Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

Enrolled Copy                                                                         S.B. 63
                          BEREAVEMENT LEAVE AMENDMENTS
                                       2022 GENERAL SESSION
                                           STATE OF UTAH
                                  Chief Sponsor: Wayne A. Harper
                                   House Sponsor: Cheryl K. Acton
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 LONG TITLE
 General Description:
        This bill requires certain entities to provide bereavement leave for employees who
 experience a miscarriage or stillbirth.
 Highlighted Provisions:
        This bill:
        < defines terms;
        < requires the Utah Board of Higher Education and the human resources bodies of
 state, county, and municipal governments to implement rules that will provide
 bereavement leave for employees who suffer the loss of a child as a result of a
 miscarriage or stillbirth; and
        < makes technical and conforming changes.
 Money Appropriated in this Bill:
        None
 Other Special Clauses:
        None
 Utah Code Sections Affected:
 AMENDS:
        10-3-1103, as enacted by Laws of Utah 1977, Chapter 48
        17-33-5, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2009, Chapter 128
        20A-1-508, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2019, Chapters 212, 255 and last
 amended by Coordination Clause, Laws of Utah 2019, Chapter 212
        53B-1-401, as enacted by Laws of Utah 2020, Chapter 365
       S.B. 63                                                                          Enrolled Copy
          53B-1-402, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2021, Chapter 187
          63A-17-106, as renumbered and amended by Laws of Utah 2021, Chapter 344
32
 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
          Section 1. Section 10-3-1103 is amended to read:
          10-3-1103. Sickness, disability, and death benefits -- Bereavement leave.
          (1) As used in this section, "miscarriage" means the spontaneous or accidental loss of a
 fetus, regardless of gestational age or the duration of the pregnancy.
          [(1)] (2) The governing body of each municipality may maintain as to all elective or
 appointive officers and employees, including heads of departments, a system for the payment
 of health, dental, hospital, medical, disability and death benefits to be financed and
 administered in a manner and payable upon the terms and conditions as the governing body of
 the municipality may by ordinance or resolution prescribe.
          [(2)] (3) The governing bodies of the municipalities may create and administer
 personnel benefit programs separately or jointly with other municipalities or other political
 subdivisions of the State of Utah or associations thereof.
          (4) The governing body of each municipality shall, by ordinance or resolution, provide
 for at least three work days of paid bereavement leave for an employee:
          (a) following the end of the employee's pregnancy by way of a miscarriage or stillbirth;
 or
          (b) following the end of another individual's pregnancy by way of a miscarriage or
 stillbirth, if:
          (i) the employee is the individual's spouse or partner; or
          (ii) (A) the employee is the individual's former spouse or partner; and
          (B) the employee would have been a biological parent of a child born as a result of the
 pregnancy.
          Section 2. Section 17-33-5 is amended to read:
          17-33-5. Office of personnel management -- Director -- Appointment and
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       Enrolled Copy                                                                               S.B. 63
 responsibilities -- Personnel rules.
        (1) As used in this section, "miscarriage" means the spontaneous or accidental loss of a
 fetus, regardless of gestational age or the duration of the pregnancy.
        [(1)] (2) (a) (i) Each county executive shall:
        (A) create an office of personnel management, administered by a director of personnel
 management; and
        (B) ensure that the director is a person with proven experience in personnel
 management.
        (ii) Except as provided in Subsection [(1)] (2)(b), the position of director of personnel
 management shall be:
        (A) a merit position; and
        (B) filled as provided in Subsection [(1)] (2)(a)(iii).
        (iii) Except as provided in Subsection [(1)] (2)(b), the career service council shall:
        (A) advertise and recruit for the director position in the same manner as for merit
 positions;
        (B) select three names from a register; and
        (C) submit those names as recommendations to the county legislative body.
        (iv) Except as provided in Subsection [(1)] (2)(b), the county legislative body shall
 select a person to serve as director of the office of personnel management from the names
 submitted to it by the career service council.
        (b) (i) Effective for appointments made after May 1, 2006, and as an alternative to the
 procedure under Subsections [(1)] (2)(a)(ii), (iii), and (iv) and at the county executive's
 discretion, the county executive may appoint a director of personnel management with the
 advice and consent of the county legislative body.
        (ii) The position of each director of personnel management appointed under this
 Subsection [(1)] (2)(b) shall be a merit exempt position.
        (iii) A director of personnel management appointed under this Subsection [(1)] (2)(b)
 may be terminated by the county executive with the consent of the county legislative body.
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        S.B. 63                                                                          Enrolled Copy
        [(2)] (3) The director of personnel management shall:
        (a) encourage and exercise leadership in the development of expertise in personnel
 administration within the several departments, offices, and agencies in the county service and
 make available the facilities of the office of personnel management to this end;
        (b) advise the county legislative and executive bodies on the use of human resources;
        (c) develop and implement programs for the improvement of employee effectiveness,
 such as training, safety, health, counseling, and welfare;
        (d) investigate periodically the operation and effect of this law and of the policies made
 under it and report findings and recommendations to the county legislative body;
        (e) establish and maintain records of all employees in the county service, setting forth
 as to each employee class, title, pay or status, and other relevant data;
        (f) make an annual report to the county legislative body and county executive regarding
 the work of the department; and
        (g) apply and carry out this law and the policies under it and perform any other lawful
 acts that are necessary to carry out the provisions of this law.
        [(3)] (4) (a) (i) The director shall recommend personnel rules for the county.
        (ii) The county legislative body may:
        (A) recommend personnel rules for the county; and
        (B) approve, amend, or reject personnel rules before they are adopted.
        (b) The rules shall provide for:
        (i) recruiting efforts to be planned and carried out in a manner that assures open
 competition, with special emphasis to be placed on recruiting efforts to attract minorities,
 women, persons with a disability as defined by and covered under the Americans with
 Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. 12102, or other groups that are substantially
 underrepresented in the county work force to help assure they will be among the candidates
 from whom appointments are made;
        (ii) the establishment of job related minimum requirements wherever practical, that all
 successful candidates shall be required to meet in order to be eligible for consideration for
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        Enrolled Copy                                                                               S.B. 63
 appointment or promotion;
         (iii) selection procedures that include consideration of the relative merit of each
 applicant for employment, a job related method of determining the eligibility or ineligibility of
 each applicant, and a valid, reliable, and objective system of ranking eligible applicants
 according to their qualifications and merit;
         (iv) certification procedures that insure equitable consideration of an appropriate
 number of the most qualified eligible applicants based on the ranking system;
         (v) appointments to positions in the career service by selection from the most qualified
 eligible applicants certified on eligible lists established in accordance with Subsections [(3)]
 (4)(b)(iii) and (iv);
         (vi) noncompetitive appointments in the occasional instance where there is evidence
 that open or limited competition is not practical, such as for unskilled positions that have no
 minimum job requirements;
         (vii) limitation of competitions at the discretion of the director for appropriate positions
 to facilitate employment of qualified applicants with a substantial physical or mental
 impairment, or other groups protected by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act;
         (viii) permanent appointment for entry to the career service that shall be contingent
 upon satisfactory performance by the employee during a period of six months, with the
 probationary period extendable for a period not to exceed six months for good cause, but with
 the condition that the probationary employee may appeal directly to the council any undue
 prolongation of the period designed to thwart merit principles;
         (ix) temporary, provisional, or other noncareer service appointments, which may not be
 used as a way of defeating the purpose of the career service and may not exceed 270 days;
         (x) lists of eligible applicants normally to be used, if available, for filling temporary
 positions, and short term emergency appointments to be made without regard to the other
 provisions of law to provide for maintenance of essential services in an emergency situation
 where normal procedures are not practical, these emergency appointments not to exceed 270
 days;
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        S.B. 63                                                                          Enrolled Copy
        (xi) promotion and career ladder advancement of employees to higher level positions
 and assurance that all persons promoted are qualified for the position;
        (xii) recognition of the equivalency of other merit processes by waiving, at the
 discretion of the director, the open competitive examination for placement in the career service
 positions of those who were originally selected through a competitive examination process in
 another governmental entity, the individual in those cases, to serve a probationary period;
        (xiii) preparation, maintenance, and revision of a position classification plan for all
 positions in the career service, based upon similarity of duties performed and responsibilities
 assumed, so that the same qualifications may reasonably be required for, and the same schedule
 of pay may be equitably applied to, all positions in the same class, the compensation plan, in
 order to maintain a high quality public work force, to take into account the responsibility and
 difficulty of the work, the comparative pay and benefits needed to compete in the labor market
 and to stay in proper alignment with other similar governmental units, and other factors;
        (xiv) keeping records of performance on all employees in the career service and
 requiring consideration of performance records in determining salary increases, any benefits for
 meritorious service, promotions, the order of layoffs and reinstatements, demotions, discharges,
 and transfers;
        (xv) establishment of a plan governing layoffs resulting from lack of funds or work,
 abolition of positions, or material changes in duties or organization, and governing
 reemployment of persons so laid off, taking into account with regard to layoffs and
 reemployment the relative ability, seniority, and merit of each employee;
        (xvi) establishment of a plan for resolving employee grievances and complaints with
 final and binding decisions;
        (xvii) establishment of disciplinary measures such as suspension, demotion in rank or
 grade, or discharge, measures to provide for presentation of charges, hearing rights, and appeals
 for all permanent employees in the career service to the career service council;
        (xviii) establishment of a procedure for employee development and improvement of
 poor performance;
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        Enrolled Copy                                                                                S.B. 63
          (xix) establishment of hours of work, holidays, and attendance requirements in various
 classes of positions in the career service;
          (xx) establishment and publicizing of fringe benefits such as insurance, retirement, and
 leave programs; and
          (xxi) any other requirements not inconsistent with this law that are proper for its
 enforcement.
          (5) Rules adopted pursuant to Subsection (4)(b)(xx) shall provide for at least three
 work days of paid bereavement leave for an employee:
          (a) following the end of the employee's pregnancy by way of a miscarriage or stillbirth;
 or
          (b) following the end of another individual's pregnancy by way of a miscarriage or
 stillbirth, if:
          (i) the employee is the individual's spouse or partner; or
          (ii) (A) the employee is the individual's former spouse or partner; and
          (B) the employee would have been a biological parent of a child born as a result of the
 pregnancy.
          Section 3. Section 20A-1-508 is amended to read:
          20A-1-508. Midterm vacancies in county elected offices -- Temporary manager --
 Interim replacement.
          (1) As used in this section:
          (a) (i) "County offices" includes the county executive, members of the county
 legislative body, the county treasurer, the county sheriff, the county clerk, the county auditor,
 the county recorder, the county surveyor, and the county assessor.
          (ii) "County offices" does not include the office of county attorney, district attorney, or
 judge.
          (b) "Party liaison" means the political party officer designated to serve as a liaison with
 each county legislative body on all matters relating to the political party's relationship with a
 county as required by Section 20A-8-401.
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        S.B. 63                                                                         Enrolled Copy
        (2) (a) Except as provided in Subsection (2)(d), until a county legislative body appoints
 an interim replacement to fill a vacant county office under Subsection (3), the following shall
 temporarily discharge the duties of the county office as a temporary manager:
        (i) for a county office with one chief deputy, the chief deputy;
        (ii) for a county office with more than one chief deputy:
        (A) the chief deputy with the most cumulative time served as a chief deputy for the
 county office; or
        (B) notwithstanding Subsection (2)(a)(ii)(A), if, before the vacating county officer
 vacates the office, the county officer files with the county clerk a written statement designating
 one of the county officer's chief deputies to discharge the duties of the county office in the
 event the county officer vacates the office, the designated chief deputy; or
        (iii) for a county office without a chief deputy:
        (A) if one management-level employee serving under the county office has a
 higher-seniority management level than any other employee serving under the county office,
 that management-level employee;
        (B) if two or more management-level employees serving under the county office have
 the same and highest-seniority management level, the highest-seniority management-level
 employee with the most cumulative time served in the employee's current position; or
        (C) notwithstanding Subsection (2)(a)(iii)(A) or (B), if, before the vacating county
 officer vacates the office, the county officer files with the county clerk a written statement
 designating one of the county officer's employees to discharge the county officer's duties in the
 event the county officer vacates the office, the designated employee.
        (b) Except as provided in Subsection (2)(c), a temporary manager described in
 Subsection (2)(a) who temporarily discharges the duties of a county office holds the powers
 and duties of the county office until the county legislative body appoints an interim
 replacement under Subsection (3).
        (c) The temporary manager described in Subsection (2)(a) who temporarily discharges
 the duties of a county office:
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        Enrolled Copy                                                                              S.B. 63
          (i) may not take an oath of office for the county office as a temporary manager;
          (ii) shall