HF 2135 (LSB 5451YH (8) 83)

HOUSE FILE 2135

BY  WILLEMS

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to employee leave by providing for time off and sick leave, and including effective date and applicability provisions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 91.4, subsection 5, Code 2009, is amended to read as follows:
   5.  The director of the department of workforce development, in consultation with the labor commissioner, shall, at the time provided by law, make an annual report to the governor setting forth in appropriate form the business and expense of the division of labor services for the preceding year, the number of disputes or violations processed by the division and the disposition of the disputes or violations, and other matters pertaining to the division which are of public interest, together with recommendations for change or amendment of the laws in this chapter and chapters 88, 88A, 88B, 89, 89A, 89B, 90A, 91A, 91C, 91D, 91E, 91F, 92, and 94A, and section 85.68, and the recommendations, if any, shall be transmitted by the governor to the first general assembly in session after the report is filed.
    Sec. 2.  Section 91A.2, Code 2009, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  6A.  “Paid time off” means a benefit provided by an employer that allows an employee to take time off from work with pay without regard to the reason the employee chooses to take the time off.
    Sec. 3.  Section 91A.2, subsection 7, paragraph b, Code 2009, is amended to read as follows:
   b.  Vacation, holiday, paid time off, sick leave, and severance payments which are due an employee under an agreement with the employer or under a policy or practice of the employer.
    Sec. 4.  Section 91A.4, Code 2009, is amended by striking the section and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
   91A.4  Employment suspension or termination —— how wages are paid.
   1.  An employee’s employer shall pay all wages earned by the employee up to the time of the suspension or termination, less any lawful deductions specified in section 91A.5, no later than the next regular payday after suspension or termination, except as follows:
   a.  Earned wages that are the difference between a credit paid against wages determined on a commission basis and the wages actually earned on a commission basis shall be paid by the employer not more than thirty days after the date of suspension or termination.
   b.  If while employed, an employee earned paid time off but did not earn vacation, an employer may reduce pay for accumulated paid time off by up to one-third.
   c.  If while employed, an employee earned both vacation pay and paid time off, no payment for accrued paid time off is required.
   2.  An employer shall not adopt a policy or practice of denying payment for vacation or for paid time off upon the suspension or termination of an employee’s employment unless the employee’s employment was terminated by the employer for misconduct as defined in 871 IAC 24.32(1)“a”, as set forth in section 96.5, subsection 2.
   3.  Except as provided in subsection 1, upon suspension or termination of an employee’s employment, the amount of pay owed for accrued paid time off or accrued vacation shall be the amount of pay the employee would have received if the employee had not been suspended or terminated and had begun taking the total amount of accrued paid time off or accrued vacation on the date the suspension or termination occurred.
    Sec. 5.  NEW SECTION.  91F.1  Definitions.
   1.  “Employee” means as defined in the federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, 29 U.S.C. ch. 8, as amended to January 1, 2007.
   2.  “Employer” is defined as in the federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, 29 U.S.C. ch. 8, as amended to January 1, 2007.
   3.  “Family member” means any of the following:
   a.  An employee’s spouse or domestic partner.
   b.  A child, foster child, stepchild, legal ward, a child of a domestic partner, or a child to whom the employee stands in loco parentis.
   c.  A parent, foster parent, stepparent, legal guardian of an employee, or a person who stood in loco parentis when the employee was a minor child.
   d.  A sibling, foster sibling, stepsibling, or spouse or domestic partner of a sibling, foster sibling, or stepsibling.
    Sec. 6.  NEW SECTION.  91F.2  Paid sick leave and paid time off —— additional uses.
   1.  An employer who provides employees with paid sick leave or paid time off, as defined in section 91A.2, shall permit employees to use the accrued paid sick leave or paid time off for the following nonexclusive purposes:
   a.  For prenatal care and maternity leave.
   b.  To care for a family member with mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition who needs medical diagnosis, care, or treatment for the mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition, or who needs preventative medical care.
   2.  This chapter shall not be construed to discourage or prohibit an employer from adopting or maintaining a paid sick leave or paid time off policy that permits employees to use accrued paid sick leave or paid time off for purposes other than enumerated in subsection 1.
   3.  This chapter shall not be construed as diminishing the obligation of an employer to comply with any contract, collective bargaining agreement, employment benefit plan, or other agreement that permits employees to use accrued paid sick leave or paid time off for purposes other than enumerated in subsection 1.
   4.  This chapter shall not be construed as diminishing the rights of public employees regarding paid sick leave or paid time off or use of paid sick leave or paid time off as provided by law.
    Sec. 7.  EFFECTIVE UPON ENACTMENT AND APPLICABILITY.  This Act takes effect upon enactment. The sections of this Act amending chapter 91A apply only to the suspension or termination of an employee’s employment that takes place on or after the effective date of this Act.
EXPLANATION
   This bill provides employee leave by providing for time off and sick leave.
   The bill relates to payments for accrued vacation time and for accrued paid time off for all employees who are terminated or suspended.
   Current law requires an employer to pay accrued vacation pay to a terminated or suspended employee only if the employer has a policy, procedure, or contract that requires the employer to do so.
   The bill defines “paid time off” as a benefit allowing an employee to take time off from work with pay without regard to the reason the employee chooses to take the time off. “Paid time off” is also added to the definition of “wages”.
   The bill provides that if an employee is suspended or terminated upon request the employer must pay all wages, now including paid time off, earned by the next regular payday. The bill provides an exception for when an employee who earned paid time off while employed but not vacation, the employer may reduce the pay for the accrued paid time off by one-third. Finally, there is an exception for when an employee earned both vacation and paid time off while employed, the employer is not required to make payment for the paid time off.
   An employer shall not adopt a policy or practice to deny payment for accrued vacation or accrued paid time off upon the suspension or termination of an employee unless the employee’s employment ended due to misconduct. Misconduct is not defined in statute but is defined in the department of workforce development’s administrative rules.
   The bill provides a formula to calculate the payment for an employee’s accrued paid time off or vacation if the employee is suspended or terminated. Except as otherwise provided by the formula, the amount of pay owed to an employee is the amount of pay equal to the accrued vacation or paid time off as if the employee began taking the vacation or paid time off the day the suspension or termination took place. This formula substitutes the pro rata policy for how accrued vacation is currently paid out if an employee’s policy or practice required it.
   The bill includes new Code chapter 91F, which provides that employers who provide paid sick leave and paid time off to employees shall allow sick leave or paid time off to be used for prenatal care and maternity leave and to care for family members. “Family member” is defined in the new Code chapter.
   The new Code chapter does not prohibit an employer from providing a more generous paid sick leave or paid time off policy; it does not diminish an employer’s previous contractual obligations for more generous paid sick leave or paid time off; and it does not diminish public employees’ rights to paid sick leave or paid time off as provided by law.
   The bill takes effect upon enactment. The sections of the bill that would affect chapter 91A are made applicable only to the suspension or termination of an employee’s employment that occurs on or after that date.