PRINTER'S NO. 357
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 -