See other bills
under the
same topic
                                                       PRINTER'S NO. 357

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA


HOUSE BILL

No. 336 Session of 2005


        INTRODUCED BY HALUSKA, ALLEN, ARMSTRONG, BEBKO-JONES,
           BENNINGHOFF, CALTAGIRONE, DeWEESE, EACHUS, FABRIZIO, FICHTER,
           FREEMAN, GABIG, GEIST, GOODMAN, HARHAI, HARPER, HERSHEY,
           JAMES, LEH, LESCOVITZ, MANN, McCALL, McGEEHAN, MELIO, MUNDY,
           NAILOR, NICKOL, O'NEILL, PALLONE, PETRARCA, PISTELLA,
           READSHAW, REICHLEY, SAINATO, SHANER, STERN, STURLA, SURRA,
           THOMAS, WOJNAROSKI, YOUNGBLOOD AND YUDICHAK, FEBRUARY 8, 2005

        REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON LABOR RELATIONS, FEBRUARY 8, 2005

                                     AN ACT

     1  Amending the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.177, No.175), entitled
     2     "An act providing for and reorganizing the conduct of the
     3     executive and administrative work of the Commonwealth by the
     4     Executive Department thereof and the administrative
     5     departments, boards, commissions, and officers thereof,
     6     including the boards of trustees of State Normal Schools, or
     7     Teachers Colleges; abolishing, creating, reorganizing or
     8     authorizing the reorganization of certain administrative
     9     departments, boards, and commissions; defining the powers and
    10     duties of the Governor and other executive and administrative
    11     officers, and of the several administrative departments,
    12     boards, commissions, and officers; fixing the salaries of the
    13     Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and certain other executive
    14     and administrative officers; providing for the appointment of
    15     certain administrative officers, and of all deputies and
    16     other assistants and employes in certain departments, boards,
    17     and commissions; and prescribing the manner in which the
    18     number and compensation of the deputies and all other
    19     assistants and employes of certain departments, boards and
    20     commissions shall be determined," providing for catastrophic
    21     leave pools.

    22     The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
    23  hereby enacts as follows:
    24     Section 1.  The act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.177, No.175), known
    25  as The Administrative Code of 1929, is amended by adding a

     1  section to read:
     2     Section 221.1.  Catastrophic Leave Pool.--(a)  The governing
     3  body of a State agency shall, through the establishment of a
     4  program, allow an employe to voluntarily transfer to a leave
     5  pool annual, sick or personal leave earned by the employe. The
     6  pool administrator shall administer the leave pool.
     7     (b)  An employe of a State agency may request in writing that
     8  a specified number of hours of his accrued annual, sick or
     9  personal leave be transferred to the leave pool. An employe may
    10  not transfer to the leave pool any hours of leave if the balance
    11  of his annual and personal leave after the transfer is less than
    12  one hundred twenty hours. The pool administrator shall credit
    13  the leave pool with the amount of time contributed by an employe
    14  and deduct a corresponding amount of time from the employe's
    15  earned annual, sick or personal leave as if the employe had used
    16  the time for personal purposes. Any hours of annual, sick or
    17  personal leave which are transferred from any employe's time to
    18  the leave pool may not be returned or restored to the
    19  originating employe, except that the employe shall not be
    20  prevented from receiving time from the leave pool if eligible.
    21     (c)  An employe is eligible to use time contributed to the
    22  leave pool of the State agency if the employe has exhausted the
    23  balance of annual, personal and sick leave because of a
    24  catastrophic illness or injury that incapacitates the employe
    25  and requires a lengthy convalescence or is life threatening; a
    26  catastrophic illness or injury that incapacitates a member of
    27  the employe's immediate family and requires a lengthy
    28  convalescence or is life threatening; or a death in the
    29  employe's immediate family. The pool administrator at the
    30  direction of the governing body of the State agency may adopt
    20050H0336B0357                  - 2 -     

     1  further criteria as is appropriate.
     2     (d)  An employe may apply in writing to the pool
     3  administrator for permission to withdraw time from the leave
     4  pool. The request must include the employe's name, title and
     5  classification; a statement providing sufficient information
     6  regarding the illness or event resulting in the need for
     7  supplemental leave time. The governing body of the applicable
     8  State agency may require a written certificate from a physician
     9  or other licensed practitioner who is treating the employe or
    10  the member of the employe's immediate family; and the
    11  anticipated duration of leave required to cope with the event.
    12  An employe may not withdraw time from the leave pool in an
    13  amount that exceeds one-third of the total time in the pool; or
    14  ninety days. If an employe requires additional time beyond the
    15  amount requested and used, the employe may apply for additional
    16  leave time in the same manner prescribed in this subsection
    17  through the same procedure.
    18     (e)  The governing body of the State agency may approve the
    19  transfer of a specified number of hours of leave from the leave
    20  pool to an employe who the governing body determines is eligible
    21  to receive such leave. Upon approval of the governing body of
    22  the State agency, the pool administrator shall transfer the time
    23  from the leave pool and shall credit the time to the employe.
    24     (f)  The governing body of the State agency shall have the
    25  authority to periodically review the status of an employe using
    26  time from the leave pool to determine if the need to take leave
    27  continues to exist. The governing body of the State agency may
    28  require a written certificate from a physician or other licensed
    29  practitioner that the reason for the leave still exists and
    30  remains necessary. The governing body of the State agency shall
    20050H0336B0357                  - 3 -     

     1  not grant any hours of leave from the leave pool after the need
     2  to take leave ceases to exist or the employe who is receiving
     3  the leave resigns, retires or his employment with the State
     4  agency is terminated. Any leave received from the leave pool
     5  that was not used shall be returned to the leave pool.
     6     (g)  Each State agency administering a leave pool shall
     7  maintain records and shall issue a report to the General
     8  Assembly no later than eighteen months after the effective date
     9  of this section any information related to the use,
    10  effectiveness and cost to carry out the provisions of this
    11  section.
    12     (h)  Each State agency shall promulgate rules to administer
    13  the provisions of this section.
    14     (i)  As used in this section:
    15     "Employe" means an individual employed by a State agency for
    16  a minimum of one year.
    17     "Immediate family" means the employe's spouse, child,
    18  stepchild, grandchild, grandparent or parent.
    19     "Leave pool" means a catastrophic leave pool established to
    20  accumulate and disburse voluntarily and irrevocably contributed
    21  leave time from State employes for the purpose of providing
    22  supplemental leave time to eligible employes.
    23     "Pool administrator" means the individual appointed by the
    24  governing body of the agency to administer the State agency's
    25  leave pool.
    26     "State agency" means any agency, board, commission, authority
    27  or department of the Commonwealth and the General Assembly.
    28     Section 2.  This act shall take effect in 60 days.


    A10L71JS/20050H0336B0357         - 4 -