Bulletin 17-01 - Administrative Leave

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SUBJECT: Administrative Leave

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EFFECTIVE DATE: January 6, 2017

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DISTRIBUTION: State of Kansas HR Directors & Managers

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FROM: Kraig Knowlton, Director of Personnel Services

DATE: January 6, 2017

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PURPOSE: This Bulletin is being issued to provide consistency and clarification regarding the use of administrative leave pursuant to Kansas Administrative Regulation (K.A.R.) 1-2-74 following amendments to that regulation that take effect on January 6, 2017.

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BACKGROUND: During the public comment period for proposed amendments to K.A.R. 1-2-74 eliminating the language prohibiting the use of administrative leave as a reward, concerns were raised by members of the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules and Regulations, employee organizations and employees regarding potential adverse effects of employees receiving administrative leave as a reward. This Bulletin is intended to address those concerns by establishing several key limitations to ensure both consistency in the use of administrative leave as a reward and that no employee is adversely impacted by receiving administrative leave as a reward.

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PROCEDURES:

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During the public comment period for proposed amendments to K.A.R. 1-2-74 eliminating the language prohibiting the use of administrative leave as a reward, concerns were raised by members of the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules and Regulations, employee organizations and employees regarding potential adverse effects of employees receiving administrative leave as a reward. This Bulletin is intended to address those concerns by establishing several key limitations to ensure both consistency in the use of administrative leave as a reward and that no employee is adversely impacted by receiving administrative leave as a reward.

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For the purposes of this Bulletin, administrative leave should only be provided as a reward for an employee or group of employees whose actions furthered the mission of the agency in which they work, and were either:

1. Outside the scope of the employees’ regular duties; or
2. Completed in a time, manner or with a result that exceeded the normal expectations for the employees’ regular duties, as determined by the agency appointing authority.

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Administrative leave shall not be provided as a reward in excess of the equivalent of three (3) of the recipient’s working days per situation being rewarded. If administrative leave is provided as a reward due to the efforts of more than one employee, all employees who contributed to the action being rewarded shall receive the same amount of administrative leave.

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No agency should attempt to use administrative leave as a reward as a means to prevent an employee from earning overtime compensation or compensatory time, pursuant to K.A.R. 1-5-24.

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Any employee may refuse the receipt of administrative leave as a reward. Such refusals should be recorded in writing and maintained in employees’ personnel files.

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REFERENCES: K.A.R.’s 1-2-74 and 1-5-24

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CONTACT PERSON:
Danelle Harsin, Deputy Director
Office of Personnel Services
Danelle.Harsin@ks.gov
(785) 296-4383