A bill

 

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS SO AS TO ENACT THE "CIVIL AIR PATROL LEAVE ACT"; BY ADDING CHAPTER 23 TO TITLE 25 SO AS TO DEFINE TERMS RELATED TO THE CIVIL AIR PATROL LEAVE ACT, TO PROVIDE FOR THE CREATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF CIVIL AIR PATROL LEAVE, TO PRESCRIBE THE DUTIES OF EMPLOYEES AND RIGHTS OF EMPLOYERS REGARDING CIVIL AIR PATROL LEAVE, TO PROVIDE EXCEPTIONS, AND TO PROVIDE ANTI-DISCRIMINATION AND EMPLOYEE BENEFITS PROTECTIONS.

 

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

 

SECTION 1.  This act may be cited as the "Civil Air Patrol Leave Act".

 

SECTION 2.  Title 25 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

 

CHAPTER 23

 

Civil Air Patrol Leave Act

 

    Section 25-23-10.  As used in this section:

    (1) "Civil Air Patrol leave" means leave requested under the provisions of this act by an employee who is a Civil Air Patrol member.

    (2) "Civil Air Patrol member" means an individual who is a member of the official civilian auxiliary of the United States Air Force known as the Civil Air Patrol, primarily represented within the State by the South Carolina Wing of Civil Air Patrol.

    (3) "Emergency service operation" means any Air Force-assigned mission, Civil Air Patrol National Operations-assigned mission, state of emergency or disaster declared by the President of the United States or Governor of South Carolina that encompasses any part of the State of South Carolina, or any request for assistance by any department, agency, instrumentality, or political subdivision of the State.

    (4) "Employee" includes a resident individual receiving wages, as defined in Section 12-8-520(D), for services, regardless of where the services are rendered, and a nonresident individual receiving wages, as defined in Section 12-8-520(D), for services rendered in this State.

    (5) "Employee benefits" means anything of value that an employee may receive from an employer in addition to wages. This term includes, but is not limited to, any health benefits, disability benefits, death benefits, group accidental death and dismemberment benefits, paid holidays, paid sick leave, paid vacation leave, paid personal necessity leave, retirement benefits, and profit-sharing benefits.

    (6) "Mutual aid request" means any request from another state or political subdivision of a state seeking assistance for an emergency service operation.

 

    Section 25-23-20.  (A) Public and private employers shall provide a minimum of thirty days per calendar year of Civil Air Patrol leave to employees for the purpose of response to an emergency service operation of the Civil Air Patrol. This leave may be used in support of mutual aid requests by other states or Civil Air Patrol units outside the employee's chain of command with prior approval of his employer and the employee's wing commander or his designee.

    (B) Public and private employers shall provide a minimum of ten days per year of Civil Air Patrol leave to employees for the purpose of training and proficiency activities, which may be administered by the Civil Air Patrol, the United States Air Force, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or other emergency management-related organizations.

    (C) Employers shall have discretion to grant additional days leave beyond the requirements listed above or permit employees to utilize up to five days of Civil Air Patrol leave from one category for the purposes of the other, in the event that the desired leave category has an insufficient balance.

    (D) Public employers shall pay employees for all Civil Air Patrol leave taken during a calendar year at the employee's current pay rate. Private employers may provide Civil Air Patrol leave as paid or unpaid leave. Unused Civil Air Patrol leave shall not be paid out upon when an employee leaves employment with his employer.

    (E) Civil Air Patrol leave shall be available in a lump sum at the start of each calendar year to eligible employees. Unused leave shall be forfeited at the end of calendar year and will not be carried over to a new calendar year.

 

    Section 25-23-30.  (A) An employee shall:

       (1) notify his employer of his Civil Air Patrol membership within thirty days of accepting a job with a public or private employer;

       (2) within eight hours of ending participation in an emergency service operation, inform his employer of his intent to return;

       (3) return to work within eighteen hours of ending participation in an emergency service operation, or at the start of his next regular workday, whichever is later; and

       (4) update his employer periodically on the expected duration of any absence and expected date of return due to an emergency service operation, as possible.

    (B) An employer may require an employee taking Civil Air Patrol leave to provide:

       (1) for training-related leave:

           (a) at least two weeks' notice of his absence;

           (b) his date of return to work;

           (c) approval of the employee's participation in the requested training by his Civil Air Patrol group commander or higher authority; and

           (d) proof of participation, to include the dates of training, from the training provider or his designee; or

       (2) for operation-related leave:

           (a) as much notice as possible for expected absences due to an emergency service operation;

           (b) approval of the employee's participation in the operation from his Civil Air Patrol group commander or higher authority, the incident commander, or the requesting organization; and

           (c) proof of participation from the operation's leadership or his designee.

 

    Section 25-23-40.  (A) No employer is required to grant Civil Air Patrol leave to an employee who is required to respond to either the same or other simultaneous emergency service operation as a first responder, emergency manager, or other emergency services personnel for a local, state, or federal agency.

    (B) An employer may deny a request for Civil Air Patrol leave for an employee who has been designated as an essential employee. Employers should work with employees to provide access to Civil Air Patrol leave whenever the employee's absence will not result in demonstrable harm or disruption to daily operations. An employee shall notify his Civil Air Patrol chain of command of his designation as an essential employee as soon as possible.

 

    Section 25-23-50.  (A) Civil Air Patrol leave shall be administered as a separate leave category. An employee seeking to use Civil Air Patrol leave shall not be required to use or exhaust other forms of leave prior to the use of Civil Air Patrol leave.

    (B) During a leave of absence, an employee shall be entitled to preserve all the employee benefits, rights, and privileges to which he is entitled.

    (C) Any employee who utilizes Civil Air Patrol leave shall be entitled to return to the position he held, or a position of equivalent status, pay, and benefits, when the leave commenced. However, an employee is not entitled to return to the position held, or a position of equivalent status, pay, and benefits if the employer proves an employee was not restored to the same or similar position due to causes separate from the exercise of rights contained within this chapter.

    (D) No employer may discharge, reprimand, discriminate against, or otherwise discipline an employee who is absent for use of Civil Air Patrol leave, complies with the provisions of this act, or opposes a practice not in compliance with the provisions of this act.

    (E) An employee may bring a civil action against an employer who violates provisions of this act, provided that any action is filed within one year in the county in which the employee's place of employment is located. An employee may seek:

        (1) reinstatement of the employee's former position;

        (2) for a public employee, payment of back wages;

        (3) employee benefits or seniority wrongly denied or withdrawn; and

        (4) equitable relief to redress the violation or to enforce this act.

 

SECTION 3.  Within thirty days of the effective date of this act, current members of the Civil Air Patrol must notify their employers of their Civil Air Patrol membership.

 

SECTION 4.  If any section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause, phrase, or word of this act is for any reason held to be unconstitutional or invalid, such holding shall not affect the constitutionality or validity of the remaining portions of this act, the General Assembly hereby declaring that it would have passed this act, and each and every section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause, phrase, and word thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more other sections, subsections, paragraphs, subparagraphs, sentences, clauses, phrases, or words hereof may be declared to be unconstitutional, invalid, or otherwise ineffective.

 

SECTION 5.  This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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