2123 - Parr Lawsuit Leave

Category

Leave

Audience List

• Employee Relations Officers
• Personnel Officers
• Personnel Transactions Supervisors

Synopsis

This policy

• Provides the background of the Parr Lawsuit Settlement.
• Identifies three groups and how they were compensated.
• Provides details of how the Parr Lawsuit Settlement was applied.

Introduction

This policy provides the background of the Parr Lawsuit Settlement and information regarding how it was applied.

Statement

During the budget impasse of 1992, employees whose salaries were paid out of the General Fund were paid with registered warrants (commonly referred to as an “IOU”) instead of regular warrants. A lawsuit was filed against the state that contended that payment of wages with registered warrants violated the Fair Labor Standards Act. The lawsuit was ultimately settled, and under the settlement agreement, employees (“consenters”) who were adversely impacted by the issuance of the registered warrants and who met certain criteria were entitled to submit a claim during the latter part of 1996. The bulk of the consenters who filed claims received leave credits as the primary form of payment, although some consenters received cash instead of leave credits, depending on the consenter’s employment status. The terms of the settlement provided the following:

1. Consenters who were no longer employed by the state at the time they filed their claims were paid from a capped cash fund at a fixed hourly rate, based on the number of registered warrants they claimed, and received a share from that capped fund on a pro rata basis if the value of the claims exceeded the amount of cash in the capped fund.
2. Consenters who were employed by the state at the time they filed their claims but who were subsequently separated from state service before December 31, 1998, were paid in cash. This group was paid for the leave credits that would have been issued up to that point, at the hourly rate that they were last employed at the time they separated from state service. A consenter who voluntarily separated from state service after filing a claim but who subsequently returned to state service was treated as if that person had not returned to state service and was paid in cash.
3. Consenters who were employed by the state and who had not previously separated from state service were issued leave credits, not cash. Consenters who were full-time employees during the summer of 1992 were entitled to three and a half days of leave credits (28 hours) or seven days of leave credits (56 hours) maximum, depending on how many warrants the consenter claimed. Adjustments were made if the consenter worked an unconventional workweek and/or did not work full-time during the summer of 1992.

These leave credits are maintained in a separate leave bank known as “Parr Leave Settlement”, and will not count against any cap on vacation, annual leave, or any other leave an employee can accrue. The State Controller’s Office was the agency responsible for providing the exact number of hours of leave credit that each consenter was entitled to. When current employees separate with unused Parr leave credits remaining, the employee is entitled to be paid for those leave credits by the employing department as any other unused vacation time.

Application

Parr Leave Credit Provisions:

• May be used in half hour increments.
• Shall be counted as time worked.
• Shall be compensated based on the employee’s salary rate at the time the credits are used.
• Shall be included in overtime calculations when the leave is used during the work period.
• May be used for any approved absence and used in lieu of all other leave benefits.
• May be used to supplement disability leave for disability leave programs that authorize supplementation.
• May be used for any program that authorizes the transfer of leave credits, e.g. catastrophic leave.
• Shall transfer with an employee upon movement to another state agency.
• Shall not count against any leave cap on vacation, annual leave, or any other accrued leave.
• Upon separation, shall be entitled to lump sum payment of any unused Parr leave credits.

Authorities

• Parr v. State of California

Resources

PML

• PML 1999-008: PML 1999-008 - 2/5/1999 - Parr Lawsuit Settlement Leave Benefit

Web Pages

• SCO Leave Accounting Letter #99-004: PARR Lawsuit Settlement Benefit

Authorized By

Melissa Russell
Chief, Personnel Management Division

Contact Person

Personnel Services Branch
Personnel Program Consultant , Personnel Services Branch
Phone: 916-909-3702
Fax: 916-327-1886
Email: psb@calhr.ca.gov

Superseded Policies

History

View History