House Bill 2005c1

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000             CS/HB 2005

        By the Committee on Community Colleges & Career Prep and
    Representatives Harrington, Bitner, Bense, Tullis, Arnall and
    Bainter




  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to education; amending s.

  3         231.40, F.S.; providing for payment into pretax

  4         annuities for accumulated sick leave to certain

  5         employees of district school systems; limiting

  6         the amount of pay certain employees of district

  7         school systems may receive for unused sick

  8         leave upon termination of employment; providing

  9         conditions on the use of sick leave; amending

10         s. 231.481, F.S.; limiting the amount of pay

11         certain employees of district school systems

12         may earn for unused vacation leave upon

13         termination of employment; amending s. 240.343,

14         F.S.; providing for community college district

15         boards of trustees to adopt rules allowing

16         payment for unused sick leave into pretax

17         retirement accounts; limiting the amount of pay

18         certain employees of community college

19         districts may receive for unused sick leave

20         upon termination of employment; providing

21         conditions on the use of sick leave; providing

22         an effective date.

23

24  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

25

26         Section 1.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of section

27  231.40, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

28         231.40  Sick leave.--

29         (3)  PROVISIONS GOVERNING SICK LEAVE.--The following

30  provisions shall govern sick leave:

31         (a)  Extent of leave.--

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000             CS/HB 2005

    613-132-00






  1         1.  Each member of the instructional staff employed on

  2  a full-time basis shall be entitled to 4 days of sick leave as

  3  of the first day of employment of each contract year and shall

  4  thereafter earn 1 day of sick leave for each month of

  5  employment, which shall be credited to the member at the end

  6  of that month and which shall not be used prior to the time it

  7  is earned and credited to the member.  Each other employee

  8  shall be credited with 4 days of sick leave at the end of the

  9  first month of employment of each contract year and shall

10  thereafter be credited for 1 day of sick leave for each month

11  of employment, which shall be credited to the employee at the

12  end of the month and which shall not be used prior to the time

13  it is earned and credited to the employee.  However, each

14  member of the instructional staff and each other employee

15  shall be entitled to earn no more than 1 day of sick leave

16  times the number of months of employment during the year of

17  employment.  If the employee terminates his or her employment

18  and has not accrued the 4 sick days available to him or her,

19  the school board may withhold the average daily amount for the

20  sick days used utilized but unearned by the employee. Such

21  leave shall be taken only when necessary because of sickness

22  as herein prescribed.  Such sick leave shall be cumulative

23  from year to year.  There shall be no limit on the number of

24  days of sick leave which a member of the instructional staff

25  or an educational support employee may accrue, except that at

26  least one-half of this cumulative leave must be established

27  within the district granting such leave.

28         2.  A school board may establish policies and prescribe

29  standards to permit an employee to be absent 6 days each

30  school year for personal reasons. However, such absences for

31

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000             CS/HB 2005

    613-132-00






  1  personal reasons shall be charged only to accrued sick leave,

  2  and leave for personal reasons shall be noncumulative.

  3         3.  District school boards are authorized to adopt

  4  rules permitting the annual payment for accumulated sick leave

  5  that is earned for that year and that is unused at the end of

  6  the school year, based on the daily rate of pay of the

  7  employee multiplied by up to 80 percent.  Days for which such

  8  payment is received shall be deducted from the accumulated

  9  leave balance. However, for any full-time employee of the

10  district school board other than instructional staff or an

11  educational support employee as defined in this section, in

12  lieu of such authorized cash payment, that same amount may be

13  contributed annually by the employer, upon request by the

14  employee, to an approved pretax retirement account in the name

15  of the employee, pursuant to rules of the school board and in

16  compliance with federal tax laws and regulations. Such annual

17  payment may apply only to instructional staff and educational

18  support employees.

19         4.  A school board may establish policies to provide

20  terminal pay for accumulated sick leave to instructional staff

21  and educational support employees of the district school

22  board.  If termination of employment is by death of the

23  employee, any terminal pay to which the employee may have been

24  entitled may be made to his or her beneficiary. However, such

25  terminal pay shall not exceed an amount determined as follows:

26         a.  During the first 3 years of service, the daily rate

27  of pay multiplied by 35 percent times the number of days of

28  accumulated sick leave.

29         b.  During the next 3 years of service, the daily rate

30  of pay multiplied by 40 percent times the number of days of

31  accumulated sick leave.

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000             CS/HB 2005

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  1         c.  During the next 3 years of service, the daily rate

  2  of pay multiplied by 45 percent times the number of days of

  3  accumulated sick leave.

  4         d.  During the next 3 years of service, the daily rate

  5  of pay multiplied by 50 percent times the number of days of

  6  accumulated sick leave.

  7         e.  During and after the 13th year of service, the

  8  daily rate of pay multiplied by 100 percent times the number

  9  of days of accumulated sick leave.

10         5.  A school board may establish policies to provide

11  terminal pay for accumulated sick leave to any full-time

12  employee of the district school board other than instructional

13  staff or educational support employees as defined in this

14  section.  If termination of the employee is by death of the

15  employee, any terminal pay to which the employee may have been

16  entitled may be made to the employee's beneficiary.

17         a.  However, for such employees hired on or after July

18  1, 1995, Terminal pay shall not exceed an amount determined as

19  follows:

20         a.  one-fourth of all unused sick leave accumulated on

21  or after July 1, 2000, and may 1995; however, terminal pay

22  allowable for such accumulated sick leave shall not exceed a

23  maximum of 60 days of actual payment, in addition to the total

24  amount of any disbursements that have been made at the end of

25  each year pursuant to subparagraph 3.  This limit does not

26  impair any contractual agreement established before July 1,

27  2000; however, a previously established contract renewed on or

28  after July 1, 2000, shall be considered a new contract.

29         b.  For unused sick leave accumulated before prior to

30  July 1, 2000 1995, terminal payment shall be made pursuant to

31

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000             CS/HB 2005

    613-132-00






  1  a district school board's policies, contracts, or rules that

  2  which are in effect on June 30, 2000 July 1, 1995.

  3         c.  If an employee has an accumulated sick leave

  4  balance of 60 days or more prior to July 1, 2000, sick leave

  5  earned after that date may not be accumulated for terminal pay

  6  purposes until the accumulated leave balance for leave earned

  7  before July 1, 2000, is less than 60 days.

  8         Section 2.  Section 231.481, Florida Statutes, is

  9  amended to read:

10         231.481  Terminal pay for accrued vacation leave.--A

11  district school board may establish policies to provide for a

12  lump-sum payment for accrued vacation leave to an employee of

13  the school board upon termination of employment or upon

14  retirement, or to the employee's beneficiary if service is

15  terminated by death. Effective July 1, 2000 1995, terminal pay

16  for accrued vacation leave may not exceed a maximum of 60 days

17  of actual payment for employees hired on or after that date.

18  This limit does not impair any contractual agreement

19  established before July 1, 2000.  For unused vacation leave

20  accumulated before July 1, 2000, terminal payment shall be

21  made pursuant to the district school board's policies,

22  contracts, or rules that are in effect on June 30, 2000.

23         Section 3.  Paragraph (e) of subsection (2) of section

24  240.343, Florida Statutes, is amended, and paragraph (f) is

25  added to said subsection, to read:

26         240.343  Sick leave.--Each community college district

27  board of trustees shall adopt rules whereby any full-time

28  employee who is unable to perform his or her duties at the

29  college on account of personal sickness, accident disability,

30  or extended personal illness, or because of illness or death

31  of the employee's father, mother, brother, sister, husband,

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000             CS/HB 2005

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  1  wife, child, or other close relative or member of the

  2  employee's own household, and who consequently has to be

  3  absent from work shall be granted leave of absence for

  4  sickness by the president or by the president's designated

  5  representative.  The following provisions shall govern sick

  6  leave:

  7         (2)  EXTENT OF LEAVE WITH COMPENSATION.--

  8         (e)  For full-time employees other than instructional

  9  staff or educational support employees, the board of trustees

10  may, by rule, authorize accumulated sick leave that is earned

11  during the year and is unused at the end of that year to be

12  paid into an approved pretax retirement account. The amount

13  paid annually into a pretax retirement account may not exceed

14  an amount equal to 80 percent of the accumulated sick leave

15  multiplied by the employee's daily rate of pay for the time

16  the sick leave was accumulated. Such payments must be made

17  pursuant to the rules of the board of trustees and must comply

18  with federal tax law. An employee eligible under such rules

19  has the option to participate provided the amount of sick

20  leave for which payment is made into a pretax retirement

21  account shall be deducted from the employee's accumulated

22  unused sick leave balance. A board of trustees may establish

23  rules or policies to provide terminal pay for accumulated sick

24  leave to any full-time employee of a community college other

25  than instructional staff or educational support employees as

26  defined in this section. If termination of employment is by

27  death of the employee, any terminal pay to which the employee

28  may have been entitled may be made to the employee's

29  beneficiary.  However, for such employees hired on or after

30  July 1, 1995, terminal pay shall not exceed an amount

31  determined as follows:

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000             CS/HB 2005

    613-132-00






  1         1.  One-fourth of all unused sick leave accumulated on

  2  or after July 1, 1995; however, terminal pay allowable for

  3  such accumulated sick leave shall not exceed a maximum of 60

  4  days of actual payment.

  5         2.  For unused sick leave accumulated prior to July 1,

  6  1995, terminal payment shall be made pursuant to a board of

  7  trustees' policies which are in effect on July 1, 1995.

  8         (f)  The board of trustees may, by rule, provide for

  9  terminal pay for accumulated unused sick leave to be paid to

10  any full-time employee of a community college, other than

11  instructional staff or educational support employees. If

12  termination of employment is by death of the employee, any

13  terminal pay to which the employee may have been entitled

14  shall be made to the employee's beneficiary.

15         1.  For unused sick leave accumulated before July 1,

16  2000, terminal payment shall be made pursuant to rules or

17  policies of the board of trustees which are in effect on June

18  30, 2000.

19         2.  For unused sick leave accumulated on or after July

20  1, 2000, terminal payment may not exceed an amount equal to

21  one-fourth of the employee's unused sick leave or 60 days of

22  the employee's pay, whichever amount is less.

23         3.  If the employee has an accumulated sick leave

24  balance of 60 days or more on June 30, 2000, sick leave earned

25  after that date may not be accumulated for terminal pay

26  purposes until the accumulated leave balance as of June 30,

27  2000, falls below 60 days.

28         Section 4.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2000.

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