70A.23 - CREDIT FOR ACCRUED SICK LEAVE.
70A.23 CREDIT FOR ACCRUED SICK LEAVE.
1. For purposes of this section:
a. "Eligible retirement system" means a retirement system
authorized under chapter 97A or 97B, including the teachers insurance
and annuity association-college retirement equities fund (TIAA-CREF).
b. "Eligible state employee" means a state employee eligible
to receive retirement benefits under an eligible retirement system.
2. An eligible state employee, excluding an employee covered
under a collective bargaining agreement which provides otherwise, who
retires and has applied for retirement benefits under an eligible
retirement system, or who dies while in active employment, shall be
credited with the number of accrued days of sick leave of the
employee. The employee, or the employee's estate, shall receive a
cash payment of the monetary value of the employee's accrued sick
leave balance, not to exceed two thousand dollars. The value of the
employee's accrued sick leave balance shall be calculated by
multiplying the number of hours of accrued sick leave by the
employee's regular hourly rate of pay at the time of retirement.
3. a. An eligible state employee, excluding an employee
covered under a collective bargaining agreement which provides
otherwise or an employee of the state board of regents, who retires
and receives a payment as provided in subsection 2 shall be entitled
to elect to have the employee's available remaining value of sick
leave used to pay the state share for the employee's continuation of
state group health insurance coverage pursuant to the requirements of
this subsection.
b. An eligible state employee's available remaining value of
sick leave shall be calculated as follows:
(1) If the employee's accrued sick leave balance prior to payment
as provided in subsection 2 is seven hundred fifty hours or less,
sixty percent of the value of the remaining accrued sick leave
balance.
(2) If the employee's accrued sick leave balance prior to payment
as provided in subsection 2 is one thousand five hundred hours or
less but more than seven hundred fifty hours, eighty percent of the
value of the remaining accrued sick leave balance.
(3) If the employee's accrued sick leave balance prior to payment
as provided in subsection 2 is more than one thousand five hundred
hours, one hundred percent of the value of the remaining accrued sick
leave balance.
c. An eligible state employee's available remaining value of
sick leave shall be available to pay for that portion of the
employee's state group health insurance premium that would otherwise
be paid for by the state if the employee were still a state employee.
The benefits provided for in this subsection have no cash value and
are not transferable to any other person, including the retiree's
spouse. Payment of state group health insurance premiums pursuant to
this subsection continues until the earliest of when the eligible
state employee's available remaining value of sick leave is
exhausted, the employee otherwise becomes eligible for federal
Medicare program benefits, or the employee dies. In addition, an
employee electing benefits pursuant to this subsection who is
reinstated or reemployed in a permanent full-time or permanent
part-time position within state government forfeits any remaining
benefits for payment of state group health insurance benefits, and
such employee is not eligible for restoration of the unused sick
leave accrued during the employee's prior employment with the state.
4. Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary,
peace officers employed within the department of public safety and
the department of natural resources that are not covered under a
collective bargaining agreement shall have a sick leave conversion
program extended to them that is equivalent to the sick leave
conversion program negotiated under chapter 20 between the state and
the state police officers council labor union for peace officers. In
addition, an employee of the department of public safety or the
department of natural resources who has earned benefits of payment of
premiums under a collective bargaining agreement and who becomes a
manager or supervisor and is no longer covered by the agreement shall
not lose the benefits of payment of premiums earned while covered by
the agreement. The payment shall be calculated by multiplying the
number of hours of accumulated, unused sick leave by the employee's
hourly rate of pay at the time of retirement. Section History: Early Form
[C79, 81, § 79.23; 82 Acts, ch 1184, § 1] Section History: Recent Form
84 Acts, ch 1146, § 1; 88 Acts, ch 1158, §9
C93, § 70A.23
2003 Acts, ch 108, §22; 2006 Acts, ch 1020, §2; 2006 Acts, ch
1185, §116
Referred to in § 70A.1, 80.42, 602.1401, 602.11102 Footnotes
Sick leave and vacation incentive and other early termination
programs; reports to general assembly; 2001 Acts, 2nd Ex, ch 5, §3,
4, 8; 2002 Acts, 2nd Ex, ch 1001, §50--52; 2004 Acts, ch 1035, § 1, 3