Summary — HB 1599 (North Dakota): State leave sharing program for state employees
Status & key dates
- Introduced: December 12, 2024
- Committee action: Reported/adopted by Government & Veterans Affairs Committee (Jan 30, 2025)
- Floor votes (enrollment): House 92–0; Senate 45–1
- Filed with Secretary of State: March 27, 2025
- Citation amended: Section 54-06-14.7, North Dakota Century Code
Purpose / intent
- To create (and require the Office of Management and Budget’s human resource management services division to establish) a statewide leave‑sharing program that lets permanent state employees donate accrued annual and sick leave to co‑workers who lack available leave because of pregnancy or a severe, extreme, or life‑threatening medical condition, or because they are caring for an immediate relative or household member with such a condition.
Major provisions / changes
- Program establishment: The human resource management services division must set up a state leave sharing program and a mechanism for leave donations and use.
- Eligible recipients: Permanent state employees who are pregnant or who are suffering from a severe, extreme, or life‑threatening condition, or who are caring for an immediate relative or household member with such a condition.
- Ineligible employees: Temporary employees and contracted employees with limited‑term appointments may not participate.
- Usage limit: A recipient may not use more than four months of donated leave in any 12‑month period.
- Retention rule: Employees may not retain donated leave beyond the occurrence that necessitated the leave.
- Medical verification: Program participation requires medical certification from an authorized clinician — physician, physician assistant, psychologist, or advanced practice nurse practitioner — verifying the condition’s severity and expected duration.
- Administration and rules: The human resource management services division must track leave usage and adopt implementing rules in accordance with Chapter 28‑32 (administrative rulemaking).
- Retroactivity: The statute carries a parenthetical note indicating retroactive application (see statute note).
Who is affected
- Directly affected: Permanent North Dakota state employees (both donors and recipients), and the human resource management services division of OMB (program administrator).
- Excluded: Temporary and limited‑term contract employees.
- Indirectly affected: State agencies that must accommodate donated leave, payroll/HR systems (for tracking and processing donated leave), and clinicians providing certifications.
Procedural/implementation notes
- The division must adopt formal administrative rules (chapter 28‑32) and implement tracking mechanisms for donated leave.
- Agencies may need to revise leave policies, update payroll/HR processes, and train staff on the new program and medical‑certification requirements.
- The bill text includes a retroactive‑application note; check the statute’s notes for the specific retroactivity period and effective date used in practice.
Practical impact
- Provides an avenue to preserve income and employment for permanent state employees facing severe health situations or pregnancy when they exhaust their own leave balances.
- Administrative costs for program setup, tracking, and rulemaking will fall to the HR division and agencies; no fiscal estimates are included in the bill text supplied here.
