Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

H.B. 996
                          GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
                                                                                            May 2, 2024
                                      SESSION 2023                                    HOUSE PRINCIPAL CLERK
     H                                                                                               D
                                 HOUSE BILL DRH30456-LRap-154B
     Short Title:   State Employees/Give 3-Days Bereavement Leave.                             (Public)
     Sponsors:      Representative Hawkins.
     Referred to:
                                     A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 AN ACT PROVIDING UP TO THREE CONSECUTIVE WORKDAYS OF PAID
     BEREAVEMENT LEAVE TO STATE EMPLOYEES ON DEATH OF AN IMMEDIATE
     FAMILY MEMBER AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS FOR THAT PURPOSE.
 The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
             SECTION 1.(a) Effective July 1, 2024, Article 2 of Chapter 126 of the General
 Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
 "§ 126-8.7. Paid bereavement leave for death of immediate family member.
     (a)     The State Human Resources Commission (Commission) shall adopt rules and policies
 to provide that a permanent, probationary, or time-limited full-time State employee shall be
 granted up to three consecutive workdays of paid bereavement leave on the death of any member
 of the employee's immediate family. For the purposes of this section, "immediate family
 member" means a spouse, parent, child, brother, sister, grandparent, or grandchild. The term
 includes the step, half, and in-law relationships.
     (b)     The Commission shall adopt rules and policies to provide that a permanent,
 probationary, or time-limited part-time State employee shall be granted a prorated amount of
 paid bereavement leave on an equitable basis.
     (c)     The rules and policies adopted by the Commission shall include the following
 requirements, at a minimum:
             (1)     That an employee requesting paid bereavement leave submit a statement
                     stating the name and relationship of the deceased.
             (2)     A period of minimum service before an employee becomes eligible for paid
                     bereavement leave under this section. The rules shall provide that the period
                     of minimum service may be met by aggregating employment at any of the
                     following:
                     a.      State agencies, departments, and institutions, including The University
                             of North Carolina.
                     b.      Public school units that provide paid bereavement leave in accordance
                             with this section.
                     c.      Community colleges located in this State.
     (d)     The paid bereavement leave authorized by this section:
             (1)     Is available without exhaustion of the employee's sick and vacation leave and
                     is awarded in addition to shared leave under G.S. 126-8.3, or other leave
                     authorized by State or federal law.
             (2)     Has no cash value upon termination from employment.
             (3)     May not be used for calculating an employee's retirement benefits.
                               *DRH30456-LRap-154B*
     General Assembly Of North Carolina                                                Session 2023
     (e)     The provisions of this section shall apply to employees of State agencies,
 departments, and institutions, including The University of North Carolina; to public school
 employees; and to community college employees. The appropriate governing board, officer, or
 entity shall adopt rules and policies to award paid bereavement leave to employees that are
 substantially equivalent to those adopted by the State Human Resources Commission."
             SECTION 1.(b) Effective July 1, 2024, G.S. 126-5(c19) reads as rewritten:
     "(c19) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Chapter, G.S. 126-8.6 applies and
 G.S. 126-8.7 apply to all State employees, public school employees, and community college
 employees. G.S. 126-8.6 does and G.S. 126-8.7 do not apply to employees described in
 subdivisions (2) and (3) of subsection (c1) of G.S. 126-5. The legislative and judicial branches
 shall adopt parental leave and paid bereavement leave policies."
             SECTION 2. Effective July 1, 2024, there is appropriated from the General Fund to
 the Reserve for Compensation Increases the sum of two million dollars ($2,000,000) for the
 2024-2025 fiscal year to fund paid bereavement leave as authorized by this act.
             SECTION 3. This act becomes effective July 1, 2024, and applies to requests for
 paid bereavement leave for deaths occurring on or after that date.
     Page 2                                                                 DRH30456-LRap-154B
Statutes affected: 
Filed: 126-5
Edition 1: 126-5