2009 California Government Code - Section 19996.19-19996.29 :: Article 1.6. Reduced Worktime Act

19996.19.  (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (1) Many individuals in our society possess great productive
potential which goes unused because they cannot meet the requirements
of a standard workweek.
   (2) An increasing proportion of workers have family
responsibilities which include the care of dependent elders and the
rearing of children.
   (3) There is a lack of adequate, affordable adult or child care to
accommodate the growing need for such services.
   (4) The state is benefited by exploring and encouraging
cost-saving supplements to latchkey programs, out-of-home child care
services, and adult dependent care.
   (5) Disabled employees or persons with special health needs may
benefit from voluntary reduced worktime.
   (6) Voluntary reduced worktime benefits both employers and
employees, by increasing flexibility and decreasing absenteeism,
offering management more flexibility in meeting work requirements,
and filling shortages in various occupations.
   (7) Society is benefited by offering a needed alternative for
those individuals who require or prefer shorter hours, despite the
reduced income, thus increasing jobs available to reduce unemployment
while retaining the skills of individuals who have training and
experience.
   (8) Employment opportunities are maximized by providing for
voluntary reduced worktime options to a standard workweek.
   (b) It is the intent of the Legislature in adopting this section
to pursue all of the following objectives:
   (1) To provide for maximum employment opportunities.
   (2) To encourage the realization of individual potential.
   (3) To increase the numbers and kinds of public and private sector
voluntary reduced worktime options.
   (4) To support the creation of a healthy balance between work and
family needs, including the need for additional income.
   (5) To encourage voluntary reduced worktime opportunities within
the private as well as public sector.
   (6) To develop policies and procedures which support the growth of
voluntary reduced worktime positions.
   (7) To promote job stability.
   (8) To strengthen the family and promote domestic tranquility and
to benefit the family and society by promoting a balance between work
and home.
   (9) To provide for alternative solutions to the growing need for
adequate child care, care for dependent adults, and care for the
disabled.
   (c) Nothing in this section shall be construed as superseding
Sections 19996.20 and 19996.21 which provide that the reduced
worktime option shall be made available only to the extent feasible
and as the department finds consistent with maximum employment
opportunity.

19996.20.  "Reduced worktime," as used in this article, means
employment of less than 40 hours of work per week, and includes
arrangements involving job sharing, four-, five-, or six-hour
workdays, jobs which provide eight hours of employment or less for
one, two, three, four or five days per week, and such other
arrangements which the department finds consistent with maximum
employment opportunity to employees desiring other than a standard
worktime.

19996.21.  (a) It is the policy of the state that to the extent
feasible, reduced worktime be made available to employees who are
unable, or who do not desire, to work standard working hours on a
full-time basis. Further, it is the intent of the Legislature that
nothing in this act shall be used to reduce the number of full-time
equivalency positions authorized to any department.
   (b) If the department determines that a reduction in the personnel
of departments or agencies of state government equivalent to 1
percent or more or full-time equivalent jobs is contemplated in a
single fiscal year, the director may conduct or may direct each
affected department or agency to conduct a survey of either all
permanent full-time employees or those permanent full-time employees
most likely to be affected by the personnel reduction. The purpose of
the survey shall be to determine the extent of the desire of
employees to participate in voluntary reduced worktime.
   The survey shall contain information clearly informing employees
of potential worktime options, the effect reduced worktime would have
on benefits, and the right to return to full-time work as specified
in Section 19996.24.

19996.22.  (a) Any employee who is being coerced, or who has been
required, by the appointing power, a supervisor, or another employee,
to involuntarily reduce his or her worktime contrary to the intent
of this article, or who has been unreasonably denied the right to
participate in this program, may file a grievance with the
department.
   (b) Any employee of the California State University system who is
being coerced, or who has been required by the appointing power, a
supervisor, or another employee, to involuntarily reduce his or her
worktime contrary to the intent of this article, or who has been
unreasonably denied the right to participate in this program, may
file a grievance pursuant to the procedures established by the
Trustees of the California State University.
   (c) Nothing in this article shall impair the employment or
employment rights or benefits of any employee.
   (d) This article shall not apply to employees who are full-time
state peace officers unless approved by the peace officers'
appointing power.

19996.23.  In counting the number of employees any state agency
employs for purposes of any personnel ceiling, an employee employed
on a reduced worktime basis shall be counted as a fraction which is
determined by dividing 40 hours into the average number of hours that
an employee works each week.

19996.24.  (a) Permanent employees who voluntarily reduce their
worktime shall, upon request, be given first priority for returning
to a full-time work schedule to the extent that such full-time work
is available. Such permanent employees shall return to full-time
employment at the request of the appointing authority pursuant to
regulations adopted by the department which shall define the
conditions under which such a request by the appointing authority is
appropriate and provide a reasonable grace period for allowing an
employee to make the necessary personal arrangements for returning to
full-time employment.
   (b) If a layoff becomes unavoidable, persons employed on a reduced
worktime basis shall not routinely be subject to the layoff ahead of
full-time employees. These employees shall be subject to the same
seniority and other similar considerations as full-time employees in
determining the order of layoffs.

19996.25.  If the provisions of this article are in conflict with
the provisions of a memorandum of understanding reached pursuant to
Sections 3517.5 and 3572, the memorandum of understanding shall be
controlling without further legislative action, except that if such
provisions of a memorandum of understanding require the expenditure
of funds, the provisions shall not become effective unless approved
by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act.

19996.26.  All persons employed in reduced worktime positions
pursuant to Section 19996.21, shall receive, on a pro rata basis,
except for benefits provided under the Public Employees' Retirement
Law and under the Public Employees' Medical and Hospital Care Act,
all benefits customarily available to full-time employees of state
agencies in similar classes or positions. With regard to benefits
provided under the Public Employees' Retirement Law and under the
Public Employees' Medical and Hospital Care Act, persons employed in
reduced worktime positions shall receive such benefits as are
provided by law for persons employed for less than full time.

19996.27.  The department shall adopt appropriate rules and
guidelines relating to reduced worktime implementation.

19996.28.  The Trustees of the California State University shall
adopt the appropriate rules and guidelines relating to the
implementation of the reduced worktime program for the employees of
the California State University system.

19996.29.  This article shall be known and may be cited as the
"Reduced Worktime Act."