COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 474
(By Senators Prezioso, Unger, Minear, Caldwell and Hunter)
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[Originating in the Committee on Education;
reported February 21, 2003.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section ten, article nine, chapter
eighteen-b of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to permitting certain
faculty members to participate in the catastrophic leave bank.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section ten, article nine, chapter eighteen-b of the code
of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 9. CLASSIFIED EMPLOYEE SALARY SCHEDULE AND CLASSIFICATION
SYSTEM.
§18B-9-10. Higher education employees' catastrophic leave bank
and leave transfer.
(a) For the purposes of this section, "employee" means:
(1) A classified or nonclassified employee who is employed by
the a higher education governing board or by the central office policy commission; or
(2) A faculty member, as defined in section one, article eight
of this chapter, who is eligible to accrue sick leave.
(a) (b) An employee may donate sick and annual leave to a
leave bank established and operated in accordance with the
provisions of subsection (c) (d) of this section or directly to
another employee in accordance with the provisions of subsection
(d) (e) of this section. No employee shall be compelled to donate
sick or annual leave. Any leave donated by an employee pursuant to
this section shall be used only for the purpose of catastrophic
illness or injury as defined in subsection (b) (c) of this section
and shall reduce, to the extent of such donation, the number of
days of annual or sick leave to which the employee is entitled.
(b) (c) For the purpose of this section, a catastrophic
illness or injury means an illness or injury which is expected to
incapacitate the employee and which creates a financial hardship
because the employee has exhausted all sick and annual leave and
other paid time off. Catastrophic illness or injury shall also
include includes an incapacitated immediate family member as
defined by the appropriate a governing board or the policy
commission, as appropriate, if this results in the employee being
required to take time off from work for an extended period of time
to care for the family member and if the employee has exhausted all
sick and annual leave and other paid time off.
(c) (d) A leave bank or banks may be established at each
state institution of higher education and the central office policy commission to which employees may donate either sick or annual
leave. The bank or banks may be established jointly by the central
office policy commission and both the governing boards or may be
established for the central office policy commission and each of
the governing boards, or may be established for the central office
and each institution of higher education under either governing
board. Sick or annual leave may be deposited in the leave bank,
and such deposit shall be reflected as a day-for-day deduction from
the sick or annual leave balance of the depositing employee.
Such deposited Donated leave may be withdrawn by any employee
experiencing a catastrophic illness or injury as those terms are
defined in subsection (b) (c) of this section when the following
conditions are met:
(1) upon appropriate verification The president of the
institution or the chancellor of the policy commission, as
appropriate, verifies that the employee is unable to work due to
the catastrophic illness or injury as determined by the president
of the institution or senior administrator; and
(2) approval of the withdrawal by The president of the
institution or senior administrator the chancellor, as appropriate,
approves the withdrawal and provides written notice to the
personnel office.
The withdrawal shall be reflected as a day-for-day addition to
the leave balance of the withdrawing employee.
(d) (e) Sick or annual leave may be donated to any employee
experiencing a catastrophic illness or injury as those terms are defined in subsection (b) (c) of this section. Such leave shall be
donated at the request of the employee upon after appropriate
verification that the employee is unable to work due to the
catastrophic illness or injury as determined by the president of
the institution or senior administrator the chancellor. Upon
approval of the When transfer of sick or annual leave is approved
by the president of the institution or senior administrator the
chancellor, any employee may, upon written notice to the personnel
office, donate sick or annual leave in one-day increments by
providing written notice to the personnel office. Donations shall
be reflected as a day-for-day deduction from the sick or annual
leave balance of the donating employee. An employee receiving the
transfer of donated sick or annual leave shall have any time which
is donated credited to such employee's
his or her account in
one-day increments and reflected as a day-for-day addition to the
leave balance of the receiving employee.
(e) (f) Use of donated credits may not exceed a maximum of
twelve continuous calendar months for any one catastrophic illness
or injury. The total amount of sick or annual leave withdrawn or
received may not exceed an amount sufficient to ensure the
continuance of regular compensation and shall not be used to extend
insurance coverage pursuant to section thirteen, article sixteen,
chapter five of this code. An employee withdrawing or receiving
donations of sick or annual leave pursuant to this section shall
use any leave personally accrued on a monthly basis prior to
receiving additional donated sick or annual leave.
(f) (g) Transfer of Donated sick or annual leave deposited in
an institutional leave bank or transferred under subsection (c) (d)
of this section may be inter-institutional in accordance with the
policies of the appropriate governing board. Each institution and
the central office shall be
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to permit faculty who are
eligible to accrue sick leave to participate in the catastrophic
leave bank with classified and nonclassified employees of higher
education.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.