AB736: Bill Text

LRB-0998/2

GMM:kjf:rs

2011 - 2012 LEGISLATURE

2011 Assembly BILL 736

March 15, 2012 - Introduced by Representatives Hulsey, Pope-Roberts, Young, Sinicki, Berceau, Grigsby, C. Taylor and Molepske Jr, cosponsored by Senators Carpenter and Taylor. Referred to Committee on Education.

AB736,1,8 An Act to renumber and amend 103.10 (5) (b); to amend 103.10 (title), 103.10 (2) (a), 103.10 (5) (a), 103.10 (7) (title), 103.10 (7) (b) (intro.), 103.10 (8) (a) (intro.), 103.10 (8) (a) 1., 103.10 (8) (a) 2., 103.10 (8) (b), 103.10 (8) (c), 103.10 (9) (a), 103.10 (9) (b), 103.10 (9) (c) 4., 103.10 (9) (d), 103.10 (10), 103.10 (12) (d), 103.10 (14) (b), 111.91 (2) (f), 230.35 (2m) and 253.10 (3) (d) 1.; to repeal and recreate 893.96 (title); and to create 103.10 (1) (fr), 103.10 (4m), 103.10 (5) (b) 2., 103.10 (6) (c) and 103.10 (7) (am) of the statutes; relating to: school conference and activities leave.

Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau

Under current law, an employer, including the state, employing at least 50 individuals on a permanent basis in this state (employer) must permit an employee who has been employed by the employer for more than 52 consecutive weeks and who has worked for the employer for at least 1,000 hours during the preceding 52-week period (employee) to take six weeks of family leave in a 12-month period and two weeks of medical leave in a 12-month period. Family leave may be taken for the birth or adoptive placement of a new child or to care for a child, spouse, domestic partner, or parent who has a serious health condition. Medical leave may be taken when the employee has a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the employee's employment duties.

An employee is not entitled to receive wages or salary while taking family or medical leave, but may substitute, for portions of family or medical leave, other types of paid or unpaid leave provided by the employer. An employee who intends to take family or medical leave for the birth or adoptive placement of a child or for planned medical treatment must give the employer advance notice of the birth or adoptive placement or planned medical treatment. In addition, for planned medical treatment, the employee must make a reasonable effort to schedule the medical treatment so that it does not unduly disrupt the operations of the employer. Also, if an employee requests family or medical leave due to to a serious health of the employee or of a child, spouse, domestic partner, or parent, the employer may require certification of that condition from a health care provider or a Christian Science practitioner.

This bill allows an employee of an employer to take no more than 16 hours of school conference and activities leave in a 12-month period. School conference and activities leave may be taken to attend school conferences or classroom activities relating to the employee's child that cannot be scheduled during nonworking hours or to observe and monitor the child care, preschool, or prekindergarten services or programming received by an employee's child, if that observation and monitoring cannot be scheduled during nonworking hours. School conference and activities leave, however, may not be taken for the purpose of accompanying an outing or field trip of a school or nonprofit organization.

An employee is not entitled to receive wages or salary while taking school conference and activities leave, but may substitute, for portions of that leave, other types of paid or unpaid leave provided by the employer, except that an employee may not substitute paid leave for that leave for attending a school conference or activity for less than one hour. An employee who intends to take leave to attend a school conference or activity must give the employer advance notice of the conference or activity and must make a reasonable effort to schedule the conference or activity, so that the conference or activity does not unduly disrupt the operations of the employer. When an employee returns from school conference and activities leave, the employer may require the employee to provide, in a reasonable and practicable manner, documentation from his or her child's school stating no more than that the employee was attending a school conference or classroom activity or was observing and monitoring child care, preschool, or prekindergarten services and programming during the period of that leave.

For purposes of the bill, "school" means a child care center licensed by the Department of Children and Families, a child care provider certified for funding by a county department of human services or social services, a child care program established or contracted for by a school board, a public or private preschool or prekindergarten, or a public or private school that provides an educational program for one or more grades between kindergarten and 12.

For further information see the state and local fiscal estimate, which will be printed as an appendix to this bill.

The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:

AB736, s. 1 Section 1. 103.10 (title) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB736,3,3 103.10 (title) Family or, medical, and school conference and activities leave.

AB736, s. 2 Section 2. 103.10 (1) (fr) of the statutes is created to read:

AB736,3,9 103.10 (1) (fr) "School" means a child care provider, as defined in s. 49.001 (1), a public or private preschool or prekindergarten, or a public or private school that provides an educational program for one or more grades between kindergarten and 12 and that is commonly known as a kindergarten, elementary school, middle school, junior high school, senior high school, or high school.

AB736, s. 3 Section 3. 103.10 (2) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB736,3,14 103.10 (2) (a) Nothing in this section prohibits an employer from providing employees with rights to family leave or, medical leave which, or school conference and activities leave that are more generous to the employee than the rights provided under this section.

AB736, s. 4 Section 4. 103.10 (4m) of the statutes is created to read:

AB736,4,4 103.10 (4m) School conference and activities leave. Subject to sub. (6) (c), an employee may take no more than 16 hours of school conference and activities leave in a 12-month period for the purpose of attending school conferences or classroom activities relating to the employee's child that cannot be scheduled during nonwork hours or of observing and monitoring the services or programming provided to the employee's child by a child care provider, as defined in s. 49.001 (1), or a public or private preschool or prekindergarten, if that observation and monitoring cannot be scheduled during nonwork hours. An employee may not use the school conference and activities leave provided under this subsection for the purpose of accompanying an outing or field trip of a school or nonprofit organization.

AB736, s. 5 Section 5. 103.10 (5) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB736,4,8 103.10 (5) (a) This section does not entitle an employee to receive wages or salary while taking family leave or, medical leave, or school conference and activities leave.

AB736, s. 6 Section 6. 103.10 (5) (b) of the statutes is renumbered 103.10 (5) (b) 1. and amended to read:

AB736,4,13 103.10 (5) (b) 1. An Subject to subd. 2., an employee may substitute, for portions of family leave or, medical leave, or school conference and activities leave, paid or unpaid leave of any other type provided by the employer.

AB736, s. 7 Section 7. 103.10 (5) (b) 2. of the statutes is created to read:

AB736,4,17 103.10 (5) (b) 2. Notwithstanding subd. 1., an employee may not substitute paid leave for school conference and activities leave for attending a school conference or activity for less than one hour.

AB736, s. 8 Section 8. 103.10 (6) (c) of the statutes is created to read:

AB736,4,21 103.10 (6) (c) If an employee intends to take leave under sub. (4m) for the purpose of attending a school conference or activity, the employee shall do all of the following:

AB736,4,23 1. Make a reasonable effort to schedule the conference or activity so that the conference or activity does not unduly disrupt the employer's operations.

AB736,4,25 2. Give the employer advance notice of the conference or activity in a reasonable and practicable manner.

AB736, s. 11 Section 11. 103.10 (7) (title) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB736,5,2 103.10 (7) (title) Certification; documentation.

AB736, s. 12 Section 12. 103.10 (7) (am) of the statutes is created to read:

AB736,5,9 103.10 (7) (am) When an employee returns from school conference and activities leave, the employer may require the employee to provide, in a reasonable and practicable manner, documentation from his or her child's school stating no more than that the employee was attending a school conference or classroom activity or was observing and monitoring child care, preschool, or prekindergarten services and programming, as described in sub. (4m), during the period of that leave.

AB736, s. 13 Section 13. 103.10 (7) (b) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB736,5,12 103.10 (7) (b) (intro.) No employer may require certification under par. (a) stating more than the following:

AB736, s. 14 Section 14. 103.10 (8) (a) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB736,5,16 103.10 (8) (a) (intro.) Subject to par. (c), when an employee returns from family leave or, medical leave, or school conference and activities leave, his or her employer shall immediately place the employee in an employment position as follows:

AB736, s. 15 Section 15. 103.10 (8) (a) 1. of the statutes is amended to read:

AB736,5,20 103.10 (8) (a) 1. If the employment position which that the employee held immediately before the family leave or, medical leave, or school conference and activities leave began is vacant when the employee returns, in that position.

AB736, s. 16 Section 16. 103.10 (8) (a) 2. of the statutes is amended to read:

AB736,6,2 103.10 (8) (a) 2. If the employment position which that the employee held immediately before the family leave or, medical leave, or school conference and activities leave began is not vacant when the employee returns, in an equivalent employment position having equivalent compensation, benefits, working shift, hours of employment, and other terms and conditions of employment.

AB736, s. 17 Section 17. 103.10 (8) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB736,6,7 103.10 (8) (b) No employer may, because an employee received family leave or, medical leave, or school conference and activities leave, reduce or deny an employment benefit which that accrued to the employee before his or her leave began or, consistent with sub. (9), accrued after his or her leave began.

AB736, s. 18 Section 18. 103.10 (8) (c) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB736,6,13 103.10 (8) (c) Notwithstanding par. (a), if an employee on a family, medical or family, or school conference and activities leave wishes to return to work before the end of the leave as scheduled, the employer shall place the employee in an employment position of the type described in par. (a) 1. or 2. within a reasonable time not exceeding the duration of the leave as scheduled.

AB736, s. 19 Section 19. 103.10 (9) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB736,6,20 103.10 (9) (a) Except as provided in par. (b), nothing in this section entitles a returning employee to a right, employment benefit, or employment position to which the employee would not have been entitled had he or she not taken family leave or, medical leave, or school conference and activities leave or to the accrual of any seniority or employment benefit during a period of family leave or, medical leave, or school conference and activities leave.