NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A5173
SPONSOR: Pheffer Amato
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the civil service law, in relation to transfer of sick
time
 
PURPOSE::
To establish that every public employee shall be entitled to transfer
sick time to fellow employees.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS::
Section 1 amends the civil service law by adding a new section 159-d
providing public employees can transfer sick time to fellow employees.
An employee under the jurisdiction of the state civil service commission
shall only be permitted to receive donated sick time from a fellow
employee under the jurisdiction of the state commission; an employee
under the jurisdiction of a municipal civil service commission shall
only be permitted to receive donated sick time from a fellow employee
under the jurisdiction of the same municipal commission; and an employee
under the jurisdiction of a school district shall only be permitted to
receive donated sick time from a fellow employee under the jurisdiction
of the same school district. A recipient shall only be permitted to
receive and use donated sick time after exhausting all personal sick
time. The employer may reserve the right to require a written referral
from a physician or health care provider or proof of familial emergency.
The terms, rights, privileges or remedies of any employee under any
collective bargaining agreement or employment contract are not to be
superseded or diminished by this act.
Section 2 provides this act shall take effect immediately.
 
JUSTIFICATION::
Many employees, do not receive ample sick time, while others do not need
to use all of the sick time they've accrued. Guaranteeing the transfer
of sick time provides a method for allowing employees who need it to
take more time off while ensuring those additional hours are covered by
healthy colleagues. This is policy that will strengthen the rights of
workers, increasing productivity and generating positive employment
outcomes, with no significant cost.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY::
2016 S6525B REPORTED AND COMMITTED TO FINANCE 2017 54097 REPORTED AND
COMMITTED TO FINANCE
2018 S4097 REPORTED AND COMMITTED TO FINANCE
2019 S1442 ADVANCED TO THIRD READING
2019 A8332 referred to governmental employees
2020 S1442 REFERRED TO CIVIL SERVICE AND PENSIONS
2020 A8332 referred to governmental employees
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS::
No significant impact
 
EFFECTIVE DATE::
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5173
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 3, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. PHEFFER AMATO -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Governmental Employees
AN ACT to amend the civil service law, in relation to transfer of sick
time
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The civil service law is amended by adding a new section
2 159-e to read as follows:
3 § 159-e. Transfer of sick time. 1. For purposes of this section, the
4 following terms shall have the following meanings:
5 (a) "donor" shall mean an individual who donates sick time to a fellow
6 employee;
7 (b) "recipient" shall mean an individual who receives donated sick
8 time from a fellow employee;
9 (c) "fellow employee" shall mean an individual employed under the
10 jurisdiction of the same civil service commission as another;
11 (d) "state commission" shall have the same meaning as defined in
12 subdivision one of section two of this chapter; and
13 (e) "municipal commission" shall have the same meaning as defined in
14 subdivision four of section two of this chapter.
15 2. Every public officer, employee of this state, employee of any coun-
16 ty, employee of any community college, employee of any public authority,
17 employee of any public benefit corporation, employee of any board of
18 cooperative educational services (BOCES), employee of any vocational
19 education and extension board, or a school district enumerated in
20 section one of chapter five hundred sixty-six of the laws of nineteen
21 hundred sixty-seven, employee of any municipality, employee of any
22 school district or any employee of a participating employer in the New
23 York state and local employees' retirement system or any employee of a
24 participating employer in the New York state teachers' retirement system
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05932-01-3
A. 5173 2
1 shall be entitled to transfer or receive sick time from a fellow employ-
2 ee.
3 3. In order to transfer such sick time the following restrictions
4 shall apply:
5 (a) An employee under the jurisdiction of the state commission shall
6 only be permitted to receive donated sick time from a fellow employee
7 under the jurisdiction of the state commission;
8 (b) An employee under the jurisdiction of any municipal commission
9 shall only be permitted to receive donated sick time from a fellow
10 employee under the jurisdiction of the same municipal commission;
11 (c) An employee under the jurisdiction of a school district shall only
12 be permitted to receive donated sick time from a fellow employee under
13 the jurisdiction of the same school district;
14 (d) A recipient shall only be permitted to receive and use donated
15 sick time from a fellow employee if such recipient has exhausted all
16 personal sick time. Personal sick time shall be deemed exhausted when an
17 employee has a balance of zero hours or less than the number of hours
18 necessary to complete approved sick leave; and
19 (e) An employer may reserve the right to require that employees
20 provide a written referral from a physician or other duly authorized
21 health care provider or proof of familial emergency for such sick leave
22 to be approved.
23 4. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to supersede or diminish
24 the terms, rights, privileges, or remedies of any employee under any
25 collective bargaining agreement or employment contract.
26 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.