Senate Bill No. 518
(By Senators McCabe, White, Bowman, Unger and Dempsey)
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[Introduced February 12, 2004; referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §8-14-2a of the code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended; and to amend and reenact §8-15-10a of said
code, all relating to policemen and firemen who are required
to work during holidays; and compensation.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §8-14-2a of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted; and that §8-15-10a of said code be
amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 14. LAW AND ORDER; POLICE FORCE OR DEPARTMENTS; POWERS,
AUTHORITY AND DUTIES OF LAW-ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS
AND POLICEMEN; POLICE MATRONS; SPECIAL SCHOOL ZONE
AND PARKING LOT OR PARKING BUILDING POLICE
OFFICERS; CIVIL SERVICE FOR CERTAIN POLICE
DEPARTMENTS.
§8-14-2a. Policemen who are required to work during holidays; how
compensated.
From the effective date of this section, if any municipal police officer is required to work during a legal holiday as is
specified in
subdivisions (1) through (12), (14) and (15),
subsection (a), section one, article two, chapter two of this code,
or if a legal holiday falls on the police officer's regular
scheduled day off, he
or she shall be is allowed equal time off at
such a time as may be approved by the chief of police under whom he
or she serves, or in the alternative, shall be paid at a rate not
less than one and one-half times his
or her regular rate of pay:
Provided, That if a holiday otherwise described in subdivision
(13), subsection (a), section one, article two, chapter two of this
code, dealing with special elections of a political subdivision, is
a special election for a political subdivision other than a
municipality, then the provisions of this section do not apply
unless the municipality chooses to recognize the special election
of another political subdivision holiday: Provided, however, That
if a special election of a political subdivision other than a
municipality falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the municipality may
choose not to recognize the preceding Friday as a holiday.
ARTICLE 15. FIRE FIGHTING; FIRE COMPANIES AND DEPARTMENTS; CIVIL
SERVICE FOR PAID FIRE DEPARTMENTS.
§8-15-10a. Firemen who are required to work during holidays; how
compensated.
From the effective date of this section, if any member of a
paid fire department is required to work during a legal holiday as
is specified in
subdivisions (1) through (12), (14) and (15),
subsection (a), section one, article two, chapter two of this code, or if a legal holiday falls on the member's regular scheduled day
off, he
or she shall be allowed equal time off at such time as may
be approved by the chief executive officer of the department under
whom he
or she serves, or in the alternative, shall be paid at a
rate not less than one and one-half times his
or her regular rate
of pay:
Provided, That if a holiday otherwise described in
subdivision (13), subsection (a), section one, article two, chapter
two of this code, dealing with special elections of a political
subdivisions, is a special election for a political subdivision
other than a municipality, then the provisions of this section do
not apply unless the municipality chooses to recognize the special
election of another political subdivision holiday: Provided,
however, That if a special election of a political subdivision
other than a municipality falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the
municipality may choose not to recognize the preceding Friday as a
holiday.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to clarify when an election
is held by a political subdivision other than a municipality such
as a Board of Education or County entity, the city may choose not
to recognize the day as a holiday. It also provides that if a
special election is on a Saturday or Sunday, the municipality may
choose not to recognize the preceding Friday or Monday as a holiday
and therefor not subject to the payment of overtime for police or
firemen.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.