Senate Bill No. 6015
(By Senators Tomblin, Mr. President, and Sprouse,
By Request of the Executive)
____________
[Introduced October 21, 2001; referred to the Committee on
Finance.]
____________
A BILL to amend and reenact section one, article one-f, chapter
fifteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to the leave of
absence term for public officials and employees for drills,
parades, active duty and other military obligations.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section one, article one-f, chapter fifteen of the code
of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1F. PRIVILEGES AND PROHIBITIONS.
§15-1F-1. Leave of absence for public officials and employees for
drills, parades, active duty, etc.
(a) All officers and employees of the state, or subdivisions
or municipalities thereof, who shall be members of the national guard or any military reserve unit of the United States armed
services, shall be entitled to leave of absence from their
respective offices or employments without loss of pay, status or
efficiency rating, on the days during which they shall be engaged
in drills, parades or other duty, during business hours ordered by
proper authority, or for field training or military duty, to
include the active service of the state, for a maximum period of
thirty working days in any one calendar year.
(b) Effective the eleventh day of September, two thousand one,
Provided, That effective the second day of August, one thousand
nine hundred ninety, all officers and employees of the state, or
subdivisions or municipalities thereof, who are ordered or called
to active duty by the appropriate federal authority, President of
the United States shall be entitled to an additional leave of
absence from their respective offices or employments without loss
of pay, status or efficiency rating for a maximum period of thirty
working days per single period of call to active duty.
(c) If called to active duty by the appropriate federal
authority, an officer or employee of the state, or subdivisions or
municipalities thereof may continue to use military leave granted
under subsection (a), however, no officer or employee shall receive
more than sixty working days of paid leave for any single call to
active duty.
(d) The term "without loss of pay" means that the officer or
employee shall continue to receive his or her normal salary or
compensation, notwithstanding the fact that such officer or
employee may have received other compensation from federal or state
sources during the same period.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to alter the existing state law
regarding military leave for West Virginia citizens. The bill would
limit military leave under normal circumstances to thirty working days
per calendar year, but would allow for thirty additional days when
called by the appropriate federal authority. This would not increase
the burden on employers by allowing sixty days of military leave per
year for any purpose, but instead only in cases of call to active duty
by the appropriate federal authority.
Strike-throughs indicate new language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that
would be added.