ASSEMBLY, No. 720
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION
By Assemblyman R. SMITH
An Act permitting the establishment of sick leave banks for school board employees and supplementing chapter 30 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a sick leave bank may be established for employees of a board of education if both the board and the majority representative or majority representatives of the employees, who would be eligible to participate, consent to the establishment of the sick leave bank. The purpose of the sick leave bank shall be to enable employees of the board who are entitled to sick leave under chapter 30 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes to draw needed days of sick leave in addition to any days to which they are otherwise entitled. The sick leave days available from the sick leave bank shall be accrued sick leave days previously donated to the bank by employees of the board. Sick leave drawn from the bank shall be treated for all purposes as if it were accrued sick leave time of the employee who receives it. No employee shall be required to donate sick leave to the bank. A sick leave bank may be established for any employees of the board represented by any consenting majority representative of employees of the board, even if one or more other majority representatives of employees of the board do not consent.
2. The sick leave bank shall be administered by a committee which shall be comprised of three members selected by the board of education and three members selected by the majority representative or majority representatives of those employees of the board who are eligible to participate in the sick leave bank. A single sick leave bank may be used by employees represented by two or more majority representatives, if those majority representatives reach an agreement on how to select the three committee members not selected by the board, using rotation or such other means for selection as they deem appropriate. The committee may establish standards or procedures that it deems appropriate for the operation of the sick leave bank, which may include a requirement that employees donate leave time to be eligible to draw leave time from the sick leave bank and limitations on the amount of sick leave time which may be drawn or the conditions under which the sick leave time may be drawn. No day of sick leave which is donated to a sick leave bank by an employee shall be drawn by that employee or any other employee from the sick leave bank unless authorized by the committee in order to provide sick leave.
3. No provision of this act, or regulation promulgated to implement or enforce this act, shall be deemed to justify a board of education in reducing or making less favorable to employees any sick leave, disability pay or other benefits provided by the board or required by a collective bargaining agreement which are more favorable to the employees than those required by this act, nor shall any provision of this act, or any regulation promulgated to implement or enforce this act, be construed to prohibit the negotiation and provision through collective bargaining agreements of sick leave, disability pay or other benefits which are more favorable to the employee than those required by this act, irrespective of the date that a collective bargaining agreement takes effect.
4. No provision of this act shall be construed as limiting the authority of a board of education to provide an employee with additional days of salary pursuant to N.J.S.18A:30-6 after all sick leave available to the employee has been used.
5. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill permits the establishment of a sick leave bank for employees of a board of education upon the consent of the board and the majority representative or majority representatives of the collective bargaining unit or units of the employees of the board. The purpose of the bank is to enable an employee to draw, as needed, accrued sick leave days previously donated voluntarily by the employee or other employees of the board. The bill prohibits any requirement that an employee donate sick leave.
The sick leave bank would be administered by a committee comprised of three members selected by the board of education and three members selected by the consenting majority representative or majority representatives of the employees of the board. The bill authorizes the committee to establish procedures for the operation of the sick leave bank, such as requirements that employees donate leave time to be eligible to draw leave time from the sick leave bank and limitations on the amount of time which may be drawn. Sick leave which is donated by an employee may not be withdrawn by that employee or any other employee unless authorized by the committee in order to provide sick leave. Also, the provisions of the bill do not limit the authority of a board of education to provide an employee with additional days of salary pursuant to N.J.S.18A:30-6 after all available sick leave has been used.
Permits the establishment of sick leave banks for school employees.