ENGROSSED
Senate Bill No. 666
(By Senators Foster, White, McCabe, Hunter,
Dempsey, Kessler and Bowman)
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[Introduced February 20, 2006; referred to the Committee
on the Judiciary; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §21-5D-4 and §21-5D-5 of the Code of
West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to allowing
employees to use paid accumulated sick leave as paid family
leave to care for a family member.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §21-5D-4 and §21-5D-5 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931,
as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5D. THE PARENTAL LEAVE ACT.
§21-5D-4. Family leave.
(a) An employee shall be entitled to a total of twelve weeks
of unpaid family leave, following the exhaustion of all his or her
annual and personal leave, during any twelve-month period:
(1) Because of the birth of a son or daughter of the employee;
(2) Because of the placement of a son or daughter with the employee for adoption; or
(3) In order to care for the employee's son, daughter, spouse,
parent or dependent who has a serious health condition.
(b) In the case of a son, daughter, spouse, parent or
dependent who has a serious health condition, such family leave may
be taken intermittently when medically necessary.
(c) An employee may take family leave on a part-time basis and
on a part-time leave schedule, but the period during which the
number of work weeks of leave may be taken may not exceed twelve
consecutive months and such leave shall be scheduled so as not to
disrupt unduly the operations of the employer.
(d) (1) If a leave because of birth or adoption is
foreseeable, the employee shall provide the employer with two
weeks' written notice of such expected birth or adoption.
(2) If a leave under this section is foreseeable because of
planned medical treatment or supervision, the employee:
(A) Shall make a reasonable effort to schedule the treatment
or supervision so as not to disrupt unduly the operations of the
employer, subject to the approval of the health care provider of
the employee's son, daughter, parent or dependent; and
(B) Shall provide the employer with two weeks' written notice
of the treatment or supervision.
(e) An employee may apply accumulated paid sick leave as paid
family leave under the same conditions set forth in this section.
(e) (f) This article shall not be construed as granting an employee the family leave rights provided in this section if he or
she is entitled to such family leave rights under any other
provision of this code.
§21-5D-5. Certification.
(a) If an employee requests family leave to care for a family
member with a serious health condition as authorized in this
article, the employer may require the employee to provide
certification by a health care provider of the health condition.
(b) The certification shall be sufficient if it contains the
following:
(1) That the child, dependent, parent or employee has a
serious health condition;
(2) The date the serious health condition commenced and its
probable duration; and
(3) The medical facts regarding the serious health condition.
(c) Employee paid accumulated sick leave may be used for
family leave to care for a family member as authorized in this
article.