Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

OHIO LEGISLATIVE SERVICE COMMISSION
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                               H.B. 574                             Bill Analysis
                  135th       General Assembly
                                                                     Click here for H.B. 574’s Fiscal Note
Version: As Introduced
Primary Sponsors: Reps. Robinson and Brent
Effective Date:
Chris Edwards, Attorney
                                                         SUMMARY
                     Allows school district employees to use accrued sick leave provided under existing law
                          for a parental leave of absence.
                                                 DETAILED ANALYSIS
Sick leave for a parental leave of absence – school district
employees
       The bill requires each school district board of education to allow the school district’s
employees to use up to 480 hours (60 days) of accrued but unused sick leave provided for
under continuing law for a parental leave of absence on the employee becoming any of the
following:
                     A parent, as listed on the birth certificate, of a newly born child;
                     A parent, as listed on the fetal death certificate, of a stillborn child;
                     A legal guardian of and residing in the same household as a newly adopted child.1
       Under continuing law, a provision of the Education Code2 provides employees of any
school district, including teachers, with 15 days of paid sick leave per year. Eligible employees
may accumulate up to 120 work days of sick leave, unless more is approved by the district. 3
1                 R.C. 124.38 and 3319.141.
2                 R.C. Chapter 3319.
3                 R.C. 3319.141.
                                                                                                             July 9, 2024
Office of Research and Drafting                       LSC                              Legislative Budget Office
        A separate continuing law provision in the Department of Administrative Services –
Personnel Law4 provides for 4.6 hours of paid sick leave per 80 hours of service worked
(approximately 15 days total per year) to any employee of a school district for which sick leave
is not provided by the Education Code provision. Sick leave under this provision is cumulative
without limit.5
       Both laws allow the accrued sick leave to be used for absence due to personal illness,
pregnancy, injury, exposure to contagious disease which could be communicated to others, and
for absence due to illness, injury, or death in the employee’s immediate family. Under current
law, school district employees are not entitled to paid leave specifically for the purpose of a
parental leave of absence.
       Both laws specify that a school district is not required to provide substitutes, adult
education instructors who work less than 120 days per school year, and persons employed on
an as-needed, seasonal, or intermittent basis with any sick leave at all. The sick leave laws do
not apply to community (public charter) schools or STEM schools. Any sick leave provided by
those schools is controlled by their own rules and contracts with their employees. 6
Employment contracts and collective bargaining agreements
       The bill applies to employment contracts and collective bargaining agreements entered
into on or after the bill’s effective date and specifies that it does not invalidate employment
contracts and collective bargaining agreements that exist on that date.7
         The Ohio Supreme Court has held that sick leave provided by statute is the minimum
amount required to be granted and a public employer may grant additional sick leave beyond
the statutory requirement.8 Additionally, under Ohio’s Public Employees Collective Bargaining
Law,9 all matters pertaining to wages, hours, and terms of employment are subject to collective
bargaining. The topic of leave is a matter pertaining to wages, hours, and terms of employment
and is subject to collective bargaining.10 Accordingly, the amount of leave to which a school
district employee is entitled could depend on whether the employee is subject to a collective
bargaining agreement that provides different benefits or more generous leave than what is
statutorily mandated or if the school district otherwise granted additional leave.
4   R.C. Chapter 124.
5   R.C. 124.38.
6   R.C. 124.38 and 3319.141.
7   Section 3.
8   Ebert v. Stark County Board of Mental Retardation, 63 Ohio St.2d 31, 33 (1980).
9   R.C. Chapter 4117.
10   R.C. 4117.08(A), not in the bill, and Deeds v. Ironton, 48 Ohio App.3d 7, 11 (1988).
P a g e |2                                                                                            H.B. 574
                                                                                                 As Introduced
Office of Research and Drafting         LSC                 Legislative Budget Office
                                      HISTORY
                             Action                        Date
Introduced                                      05-15-24
ANHB0574IN-135/ar
P a g e |3                                                                 H.B. 574
                                                                      As Introduced
Statutes affected: 
As Introduced: 124.38, 3319.141