shall  be  returned  at  its  original value  to  the employee  or employees who transferred the leave when the agency head finds that the leave is no longer needed or will not be needed  at  a future  time  in connection with the illness or injury for which the leave  was  transferred.   To the extent administratively feasible, the  value of  unused  leave  which   was transferred by more than one employee shall be returned on a pro rata basis.

 

          NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5.  A new section is added to chapter 41.04 RCW to read as follows:

          The state personnel board, the higher education personnel board, and other personnel authorities shall each adopt rules applicable to employees under their respective jurisdictions:  (1) Establishing appropriate parameters for the program which are consistent with the provisions of sections 1 through 4 of this act; (2) providing for equivalent treatment of employees between their respective jurisdictions and allowing transfers of leave in accordance with section 4(5)  of this act; (3) establishing procedures to ensure that the program does not significantly increase the cost of providing annual leave; and (4) providing for the administration of the program and providing for maintenance and collection of sufficient information on the program to allow a thorough legislative review.

 

          NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6.  A new section is added to chapter 28A.58 RCW to read as follows:

          Every school district board of directors and educational service district superintendent may, in accordance with sections 1 through 4 of this act, establish and administer an annual leave sharing program for their certificated and noncertificated employees. For employees of school districts and educational service districts, the superintendent of public instruction shall adopt standards: (1) Establishing appropriate parameters for the program which are consistent with the provisions of sections 1 through 4 of this act; and (2)  establishing procedures to ensure that the program does not significantly increase the cost of providing annual leave.

 

          NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7.     School districts, the department of personnel, the higher education personnel board, and other personnel authorities may adopt temporary emergency policies and procedures to implement the program on the effective date of this act so that donated leave may be used in lieu of leave without pay taken after the effective date of this act.

 

          NEW SECTION.  Sec. 8.     If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.

 

          NEW SECTION.  Sec. 9.     This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and shall take effect immediately.


                                                                                                                             Passed the Senate April 7, 1989.

 

                                                                                                                                       President of the Senate.

 

                                                                                                                             Passed the House April 6, 1989.

 

                                                                                                                                         Speaker of the House.