Effective Date of Rule: June 16, 2009.

     Purpose: The following proposed rule modification clarifies when the statement of necessity must be submitted and clarifies the existing example.

     Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 357-31-215.

     Statutory Authority for Adoption: Chapter 41.06 RCW.

      Adopted under notice filed as WSR 09-08-094 on March 31, 2009.

     Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.

     Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

     Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

     Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

     Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0;      Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.

     Date Adopted: May 14, 2009.

Eva N. Santos

Director

     (1) If an employee's request for vacation leave is denied by the employer, and the employee is close to the maximum vacation leave (240 hours), the employer must grant an extension for each month that the employer defers the employee's request for vacation leave. The employer must maintain a statement of necessity justifying the extension.

     (2) As an alternative to subsection (1), employees may also accumulate vacation leave in excess of ((two hundred forty (240))) 240 hours as follows:

     (a) An employee may accumulate the vacation leave days between the time ((thirty)) 30 days is accrued and his/her next anniversary date of state employment.

     (b) Leave accumulated above ((two hundred forty hours)) 240 hours must be used by the next anniversary date and in accordance with the employer's leave policy. If such leave is not used before the employee's anniversary date, the excess leave is automatically lost and considered to have never existed.

     (c) ((Any leave accumulated above two hundred forty hours without a statement of necessity between anniversary dates must not, regardless of circumstances, be deferred by the employer by a statement of necessity as described in (1) above.)) A statement of necessity, as described in (1) above, can only defer leave that the employee has not accrued as of the date of the statement of necessity. Any accrued leave in excess of 240 hours as of the date of the statement of necessity cannot be deferred regardless of circumstances. For example:

     ((On June 15, an employee is assigned to work on a special project. It is expected that the assignment will last six months. Due to an ambitious timeline and strict deadlines, the employee will not be able to take any vacation leave during that time. On June 15, the employee's vacation leave balance is 260 hours. The employee accrues 10 hours monthly and his/her anniversary date is October 16. If a statement of necessity is filed in June, his/her leave accrual for the four months between June and October will be deferred and not lost as long the employee uses those 40 deferred hours by his/her next anniversary date (October 16 of the following year). The hours of excess vacation leave the employee has on June 15 (20 hours) will not be deferred and will be lost if not used by the approaching anniversary date (October 16 of the present year).)) On June 15th, an employee is assigned to work on a special project. It is expected that the assignment will last six months. Due to an ambitious timeline and strict deadlines, the employee will not be able to take any vacation leave during that time.

     • On June 15th, the employee's vacation leave balance is 260 hours.

     • The employee accrues 10 hours monthly.

     • The employee's anniversary date is October 16th.

     Because the employee will not be able to use leave from June 15th through December 15th the employee files a statement of necessity asking to defer the leave accrued during this time. This deferred leave will not be lost as long as the employee uses the deferred hours by their next anniversary date (October 16th of the following year).

     The 20 hours of excess vacation leave the employee had on June 15th are not covered by the statement of necessity. These hours will not be deferred and will be lost unless they are used before October 16th of the current year.

[Statutory Authority: Chapter 41.06 RCW. 05-08-137, § 357-31-215, filed 4/6/05, effective 7/1/05.]

     Reviser's note: RCW 34.05.395 requires the use of underlining and deletion marks to indicate amendments to existing rules. The rule published above varies from its predecessor in certain respects not indicated by the use of these markings.

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