CSHB 100(L&C): "An Act relating to family leave."
00 CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 100(L&C) 01 "An Act relating to family leave." 02 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 03 * Section 1. AS 23.10 is amended by adding new sections to read: 04 Article 9. Alaska Paid Family Leave Plan. 05 Sec. 23.10.700. Plan procurement and requirements. (a) The commissioner 06 of labor and workforce development and the commissioner of administration shall 07 jointly procure a family leave insurance plan that meets the requirements of 08 AS 23.10.700 - 23.10.790 and secures family leave wage replacement coverage for 09 (1) qualified state employees at no cost to the employees; 10 (2) enrolled employees of political subdivisions of the state and private 11 employers who have elected to participate in the plan under AS 23.10.720; and 12 (3) individuals who use the purchasing pool to enroll in the plan under 13 AS 23.10.730. 14 (b) The procurement of the family leave insurance plan is governed by 15 AS 36.30 (State Procurement Code).
01 (c) The Department of Labor and Workforce Development and the 02 Department of Administration shall jointly evaluate responses to the procurement and 03 shall contract with an insurer authorized under AS 21.09 to provide health or disability 04 insurance. The insurer shall file the rates and forms for a family leave insurance plan 05 with the director of insurance for approval. 06 (d) The commissioner of labor and workforce development and the 07 commissioner of administration shall adopt and include in the plan, for employees of 08 employers that elect to participate in the plan, 09 (1) the length and time of annual open enrollment periods; 10 (2) enrollment processes for plans with premiums paid 11 (A) entirely by an employer; 12 (B) partially by an employer; 13 (C) entirely by an employee; 14 (3) procedures for payroll deduction and premium payment for 15 participating employers with 50 or more employees. 16 (e) The commissioner of labor and workforce development and the 17 commissioner of administration shall adopt and include in the plan, for employees 18 who enroll in the plan using the purchasing pool under AS 23.10.730, procedures 19 (1) that ensure timely transmission of enrollment and eligibility 20 information to the insurer; 21 (2) to collect premiums from enrolled employees and from employers 22 with 50 or more employees; 23 (3) specifying how frequently premiums will be transmitted to the 24 insurer and how penalties for late payments will be calculated. 25 Sec. 23.10.710. Plan benefit and eligibility. (a) A family leave insurance plan 26 procured under AS 23.10.700 must provide a participating employee wage 27 replacement coverage that equals 100 percent of the employee's average weekly wage, 28 up to $3,000 each week. In this subsection, "average weekly wage" means the average 29 wage the employee has earned each week over the shorter of 30 (1) the 52 weeks immediately preceding the period the employee takes 31 family leave;
01 (2) the employee's entire current term of employment with the state, 02 political subdivision of the state, or private employer. 03 (b) A family leave insurance plan may not impose a minimum duration of 04 family leave for wage replacement coverage. The annual duration of family leave 05 wage replacement coverage under the plan is 06 (1) the entire period for which family leave is taken by a state 07 employee under AS 39.20.305 or 39.20.500; 08 (2) not less than six weeks of family leave for an enrolled employee of 09 a participating political subdivision of the state or of a participating private employer 10 or for an employee enrolled in a family leave insurance plan through the purchasing 11 pool. 12 (c) An enrolled employee is eligible for family leave wage replacement if the 13 employee has been 14 (1) enrolled for at least seven calendar days; and 15 (2) employed by the employer for at least 35 hours a week for at least 16 six consecutive months or for at least 17.5 hours a week for at least 12 consecutive 17 months immediately preceding the leave. 18 Sec. 23.10.720. Participation. (a) A political subdivision of the state or private 19 employer may elect to participate in a plan procured under AS 23.10.700. A 20 participating political subdivision of the state or private employer shall contract 21 directly with the insurer and may choose 22 (1) the duration under AS 23.10.710(b) that the enrolled employees of 23 the political subdivision of the state or the private employer may receive wage 24 replacement coverage; and 25 (2) whether to provide coverage at no cost to the enrolled employee, 26 pay a portion of the employee's premium costs, or require the employee to cover the 27 entire premium. 28 (b) A premium charged by an insurer for a participating political subdivision 29 or private employer must be actuarially justified and derived from the individual 30 employee premium, expressed as a percentage of wages, paid by the state for state 31 employee coverage.
01 (c) An employee of a participating political subdivision of the state or private 02 employer may elect to enroll in the plan. 03 (d) A participating political subdivision of the state or private employer shall 04 pay premiums for an enrolled employee directly to the insurer and pay the employee 05 contributions, if any, directly to the insurer by way of automatic payroll deductions. 06 (e) A participating private employer that employs 50 or more employees 07 (1) shall, during the time an employee is on family leave receiving 08 wage replacement and paying the costs for maintaining health insurance coverage, 09 maintain coverage under any group health plan at the level and under the conditions 10 that coverage would have been provided if the employee had been employed 11 continuously from the date the leave began to the date the employee returns from 12 family leave; 13 (2) shall, unless the employer's business circumstances have changed 14 to make it impossible or unreasonable when a participating employee returns from 15 family leave, restore the employee to 16 (A) the position of employment held by the employee when the 17 leave began; or 18 (B) a substantially similar position with substantially similar 19 benefits, pay, and other terms and conditions of employment; 20 (3) may not discriminate or retaliate against an employee for taking 21 family leave and receiving wage replacement benefits. 22 (f) A participating political subdivision of the state and a private employer that 23 employs fewer than 50 employees may collect and transmit premiums directly to the 24 insurer or to the purchasing pool premium account under AS 23.10.730(d). The 25 employer may collect employee contributions, if any, by way of automatic payroll 26 deductions. 27 Sec. 23.10.730. Purchasing pool. (a) The family leave insurance plan 28 purchasing pool is established. The insurer shall participate in the purchasing pool. 29 (b) An employee of a political subdivision of the state or a private employer 30 that does not participate in a family leave insurance plan and does not offer a family 31 leave insurance benefit that is at least equivalent to the coverage provided under
01 AS 23.10.710 may use the purchasing pool established in this section to contract 02 indirectly with an insurer and enroll in a family leave insurance plan. 03 (c) The pool may be experience rated. Coverage through the pool must include 04 a seven-month waiting period, a one-week elimination period, and a 60-day annual 05 open enrollment period as established by the commissioner in the procurement 06 process. Premiums for purchasing pool coverage may not exceed $5 for each enrolled 07 employee each week. 08 (d) A political subdivision of the state or a private employer that employs 50 09 or more employees shall transfer premiums for an employee using the purchasing pool 10 established in this section directly to the insurer by way of automatic payroll 11 deductions. An employee of a political subdivision of the state or a private employer 12 that employs fewer than 50 employees may pay premiums directly to the purchasing 13 pool. 14 (e) The commissioner of administration shall separately account for 15 purchasing pool premium payments received by the department and for payment of 16 premiums to an insurer participating in a family leave insurance plan in a purchasing 17 pool premium account. 18 Sec. 23.10.740. Purchasing pool premium stabilization account. (a) The 19 commissioner of administration shall separately account for 20 (1) premium taxes imposed on family leave insurance premiums 21 written by the insurer under AS 21.09.210; 22 (2) appropriations made for purchasing pool stabilization; and 23 (3) gifts, grants, and donations made for the purpose of stabilizing the 24 purchasing pool. 25 (b) The legislature may appropriate money from the account to the purchasing 26 pool to ensure that the premiums charged to participants in the purchasing pool remain 27 stable from year to year and do not exceed $5 for each enrolled employee each week. 28 Sec. 23.10.750. Family leave insurance advisory board. (a) The family leave 29 insurance advisory board is established in the Department of Administration to support 30 the commissioner of administration with implementing and administering family leave 31 insurance plans.
01 (b) The advisory board is composed of seven members appointed by the 02 governor as follows: 03 (1) three members who represent employers; 04 (2) three members who represent employees; 05 (3) one member, who shall serve as chair, who is qualified, through 06 training and experience, to resolve problems of family leave insurance procurement, 07 eligibility, benefit design, and program administration. 08 (c) The advisory board shall meet at least quarterly. 09 Sec. 23.10.760. Bargaining. Notwithstanding any provision of AS 23.40.070 - 10 23.40.260 to the contrary, if an agreement between an employer subject to 11 AS 23.40.070 - 23.40.260 and an employee bargaining organization does not contain 12 provisions at least as beneficial to the employee as the provisions provided by 13 AS 23.10.700 - 23.10.790, the provisions of AS 23.10.700 - 23.10.790 apply. 14 Sec. 23.10.770. Report and outreach. (a) The Department of Labor and 15 Workforce Development, in conjunction with the Department of Administration, shall 16 prepare and submit to the senate president and the speaker of the house of 17 representatives by January 15 of each year a report on family leave insurance plans. 18 The Department of Labor and Workforce Development and the Department of 19 Administration shall include in the report a description of progress in increasing the 20 rate of family leave insurance coverage of employees in the state, and 21 recommendations to further increase the rate of coverage. 22 (b) The Department of Labor and Workforce Development, in conjunction 23 with the Department of Administration, shall develop an outreach program to educate 24 employers and employees about the potential benefits of participating in a family 25 leave insurance plan, including benefit structures and qualifying for the family leave 26 insurance tax credit under AS 43.20.075. 27 Sec. 23.10.780. Regulations. The commissioner of labor and workforce 28 development and the commissioner of administration may adopt regulations to 29 implement AS 23.10.700 - 23.10.790. 30 Sec. 23.10.790. Definitions. In AS 23.10.700 - 23.10.790, 31 (1) "child" means an individual who is
01 (A) under 18 years of age; or 02 (B) 18 years of age or older and incapable of self-care because 03 of mental or physical disability; 04 (2) "family leave" means leave taken 05 (A) because of pregnancy and the birth of a child of the 06 employee or the placement of a child, other than the employee's stepchild, with 07 the employee for adoption or foster care; 08 (B) in order to care for the employee's child, spouse, or parent 09 who has a serious health condition; in this subparagraph, "child" includes the 10 employee's biological, adopted, or foster child, stepchild, or legal ward; and 11 (C) because of the employee's own serious health condition; 12 (3) "insurer" means a person engaged as indemnitor, surety, or 13 contractor in the business of entering into contracts of insurance or of annuity that has 14 contracted with the commissioner of labor and workforce development and the 15 commissioner of administration under AS 23.10.700; 16 (4) "parent" means a biological or adoptive parent, a parent-in-law, or 17 a stepparent; 18 (5) "serious health condition" means an illness, injury, impairment, or 19 physical or mental condition that involves 20 (A) inpatient care in a hospital, hospice, or residential health 21 care facility; or 22 (B) continuing treatment or continuing supervision by a health 23 care provider; 24 (6) "state" includes the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of 25 state government, the University of Alaska, the Alaska Railroad Corporation, and 26 public corporations and authorities established by law. 27 * Sec. 2. AS 39.20.305(a) is amended to read: 28 (a) An officer or employee of the state who is otherwise qualified to take leave 29 of absence may take family leave paid through wage replacement coverage under 30 AS 23.10.700 - 23.10.790 because of a serious health condition for a total of 18 31 workweeks during any 24-month period. An otherwise qualified officer or employee
01 may take family leave because of pregnancy and childbirth, [OR] adoption, or foster 02 care for a total of 18 workweeks within a 12-month period; the right to take leave for 03 this reason expires on the date one year after the birth or placement of the child. The 04 state may not require the employee to substitute accrued paid leave to which the 05 employee is entitled [AN OFFICER OR EMPLOYEE TAKING LEAVE UNDER 06 THIS SECTION SHALL USE ACCRUED PAID LEAVE UNTIL THE OFFICER 07 OR EMPLOYEE HAS ONLY FIVE DAYS OF PAID LEAVE REMAINING. THE 08 OFFICER OR EMPLOYEE MAY CHOOSE WHETHER TO RETAIN A BALANCE 09 OF FIVE DAYS OF PAID LEAVE AND TAKE THE REMAINING LEAVE AS 10 UNPAID LEAVE OR WHETHER TO EXHAUST THE PAID LEAVE BALANCE. 11 AFTER REDUCING ACCRUED PAID LEAVE AS REQUIRED BY THIS 12 SUBSECTION, THE OFFICER OR EMPLOYEE MAY TAKE LEAVE WITHOUT 13 PAY FOR THE BALANCE OF THE FAMILY LEAVE]. If the employee is entitled 14 to a longer period of time under AS 39.20.500, then the longer period applies. An 15 eligible employee is entitled to take family leave 16 (1) because of pregnancy and the birth of a child of the employee or 17 the placement of a child, other than the employee's stepchild, with the employee for 18 adoption or foster care; the department or agency may require that an employee using 19 family leave under this paragraph take the leave in a single block of time; 20 (2) in order to care for the employee's child, spouse, or parent who has 21 a serious health condition; in this paragraph, "child" includes the employee's 22 biological, adopted, or foster child, stepchild, or legal ward; and 23 (3) because of the employee's own serious health condition. 24 * Sec. 3. AS 39.20.500(b) is amended to read: 25 (b) An employee is eligible to take family leave if the employee has been 26 employed by the employer for at least 35 hours a week for at least six consecutive 27 months or for at least 17 1/2 hours a week for at least 12 consecutive months 28 immediately preceding the leave. The leave for a state employee must [MAY] be 29 [UNPAID] leave paid through wage replacement coverage under AS 23.10.700 - 30 23.10.790. The leave for an employee of a political subdivision of the state may be 31 unpaid leave. However, the political subdivision employee may choose to
01 substitute accrued paid leave to which the employee is entitled. The state or the 02 political subdivision [. HOWEVER, THE EMPLOYEE MAY CHOOSE TO 03 SUBSTITUTE, OR THE EMPLOYER] may not require the employee to substitute [,] 04 accrued paid leave to which the employee is entitled. An employer shall permit an 05 eligible employee to take family leave because of a serious health condition for a total 06 of 18 workweeks during any 24-month period. An employer shall permit an eligible 07 employee to take family leave because of pregnancy and childbirth, [OR] adoption, or 08 foster care for a total of 18 workweeks within a 12-month period; the right to take 09 leave for this reason expires on the date one year after the birth or placement of the 10 child. If the employee is entitled to a longer period of time under (a) of this section, 11 then the longer period applies. An eligible employee is entitled to take family leave 12 (1) because of pregnancy and the birth of a child of the employee or 13 the placement of a child, other than the employee's stepchild, with the employee for 14 adoption or foster care; an employer may require that an employee using family leave 15 under this paragraph take the leave in a single block of time; 16 (2) in order to care for the employee's child, spouse, or parent who has 17 a serious health condition; in this paragraph, "child" includes the employee's 18 biological, adopted, or foster child, stepchild, or legal ward; and 19 (3) because of the employee's own serious health condition. 20 * Sec. 4. AS 39.20.500(d) is amended to read: 21 (d) During the time that an employee is on leave under this section, the 22 employer shall maintain coverage under any group health plan at the level and under 23 the conditions that coverage would have been provided if the employee had been 24 employed continuously from the date the leave began to the date the employee returns 25 from leave under (e) of this section. [HOWEVER, THE EMPLOYER MAY 26 REQUIRE THAT THE EMPLOYEE PAY ALL OR PART OF THE COSTS FOR 27 MAINTAINING HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE DURING A PERIOD OF 28 UNPAID LEAVE.] 29 * Sec. 5. AS 39.20.500(f) is amended to read: 30 (f) This section does not apply to a political subdivision of the state's [AN 31 EMPLOYER'S] small employment facility if the total number of employees employed
01 within 50 road miles of the small employment facility, including those employed at 02 the facility, was fewer than 21 during the 20 consecutive workweeks in which the 03 political subdivision of the state [EMPLOYER] employed at least 21 employees at 04 all business facilities. 05 * Sec. 6. AS 39.20.550(2) is amended to read: 06 (2) "employer" 07 (A) means 08 (i) the state; 09 (ii) [AND] a political subdivision of the state that 10 employed at least 21 employees in the state for each working day 11 during any period of 20 consecutive workweeks in the preceding two 12 calendar years; 13 (B) ["EMPLOYER"] does not include a regional Native 14 housing authority created under AS 18.55.995 - 18.55.998; 15 * Sec. 7. AS 43.20 is amended by adding a new section to read: 16 Sec. 43.20.075. Family leave insurance tax credit. A taxpayer that pays for 17 family leave insurance coverage for the taxpayer's employees under AS 23.10.720 is 18 allowed a credit against the taxes due under this chapter for an amount equal to 50 19 percent of the family leave insurance premium paid by the taxpayer for the year in 20 which the premium is paid. 21 * Sec. 8. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 22 read: 23 TRANSITION. The procurement for family leave insurance coverage, described in 24 sec. 1 of this Act, shall be issued not later than March 31, 2025. A family leave insurance plan 25 shall be in place for state government employees and available for purchase by political 26 subdivisions of the state and private employers with more than 50 employees by January 1, 27 2026. The purchasing pool shall be operational and coverage available for purchase not later 28 than January 1, 2026.