This document includes Senate Committee Amendments incorporated into the bill on Tue, Feb 20, 2024 at 12:06 PM by lpoole.
Representative Karen M. Peterson proposes the following substitute bill:


1     
LOCAL EDUCATION AGENCY EMPLOYEE PAID LEAVE

2     
2024 GENERAL SESSION

3     
STATE OF UTAH

4     
Chief Sponsor: Melissa G. Ballard

5     
Senate Sponsor: Ann Millner

6     

7     LONG TITLE
8     General Description:
9          This bill requires a local education agency (LEA) to develop certain paid leave policies.
10     Highlighted Provisions:
11          This bill:
12          ▸     defines relevant terms; and
13          ▸     outlines the criteria of a required parental and postpartum recovery leave policy.
14     Money Appropriated in this Bill:
15          None
16     Other Special Clauses:
17          This bill provides a special effective date.
18     Utah Code Sections Affected:
19     ENACTS:
20          53G-11-208, Utah Code Annotated 1953
21     

22     Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
23          Section 1. Section 53G-11-208 is enacted to read:
24          53G-11-208. Paid leave -- Parental leave -- Postpartum recovery leave -- Leave
25     sharing -- Rulemaking.

26          (1) As used in this section:
27          (a) "Parental leave" means leave hours an LEA provides to a parental leave eligible
28     employee.
29          (b) "Parental leave eligible employee" means an LEA employee who accrues paid leave
30     benefits in accordance with the LEA's leave policies and is:
31          (i) a birth parent as defined in Section 78B-6-103;
32          (ii) legally adopting a minor child, unless the individual is the spouse of the
33     pre-existing parent;
34          (iii) the intended parent of a child born under a validated gestational agreement in
35     accordance with Title 78B, Chapter 15, Part 8, Gestational Agreement; or
36          (iv) appointed the legal guardian of a minor child or incapacitated adult.
37          (c) "Postpartum recovery leave" means leave hours a state employer provides to a
38     postpartum recovery leave eligible employee to recover from childbirth.
39          (d) "Postpartum recovery leave eligible employee" means an employee:
40          Ŝ→ [
(i) whom an LEA employs as a general education or special education teacher;
41          (ii)
] (i) ←Ŝ
who accrues paid leave benefits in accordance with the LEA's leave policies; and
42          Ŝ→ [
(iii)] (ii) ←Ŝ who gives birth to a child.
43          (e) "Qualified employee" means:
44          (i) a parental leave eligible employee; or
45          (ii) a postpartum recovery leave eligible employee.
46          (f) "Retaliatory action" means to do any of the following regarding an employee:
47          (i) dismiss the employee;
48          (ii) reduce the employee's compensation;
49          (iii) fail to increase the employee's compensation by an amount to which the employee
50     is otherwise entitled to or was promised;
51          (iv) fail to promote the employee if the employee would have otherwise been
52     promoted; or
53          (v) threaten to take an action described in Subsections (1)(f)(i) through (iv).
54          (2) Beginning July 1, Ŝ→ [
2027] 2025 ←Ŝ , an LEA:
55          (a) shall develop leave policies that provide for the use and administration of parental
56     leave and postpartum recovery leave by a qualified employee under this section in a manner

57     that is not more restrictive than the parental and postpartum recovery leave available to state
58     employees under Section 63A-17-511; and
59          (b) may develop leave policies that provide a mechanism for leave sharing between
60     employees of the same LEA or school for all types of leave including, sick leave, annual leave,
61     parental leave, and postpartum recovery leave; and
62          (c) shall provide each employee written information regarding:
63          (i) a qualified employee's right to use parental leave or postpartum recovery leave
64     under this section; and
65          (ii) the availability of and process for using or contributing to the leave sharing
66     mechanism described in Subsection (2)(b).
67          (3) An LEA may not take retaliatory action against a qualified employee for using
68     parental leave or postpartum recovery leave in accordance with this section.
69          (4) An LEA or school may use leave bank sharing and other efforts to mitigate incurred
70     costs of compliance with this section including coordinating with other LEAs or schools to
71     share approaches or policies designed to fulfill the requirements of this section in a cost
72     effective manner.
73          Section 2. Effective date.
74          This bill takes effect on July 1, 2024.