A bill

 

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 8-11-610, RELATING TO THE MANNER IN WHICH ANNUAL LEAVE IS COMPUTED, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT A DEPARTMENT HEAD MAY NOT ESTABLISH RESTRICTED LEAVE PERIODS DURING WHICH EMPLOYEES ARE PROHIBITED FROM TAKING ANNUAL LEAVE; AND BY AMENDING SECTION 59-25-47, RELATING TO UNUSED LEAVE PAYMENTS AUTHORIZED, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT A LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICT OR CHARTER SCHOOL MAY NOT ESTABLISH RESTRICTED LEAVE PERIODS DURING WHICH EMPLOYEES ARE PROHIBITED FROM TAKING ANNUAL LEAVE.

 

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

 

SECTION 1.  Section 8-11-610 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

 

    Section 8-11-610.  (A) Any permanent full-time state employee is entitled to annual leave with pay, which is computed as follows:

    (B) For the first ten years of state service, he shall earn one and one-fourth working days' leave for each month of full-time employment a year.  After ten years he shall earn a bonus of one and one-fourth working days' annual leave for each year of continuous service;  however, the combined regular and bonus earnings shall not exceed thirty days in any one year.  No employee is required to use all of his annual leave in any one year.  Any unused annual leave may be accumulated, not to exceed forty-five days.  Any employee of a department which allowed an accumulation in excess of forty-five days, who, as of June 2, 1972, had accumulated annual leave in excess of forty-five days may carry over and retain the excess leave which is the maximum amount the employee may carry over into future years.  If the employee subsequently reduces the amount of the leave carried over, the reduced amount, if in excess of forty-five days, is the employee's maximum carry-over into future years.  If the employee further reduces the amount of the leave carried over to forty-five days or less, forty-five days is the maximum amount of unused annual leave the employee may accumulate.  It is at the discretion of the department heads to determine the maximum number of consecutive days any employee may have in any one period of leave. However, a department head may not establish restricted leave periods during which employees are prohibited from taking annual leave.  The total number of days of annual leave used in any one calendar year may not exceed thirty days.

    (C) Provided , further, that instructionalInstructional personnel at the South Carolina School for the Deaf and Blind whose positions are unclassified shall be entitled to receive annual leave in the same manner as state employees and to utilize annual leave only as specified in the annual contract. The annual contract may not contain restricted leave periods during which employees are prohibited from taking annual leave. The annual contract shall enable such instructional personnel to utilize up to but no more than nine days annual leave per year over and above scheduled vacations, but no more than one day per month of annual leave without the supervisor's permission except in cases of illness or maternity leave when all available sick leave has been taken.  Such employees shall be entitled to accumulate up to the maximum accumulation allowed state employees.  These provisions shall not obligate the school to provide monetary compensation for unutilized days accumulated beyond the maximum allowed state employees. However, a school may not establish restricted leave periods during which employees are prohibited from taking annual leave.

 

SECTION 2.  Section 59-25-47 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

 

    (E) A local school district or a charter school may not establish restricted leave periods during which employees are prohibited from taking annual leave, nor may a local school district or charter school include a provision in its employment contracts that impose a restricted leave period.

 

SECTION 3.  This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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