WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE

2026 REGULAR SESSION

Introduced

House Bill 4485

By Delegates Bell, G. Howell, and Stephens

[Introduced January 16, 2026; referred to the Committee on Education then Finance]

A BILL to amend and reenact §18-4-10f and §18B-7-14 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; relating to allowing educators in the public school system or in the higher education system to donate leave to employees who use maternity leave; defining maternity leave; and setting forth the process for the leave transfer.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

CHAPTER 18A. SCHOOL PERSONNEL.

ARTICLE 4. SALARIES, WAGES AND OTHER BENEFITS.

§18A-4-10f. Leave donation program.

(a) Definitions.

For the purposes of this section and section ten of this article, the following words have the meanings specified unless the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

(1) "Catastrophic medical emergency" means a medical or physical condition that:

(A) Incapacitates an employee or an immediate family member for whom the employee will provide care;

(B) Is likely to require the prolonged absence of the employee from duty; and

(C) Will result in a substantial loss of income to the employee because the employee:

(i) Has exhausted all accrued personal leave; and

(ii) Is not eligible to receive personal leave or has exhausted personal leave available from a leave bank established pursuant to this article;

(2) "Employee" means a professional educator or school service person who is employed by a county board and entitled to accrue personal leave as a benefit of employment;

(3) "Donor employee" means a professional educator or school service person employed by a county board who voluntarily contributes personal leave to another designated employee; and

(4) "Maternity leave" means leave taken by a pregnant woman to attend for their child, as otherwise set forth in §21-5D-4 of this code; and

(4) (5) "Receiving employee" means a professional educator or school service person employed by a county board who receives donated personal leave from another employee.

(b) Leave donation program.

(1) In addition to any personal leave bank established pursuant to this article, a county board shall establish a leave donation program pursuant to which a donor employee may transfer accrued personal leave to the personal leave account of another designated employee.

(2) A county board:

(A) May not limit the number of personal leave days a donor employee may transfer to a receiving employee who is his or her spouse;

(B) May not limit the total number of personal leave days a receiving employee receives; and

(C) May limit the number of days a donor employee transfers to a receiving employee who is not his or her spouse.

(c) Rule.

(1) The county board shall adopt a rule to implement the program.

(2) The rule shall set forth at least the following conditions:

(A) The donor employee voluntarily agrees to the leave transfer;

(B) The donor employee selects the employee designated to receive the personal leave transferred; and

(C) The receiving employee requires additional personal leave because of a catastrophic medical emergency or maternity leave;

(D) The donated leave may not be used to:

(i) Qualify for or add to service for any retirement system administered by the state; or

(ii) Extend insurance coverage pursuant to section thirteen, article sixteen, chapter five of this code;

(E) Each personal leave day contributed:

(i) Shall be deducted from the number of personal leave days to which the donor employee is entitled by section ten of this article;

(ii) Shall not be deducted from the number of personal leave days without cause to which the donor employee is entitled if sufficient general personal leave days are otherwise available to the donor employee;

(iii) Shall be credited to the receiving employee as one full personal leave day;

(iv) May not be credited for more or less than a full day by calculating the value of the leave according to the hourly wage of each employee; and

(v) May be used only for an absence due to the purpose for which the leave was transferred. Any transferred days remaining when the catastrophic medical emergency or maternity leave ends revert back to the donor employee; and

(F) An employee may not be coerced or compelled to contribute to a leave donation program.

CHAPTER 18B. HIGHER EDUCATION.

ARTICLE 7. PERSONNEL GENERALLY.

§18B-7-14. Higher education employees' catastrophic leave and maternity leave bank and leave transfer.

(a) For the purposes of this section, "employee" means either of the following:

(1) A classified or nonclassified employee who is employed by a higher education governing board, by the commission or by the council; or

(2) A faculty member, as defined in section one, article eight of this chapter, who is eligible to accrue sick leave.

(b) An employee may donate sick and annual leave to a leave bank established and operated in accordance with subsection (d) of this section or directly to another employee in accordance with subsection (e) of this section. No employee may be compelled to donate sick or annual leave. Any leave donated by an employee pursuant to this section shall be used only for the purpose of catastrophic illness or injury as defined in subsection (c), or maternity leave established in subsection (h) of this section and shall reduce, to the extent of such donation, the number of days of annual or sick leave to which the employee is entitled.

(c) For the purpose of this section, a catastrophic illness or injury is one that is expected to incapacitate the employee and create a financial hardship because the employee has exhausted all sick and annual leave and other paid time off. Catastrophic illness or injury also includes an incapacitated immediate family member as defined by a governing board, the commission or the council, as appropriate, if this results in the employee being required to take time off from work for an extended period of time to care for the family member and if the employee has exhausted all sick and annual leave and other paid time off.

(d) A leave bank or banks may be established at each state institution of higher education, the commission or the council to which employees may donate either sick or annual leave. The bank or banks may be established jointly by the policy commission and the governing boards or may be established for the commission, the council, and each of the governing boards. Sick or annual leave may be deposited in the leave bank, and shall be reflected as a day-for-day deduction from the sick or annual leave balance of the depositing employee.

Donated leave may be withdrawn by any employee experiencing a catastrophic illness or injury when the following conditions are met:

(1) The president of the institution or the chancellor of the commission or the council, as appropriate, verifies that the employee is unable to work due to the catastrophic illness or injury, or maternity leave; and

(2) The president of the institution or a chancellor, as appropriate, approves the withdrawal and provides written notice to the personnel office.

The withdrawal shall be reflected as a day-for-day addition to the leave balance of the withdrawing employee.

(e) Sick or annual leave may be donated to an employee experiencing a catastrophic illness or injury, or for maternity leave. The leave shall be donated at the request of the employee after appropriate verification that the employee is unable to work due to the catastrophic illness or injury , or for maternity leave as determined by the president of the institution or the appropriate chancellor. When transfer of sick or annual leave is approved by the president of the institution or the appropriate chancellor, any employee may donate sick or annual leave in one-day increments by providing written notice to the personnel office. Donations shall be reflected as a day-for-day deduction from the sick or annual leave balance of the donating employee. An employee receiving the donated sick or annual leave shall have any time which is donated credited to his or her account in one-day increments and reflected as a day-for-day addition to the leave balance of the receiving employee.

(f) Use of donated credits may not exceed a maximum of twelve continuous calendar months for any one catastrophic illness or injury.

(1) The total amount of sick or annual leave withdrawn or received may not exceed an amount sufficient to ensure the continuance of regular compensation and may not be used to extend insurance coverage pursuant to section thirteen, article sixteen, chapter five of this code.

(2) An employee withdrawing or receiving donations of sick or annual leave pursuant to this section shall use any leave personally accrued on a monthly basis prior to receiving additional donated sick or annual leave.

(g) Donated sick or annual leave deposited in an institutional leave bank or transferred under subsection (d) of this section may be inter-institutional in accordance with the policies of the appropriate governing board. Each institution, the commission or the council is responsible for the administration of the sick or annual leave deposits, withdrawals and transfers of its employees. Rules implementing the provisions of this section may be adopted jointly or separately by the governing boards, the commission or the council in accordance with section six, article one of this chapter and, in the case of the commission and council, in accordance with article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code.

(h) Leave may also be provided to an employee who uses maternity leave, which is that leave taken by a pregnant woman to attend for their child, as otherwise set forth in §21-5D-4 of this code. Any donated leave for this purpose shall be done in the same manner as otherwise set forth in this section.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to allow educators in the public school system or in the higher education system to donate leave to employees who use maternity leave. The bill defines maternity leave. Finally, the bill sets forth the process for the leave transfer.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.