SENATE BILL 808
By Yarbro
HOUSE BILL 632
By Clemmons
HB0632
001890
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AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 8,
relative to paid volunteer leave.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 8, Chapter 50, Part 8, is amended by
adding the following new section:
(a)
(1) Volunteer leave may be granted:
(A) To each officer and employee described in § 8-30-102(b)(1)
who is scheduled to work one thousand six hundred (1,600) hours or
more in a fiscal year, whether compensated on an annual, hourly, daily,
monthly, or other basis, at the rate of fifteen (15) hours per year on the
service anniversary date of the employee following one (1) full year of
consecutive full-time service and at the beginning of each subsequent
year, at the discretion of the head of the department or agency and with
the approval of the commissioner of human resources; and
(B) To each state officer and employee other than individuals
described in § 8-30-102(b)(1) who is scheduled to work one thousand six
hundred (1,600) hours or more in a fiscal year, whether compensated on
an annual, hourly, daily, monthly, or other basis, at the rate of fifteen (15)
hours per year on the service anniversary date of the employee following
one (1) full year of consecutive full-time service and at the beginning of
each subsequent year, at the discretion of the head of the department or
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agency and with the approval of the commissioner of human resources.
For purposes of this subdivision (a)(1)(B), service anniversary dates must
be adjusted to account for gaps in paid employment as a state employee.
(2) Volunteer leave must be considered a non-cumulative benefit for all
earned days not used. Saturdays, Sundays, and official holidays falling within a
leave period must not be charged as leave, unless such days are considered
workdays for the employee in the employee's particular assignment. Part-time
employees, employees holding temporary positions for less than six (6) months,
seasonal employees, and emergency employees in the preferred service are
expressly excluded from this subsection (a).
(3) Volunteer leave may only be used for absence from duty because of
non-state Tennessee community commitments and obligations, such as activities
with nonprofit organizations, schools, or community initiatives, as a non-paid
volunteer following prior approval from a direct supervisor as the attendance of
the employee is necessary for the volunteer activities, except as otherwise
provided in this section.
(4) An employee utilizing volunteer leave shall submit formal written
verification of hours dedicated to volunteering at the pre-approved commitment
location to the direct supervisor or in a manner prescribed by the department of
human resources within seven (7) days after the usage date.
(5) An employee utilizing volunteer leave shall abide by the standards
outlined in the most recently published State of Tennessee – Code of Conduct,
particularly Standard 3, which asserts that clear distinctions must be made
between comments, statements, or actions made as a private individual and as a
representative of Tennessee. Further, employees utilizing volunteer leave shall
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not speak on behalf of their respective department or agency without prior
authorization to do so. Employees utilizing volunteer leave shall not make
unauthorized commitments or promises of any kind purporting to bind the
department or agency.
(b) The eligible employee must provide the appropriate appointing authority with
not less than fourteen (14) days' notice. If the eligible employee learns of the need for
leave less than fourteen (14) days in advance, the employee must give notice as soon
as reasonably possible and the deciding supervisor may still approve the request so long
as taking the leave will not disrupt the employee's normal job duties.
(c) Leave used by an eligible employee pursuant to this section must not be
charged against sick, annual, or other leave the employee may have accumulated.
Volunteer leave must be administered in alignment with the existing state leave policies
and must not affect sick leave, annual leave, or other benefits.
(d) Leave taken under this section may be used intermittently pursuant to this
part and must not result in a reduction in the total amount of leave to which the eligible
employee is entitled under this section beyond the amount of leave actually taken.
(e) An eligible employee who exercises the employee's right to leave under this
section, upon the expiration of that leave, is entitled to be restored to the position held by
the eligible employee when the leave commenced, or to a position with equivalent
seniority, status, employment benefits, pay, and other terms and conditions of
employment, including fringe benefits to which the eligible employee had been entitled at
the commencement of leave.
(f) During leave taken pursuant to this section, the employer shall maintain
healthcare benefits the eligible employee had prior to taking such leave for the duration
of the leave as if the eligible employee had continued in employment continuously from
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the date the eligible employee commenced the leave until the date the leave terminated;
provided, however, that the eligible employee must continue to pay the eligible
employee's share of the cost of the health benefits as required prior to the
commencement of the leave.
(g) It is unlawful for an employer or a person to interfere with, restrain, or deny
the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, a right protected under this section without
proper cause and explanation as part of the supervisor approval process as described in
subdivision (a)(3). An employer shall not take retaliatory personnel action or otherwise
discriminate against a person because the employee exercised rights protected under
this section. It is unlawful for an employer to count paid leave under this section as an
act that may lead to or result in discipline, discharge, demotion, suspension, or other
adverse action. Violations of this section by an employer may result in administrative
penalties as determined by the department of human resources.
(h) The department of human resources shall establish procedures and policies
implementing this section with regard to executive branch agencies. With regard to
nonexecutive branch agencies, the equivalent of the agency's human resources office
shall establish procedures and policies for implementing this section, as applicable.
(i) As used in this section, "eligible employee" means an employee who has
been employed full-time with this state for at least twelve (12) months with an entity
described in § 8-30-102(a) or § 8-30-102(b).
SECTION 2. For purposes of promulgating rules and carrying out administrative duties
necessary to effectuate the provisions and intent of this act, this act takes effect upon becoming
a law, the public welfare requiring it. For all other purposes, including eligibility for leave under
this act, this act takes effect on July 1, 2025, the public welfare requiring it.