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AN ACT providing maternity leave for public school employees. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
ď˘Section 1. KRS 161.155 is amended to read as follows: 3
(1) As used in this section: 4
(a) "Teacher" shall mean any person for whom certification is required as a basis 5
of employment in the common schools of the state; 6
(b) "Employee" shall mean any person, other than a teacher, employed in the 7
public schools, whether on a full or part-time basis; 8
(c) "Immediate family" shall mean the teacher's or employee's spouse, children 9
including stepchildren and foster children, grandchildren, daughters-in-law 10
and sons-in law, brothers and sisters, parents and spouse's parents, and 11
grandparents and spouse's grandparents, without reference to the location or 12
residence of said relative, and any other blood relative who resides in the 13
teacher's or employee's home; 14
(d) "Sick leave bank" shall mean an aggregation of sick leave days contributed by 15
teachers or employees for use by teachers or employees who have exhausted 16
all sick leave and other available paid leave days; and 17
(e) "Assault" shall mean an act that intentionally causes injury so significant that 18
the victim is determined to be, by certification of a physician or surgeon duly 19
qualified under KRS Chapter 342, incapable of performing the duties of his or 20
her job. 21
(2) Each district board of education shall allow to each teacher and full-time employee 22
in its common school system not less than ten (10) days of sick leave during each 23
school year, without deduction of salary. Sick leave shall be granted to a teacher or 24
employee if he or she presents a personal statement or a certificate of a physician 25
stating that the teacher or employee was ill, that the teacher or employee was absent 26
for the purpose of attending to a member of his or her immediate family who was 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 2378
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ill, or for the purpose of mourning a member of his or her immediate family. The 1
ten (10) days of sick leave granted in this subsection may be taken by a teacher or 2
employee on any ten (10) days of the school year and shall be granted in addition to 3
accumulated sick leave days that have been credited to the teacher or employee 4
under the provisions of subsection (4) of this section. 5
(3) A school district shall coordinate among the income and benefits from workers' 6
compensation, temporary disability retirement, and district payroll and benefits so 7
that there is no loss of income or benefits to a teacher or employee for work time 8
lost because of an assault while performing the teacher's or employee's assigned 9
duties for a period of up to one (1) year after the assault. In the event a teacher or 10
employee suffers an assault while performing his or her assigned duties that results 11
in injuries that qualify the teacher or employee for workers' compensation benefits, 12
the district shall provide leave to the teacher or employee for up to one (1) year 13
after the assault with no loss of income or benefits under the following conditions: 14
(a) The district shall pay the salary of the teacher or employee between the time 15
of the assault and the time the teacher's or employee's workers' compensation 16
income benefits take effect, or the time the teacher or employee is certified to 17
return to work by a physician or surgeon duly qualified under KRS Chapter 18
342, whichever is sooner; 19
(b) The district shall pay, for up to one (1) year from the time of the assault, the 20
difference between the salary of the teacher or employee and any workers' 21
compensation income benefits received by the teacher or employee resulting 22
from the assault. Payments by the district shall include payments for 23
intermittent work time missed as a result of the assault during the one (1) year 24
period. If the teacher's or employee's workers' compensation income benefits 25
cease during the one (1) year period after the assault, the district shall also 26
cease to make payments under this paragraph; 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 2378
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(c) The Commonwealth, through the Kentucky Department of Education, shall 1
make the employer's health insurance contribution during the period that the 2
district makes payments under paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subsection; 3
(d) The Commonwealth, through the Kentucky Department of Education, shall 4
make the employer's contribution to the retirement system in which the 5
teacher or employee is a member during the period that the district makes 6
payments under paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subsection; and 7
(e) Payments to a teacher or employee under paragraphs (a) and (b) of this 8
subsection shall be coordinated with workers' compensation benefits under 9
KRS Chapter 342, disability retirement benefits for teachers under KRS 10
161.661 to 161.663, and disability retirement benefits for employees under 11
KRS 61.600 to 61.621 and 78.5522, 78.5524, 78.5526, 78.5528, and 78.5530 12
so that the teacher or employee receives income equivalent to his or her full 13
contracted salary, but in no event shall the combined payments exceed one 14
hundred percent (100%) of the teacher's or employee's full contracted salary. 15
(4) Days of sick leave not taken by an employee or a teacher during any school year 16
shall accumulate without limitation and be credited to that employee or teacher. 17
Accumulated sick leave may be taken in any school year. Any district board of 18
education may, in its discretion, allow employees or teachers in its common school 19
system sick leave in excess of the number of days prescribed in this section and 20
may allow school district employees and teachers to use up to three (3) days' sick 21
leave per school year for emergency leave pursuant to KRS 161.152(3). Any 22
accumulated sick leave days credited to an employee or a teacher shall remain so 23
credited in the event he or she transfers his or her place of employment from one (1) 24
school district to another within the state or to the Kentucky Department of 25
Education or transfers from the Department of Education to a school district. 26
(5) Accumulated days of sick leave shall be granted to a teacher or employee if, prior to 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 2378
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the opening day of the school year, a statement or a certificate of a physician is 1
presented to the district board of education, stating that the teacher or employee is 2
unable to commence his or her duties on the opening day of the school year, but 3
will be able to assume his or her duties within a period of time that the board 4
determines to be reasonable. 5
(6) Any school teacher or employee may repurchase previously used sick leave days 6
with the concurrence of the local school board by paying to the district an amount 7
equal to the total of all costs associated with the used sick leave. 8
(7) A district board of education may adopt a plan for a sick leave bank. The plan may 9
include limitations upon the number of days a teacher or employee may annually 10
contribute to the bank and limitations upon the number of days a teacher or 11
employee may annually draw from the bank. Only those teachers or employees who 12
contribute to the bank may draw upon the bank. Days contributed will be deducted 13
from the days available to the contributing teacher or employee. The sick leave 14
bank shall be administered in accordance with a policy adopted by the board of 15
education. 16
(8) (a) A district board of education shall establish a sick leave donation program to 17
permit teachers or employees to voluntarily contribute sick leave to teachers 18
or employees in the same school district who are in need of an extended 19
absence from school. A teacher or employee who has accrued more than 20
fifteen (15) days' sick leave may request the board of education to transfer a 21
designated amount of sick leave to another teacher or employee who is 22
authorized to receive the sick leave donated. A teacher or employee may not 23
request an amount of sick leave be donated that reduces his or her sick leave 24
balance to less than fifteen (15) days. 25
(b) A teacher or employee may receive donations of sick leave if: 26
1. a. The teacher or employee or a member of his or her immediate 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 2378
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family suffers from a medically certified illness, injury, 1
impairment, or physical or mental condition that has caused or is 2
likely to cause the teacher or employee to be absent for at least ten 3
(10) days; or 4
b. The teacher or employee suffers from a catastrophic loss to his or 5
her personal or real property, due to either a natural disaster or fire, 6
that either has caused or will likely cause the employee to be 7
absent for at least ten (10) consecutive working days; 8
2. The teacher's or employee's need for the absence and use of leave are 9
certified by a licensed physician for leave requested under subparagraph 10
1.a. of this paragraph[subsection]; 11
3. The teacher or employee has exhausted his or her accumulated sick 12
leave, personal leave, and any other leave granted by the school district; 13
and 14
4. The teacher or employee has complied with the school district's policies 15
governing the use of sick leave. 16
(c) While a teacher or employee is on sick leave provided by this section, he or 17
she shall be considered a school district employee, and his or her salary, 18
wages, and other employee benefits shall not be affected. 19
(d) Any sick leave that remains unused, is not needed by a teacher or employee, 20
and will not be needed in the future shall be returned to the teacher or 21
employee donating the sick leave. 22
(e) The board of education shall adopt policies and procedures necessary to 23
implement the sick leave donation program. 24
(9) A teacher or employee who gives birth shall be granted twenty (20) maternity 25
days. These maternity days shall be used without deduction of salary and shall 26
only be used for leave that is medically necessary due to giving birth. The 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 2378
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maternity days shall be used prior to the teacher or employee using any other 1
leave. Any maternity days unused by the teacher or employee shall not transfer 2
into sick leave and shall expire upon return to work. Additionally, a teacher or 3
employee may use up to thirty (30) days of sick leave following the birth or 4
adoption of a child or children. Additional days may be used when the need is 5
verified by a physician's statement. 6
(10) (a) After July 1, 1982, a district board of education may compensate, at the time 7
of retirement or upon the death of a member in active contributing status at 8
the time of death who was eligible to retire by reason of service, an employee 9
or a teacher, or the estate of an employee or teacher, for each unused sick 10
leave day. The rate of compensation for each unused sick leave day shall be 11
based on a percentage of the daily salary rate calculated from the employee's 12
or teacher's last annual salary, not to exceed thirty percent (30%). 13
(b) Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this subsection, payment for unused 14
sick leave days under this subsection shall be incorporated into the annual 15
salary of the final year of service for inclusion in the calculation of the 16
employee's or teacher's retirement allowance only at the time of his or her 17
initial retirement, provided that the member makes the regular retirement 18
contribution for members on the sick leave payment. The accumulation of 19
these days includes unused sick leave days held by the employee or teacher at 20
the time of implementation of the program. 21
(c) For a teacher or employee who becomes a nonuniversity member of the 22
Teachers' Retirement System on or after January 1, 2022, as provided by KRS 23
161.220, payment for unused sick leave days under this subsection shall not 24
be incorporated into the annual compensation used to calculate the teacher's or 25
employee's retirement allowance in the foundational benefit component as 26
described by KRS 161.633 but may be deposited into the nonuniversity 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 2378
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member's supplemental benefit component as provided by KRS 161.635. 1
(d) For a teacher or employee who begins employment with a local school district 2
on or after July 1, 2008, the maximum amount of unused sick leave days a 3
district board of education may recognize in calculating the payment of 4
compensation to the teacher or employee under this subsection shall not 5
exceed three hundred (300) days. 6
(11) Any statute to the contrary notwithstanding, employees and teachers who 7
transferred from the Department of Education to a school district, from a school 8
district to the Department of Education, or from one (1) school district to another 9
school district after July 15, 1981, shall receive credit for any unused sick leave to 10
which the employee or teacher was entitled on the date of transfer. This credit shall 11
be for the purposes set forth in subsection (10) of this section. 12
(12) The death benefit provided in subsection (10) of this section may be cited as the 13
Baughn Benefit. 14