State of California

  M E M O R A N D U M

  REFERENCE CODE:
  98-009

  DATE:
  February 18, 1998

  TO:
  Employee Relations Officers
  Personnel Officers

  FROM:
  Department of Personnel Administration
  Policy Development Office

  SUBJECT:
  Family School Partnership Act

  CONTACT:
  Nora Cheek, Personnel Program Manager
  (916) 324-0441
  FAX: (916) 324-0524
  OFFICE VISION:  DPA (NSCHEEK)
  INTERNET: nscheek@dpa.ca.gov


  Labor Code Section 230.8 (Family School Partnership) allows 
  eligible employees to take off up to 40 hours per school year 
  to participate in their child's school activities.  Eligible 
  employees include parents, guardians, or grandparents having 
  custody of a child in kindergarten or grades 1 to 12.   
  Assembly Bill 47 (Chapter 157, 1997), which became effective 
  January 1, 1998, extends the code section provisions to 
  participation in licensed daycare activities.  The bill also 
  changed the maximum number of hours to 40 hours per calendar 
  year instead of per school year.
  
  This program was discussed in Personnel Management Liaison 
  (PML) 96-038 and PML 96-061.  The following information is 
  provided as a reminder of the laws and policies used to 
  administer this program.
  
  An eligible employee, prior to taking time off to participate 
  in an activity at their child's school, must give reasonable 
  notice to their employer of the planned absence.  According 
  to the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR), the employer 
  may define "reasonable" for the purposes of the employment 
  involved (clerical, fire fighting, analytical, etc.). A 
  departmental policy defining "reasonable" should be based on 
  objective criteria and should be conveyed to the employees 
  before they apply for leave under this section.  Criteria 
  could include remoteness of work location, number of staff at 
  the work location, time-sensitivity 
 
  of work accomplished in the unit, etc.  Departments are not 
  required to honor a request that does not meet the reasonable 
  notice criteria.  Departments cannot refuse an employee's 
  request for budgetary reasons.
  
  Time off may not exceed eight hours in any calendar month.  
  Employees shall use existing leave credits such as vacation, 
  annual leave, personal leave, holiday credit, or compensating 
  time off.  Unpaid leave may only be used with the consent of 
  the employer. The employee, if requested by the employer, 
  shall provide written documentation from the school to verify 
  he or she participated in the school activity on the 
  specified date and time.  If both parents of a child are 
  employed at the same work location, only the first parent who 
  requests the time off is entitled to it.  The other parent 
  may request the time off but the employer is not required to 
  approve the request.
   
  The most recent State collective bargaining agreements 
  provided that the appointing authority has the discretion to 
  determine when annual leave, vacation, personal leave, and 
  compensating time off may be taken.  Any dispute resulting 
  from the denial of leave to a represented employee is subject 
  to the grievance and arbitration process specified in the 
  appropriate Memorandum of Understanding.  A dispute of an 
  excluded employee should be directed to the DIR.
  
  The DIR is charged with administering the provisions of 
  the Labor Code.  However, to ensure that information 
  regarding this statute is communicated to all departments, 
  the Department of Personnel Administration has agreed to 
  accept and consolidate questions and forward them to DIR.  
  If you have any questions, please contact Nora Cheek at 
  nscheek@dpa.ca.gov or at (916) 324-0441.
  
  
  
  
  Wendell Coon
  Division Chief