Req. No. 5102 Page 1 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 59th Legislature (2023)
HOUSE BILL 1790 By: Williams
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to state government; establishing
volunteer administrative leave for s tate employees;
defining term; establishing eligibility requirements;
requiring agencies to provide forma l request process;
establishing that certain organizations shall be
ineligible; establishing process by whic h leave may
be taken; establishing accounta bility provisions;
establishing disciplinary procedures; establishing
criteria for denial of requests for leave; stating
that the Legislature may discontinue program;
providing for codification; and providing an
effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Sectio n 840-8.2 of Title 74, unless
there is created a duplication i n numbering, reads as follows:
1. As used in this section, "volunteer administrative leave"
shall mean hours of labor state employees may donate to ward a
501(c)(3) charitable organization or public school.
2. Full-time and part-time exempt or non-exempt state employees
shall be able to donate up to twelve (12) hours of labor, pe r
calendar year, toward a 501(c)(3) charitable organization or public
Req. No. 5102 Page 2 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
school located within this state. The provisions of this subsection
shall not apply to seasonal and temporary em ployees.
3. Requests for volunte er administrative leave shall be subject
to the approval of an employee's department manager or agency
director. All state agencies shall make available to state
employees a form by which requests for volunteer administrat ive
leave may be submitted. All state agencies shall require employees
to submit formal requests for volunteer administrative leave at
least one (1) week prior to the requested leave date. All forms for
request of volunteer administrative leave shall inc lude a space for
the signature of a representative of the charitable orga nization
attesting to the time volunteered, and employees shall be requir ed
to return the signed form after volunteering.
4. Volunteer administrative leave may not be used for
organizations that discriminate on the basis of race, color,
national origin, religion, sexual orientation, ancestry, age,
disability or any other federal, state or local protected
characteristic.
5. Volunteer administrative leave may be taken in two (2) hour
increments up to four (4) hours in a day. All time spent traveling
to and from a volunteering location shall be considered time sp ent
on volunteer administrative leave. Volunteer administrative leave
shall not be taken for volunteer time completed outside normally
scheduled work hours. Volunteer administrati ve leave shall be
Req. No. 5102 Page 3 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
awarded on the first day of the first p ay period of each calendar
year. New employees hired during the calendar year will be awarded
a pro-rated amount of volunteer administrative leave equal to two
(2) hours per remaining full month of the calendar year.
6. Volunteer administrative leave sha ll expire on the final day
of the final pay period of the calendar year. Unused volunteer
administrative leave will not carry over year to year and will not
be paid out upon separation of employment , voluntary or involuntary.
7. Volunteer administrative leave shall not be used to
supplement any other type of leave including paid time off.
Volunteer administrative leave shall n ot be transferable between
employees. Volunteer administrative leave sha ll not be considered
as time worked when determining over time eligibility. Employees
shall record the time as volunteer administrative leave on their
timesheets and/or electronic tim ekeeper.
8. Employees wishing to volunteer to as sist with programs which
are operated by this state must seek approval from the human
resources director to ensure Fair Labor Standards Act guidelines are
not violated.
9. Employees may not provide or use S tate of Oklahoma tools,
equipment, supplies or re sources while performing community service
unless previously approved by their manager. In some cases, this
state may already provide assistance to these organizations if the
Req. No. 5102 Page 4 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
organization made a separate re quest for support that was approved
by this state.
10. Employees may not accept any compensation, remuneration,
money, gifts, privileges or other valuable consideration. No state
employee may personally profit or advantage from volunteer
activities performed while on volunteer administrative leave .
Participation in volunteer activities must not influence the
employees in the perfo rmance of his or her official duties.
11. Employees found falsifying performance of volunteer
activities or abuse of the volunteer administrative leave program in
any way will be subject to revocati on of eligibility as well as
disciplinary procedures up t o and including separation of
employment.
12. Requests for volunteer administrative leave may be denied
for reasons including , but not limited to, staffing shortages or
organizations deemed ineligib le according to the criteria
established in paragraph 4 o f this section and shall not be the
basis for a grievance filed by the employee .
13. The Legislature shall reserve the right to amend or
discontinue this program at any time.
SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2023.
59-1-5102 LRB 01/03/23