Senate Bill No. 474

(By Senators Prezioso, Unger, Minear, Caldwell and Hunter)

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[Introduced February 7, 2003; referred to the Committee on Education; and then to the Committee on Finance.]

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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 faculty eligible to accrue sick leave 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' and faculty members' catastrophic leave bank and leave transfer.

(a) A classified or nonclassified employee employed by the higher education governing board or by the central office, or a full-time faculty member, as defined by section one, article eight of this chapter, otherwise eligible to accrue sick leave, may donate sick and annual leave to a leave bank established and operated in accordance with the provisions of subsection (c) of this section or directly to another employee or faculty member in accordance with the provisions of subsection (d) of this section. No employee or faculty member shall be compelled to donate sick or annual leave. Any leave donated by an employee or faculty member pursuant to this section shall be used only for the purpose of catastrophic illness or injury as defined in subsection (b) 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 or faculty member is entitled.
(b) For the purpose of this section, a catastrophic illness or injury means an illness or injury which is expected to incapacitate the employee or faculty member and which creates a financial hardship because the employee or faculty member has exhausted all sick and annual leave and other paid time off. Catastrophic illness or injury shall also include an incapacitated immediate family member as defined by the appropriate governing board if this results in the employee or faculty member being required to take time off from work for an extended period of time to care for the family member and the employee or faculty member has exhausted all sick and annual leave and other paid time off.
(c) A leave bank or banks may be established at each state institution of higher education and the central office to which employees or faculty members may donate either sick or annual leave. The bank or banks may be established jointly by the central office and both governing boards, may be established for the central office 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 or faculty member.
Such deposited leave may be withdrawn by any employee or faculty member experiencing a catastrophic illness or injury as those terms are defined in subsection (b) of this section upon appropriate verification that the employee or faculty member is unable to work due to the catastrophic illness or injury as determined by the president of the institution or senior administrator, approval of the withdrawal by the president of the institution or senior administrator, and 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 or faculty member.
(d) Sick or annual leave may be donated to any employee or faculty member experiencing a catastrophic illness or injury as those terms are defined in subsection (b) of this section. Such leave shall be donated at the request of the employee or faculty member upon appropriate verification that the employee or faculty member is unable to work due to the catastrophic illness or injury as determined by the president of the institution or senior administrator. Upon approval of the transfer of sick or annual leave by the president of the institution or senior administrator, any employee or faculty member may, upon written notice to the personnel office, donate sick or annual leave in one-day increments. Donations shall be reflected as a day-for-day deduction from the sick or annual leave balance of the donating employee or faculty member. An employee or faculty member receiving the transfer of sick or annual leave shall have any time which is donated credited to such employee's or faculty member's account in one-day increments and reflected as a day-for-day addition to the leave balance of the receiving employee or faculty member.
(e) 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 or faculty member 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) Transfer of sick or annual leave deposited in an institutional leave bank or transferred under subsection (c) may be inter-institutional in accordance with the policies of the appropriate governing board. Each institution and the central office shall be responsible for the administration of the sick or annual leave deposits, withdrawals and transfers of its employees faculty members. Rules implementing the provisions of this section may be adopted jointly or separately by the governing boards in accordance with article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code.



NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to permit faculty 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.