Which public education employees received payment for unused sick leave at retirement or death, and could they choose retirement credit instead?

Plain-English summary

Louisiana's commissioner of administration asked how an unused-sick-leave payment provision applied to public education employees at retirement or death. In Opinion 03-0284, the AG said LSA-R.S. 17:425 was not limited to members of the Teachers' Retirement System. It covered teachers and employees of parish and city school boards, the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, and other boards controlling publicly supported educational institutions, including their covered agencies or entities. The opinion excluded classified civil-service employees, whose unused-leave payments were governed by a separate civil-service circular.

The AG also said a covered employee or estate could not choose retirement eligibility credit in place of the statutory payment for up to twenty-five days of unused leave. The statute as quoted required the employer to make that payment at retirement or death before retirement.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2003. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

What the opinion meant at issuance

Covered education employees and heirs

The opinion treated payment for accrued, unused sick leave, up to twenty-five days, as mandatory for the employees named in LSA-R.S. 17:425 or their heirs or assigns upon death before retirement. It said membership in a retirement system other than the Teachers' Retirement System did not by itself remove an employee from the provision.

Public education boards and administrators

The AG read the statute to extend beyond the boards named in the commissioner's examples to their teachers and employees in other publicly supported educational entities. It separated classified civil-service employees from those governed by the sick-leave payment statute.

Common questions

Q: Did a covered employee have to belong to the Teachers' Retirement System? A: No. The AG said the provision was not limited by retirement-system membership.

Q: Could an employee take retirement credit instead of the unused-leave payment? A: The AG said the employee or estate did not have that choice for the required payment of up to twenty-five days.

Q: Did the provision cover classified civil-service staff of these boards? A: No. The opinion said a civil-service circular governed their unused-leave payments instead.

Q: Did it reach staff of educational entities overseen by the named boards? A: The AG said the phrase “other boards of control of publicly supported educational institutions” extended the provision to the teachers and employees of those entities.

Background and statutory framework

The AG quoted LSA-R.S. 17:425 and reviewed earlier opinions on required sick-leave payments. It also discussed LSA-R.S. 11:752, which allowed Teachers' Retirement System members to convert some unused leave to membership service credit after accounting for days paid by the employer. The opinion concluded that provision did not create an option to replace the payment required by LSA-R.S. 17:425.

Citations and references

Statutes quoted or cited: LSA-R.S. 17:425; LSA-R.S. 11:752.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/03-0284

Original opinion text

of
One American Place
301 Main Street, Suite 600
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
P.O. Box 94005
CI?IL OI?ISION
TEL.: (225) 342-7013
BATON ROUGE
FAX: (225) 342-2090

RICHARD P. IEYOUB
70804-9005
ATTORNEY GENI:’RAL
OCT 2 0 2003
OPINION NO. 03-0284

103 - SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL DISTRICTS - Pension Benefits, Teacher’s Retirement System
92-A- 2(G) - RETIREMENT - State Employees

LSA-R.S. 17:425

1) The application of LSA-R.S. 17:425 is not limited to only the members of the Teacher’s Retirement System of Louisiana, but applies to all retirement systems for teachers and employees of any parish or city school board, the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, or other boards of control of publicly supported educational institutions. LSA-R.S. 17:425 does not apply to Civil Service employees of these boards or institutions.
2) It is still the opinion of this office that the employee or their estate, does not have the option of either accepting payment for the twenty-five days at the date of retirement or death or to apply
Mr. Mark C. Drennen
those twenty-five days to retirement eligibility credit.
Commissioner of Administration
3) The Legislature has not limited the application of LSA-R.S. 17:425
solely to the boards listed in your question. LSA-R.S. 17:425
P. O. Box 9409
specifically includes "other boards of control of publicly supported
Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9095
educational institutions." Since Section 425 is included in the Chapter
concerning teachers and employees, the application of this Section extends to the teachers and employees of these agencies/entities.
Dear Mr. Drennen:

I am in receipt of your request for an Attorney General’s opinion concerning the payment of accrued sick leave upon retirement or death. You have indicated that a question as to eligibility for application of the provisions regarding LSA-R.S. 17:425 has arisen which depending on the interpretation taken could have a significant financial impact.
Specifically, you seek a response concerning the following questions:

1. As currently drafted can the provisions of R.S. 17:425 be applied to individuals within the respective boards enumerated regardless of the retirement system to which they belong or only to those who are members of the Teachers Retirement System of Louisiana?

2. Does the employee, or their estate, have the option of either accepting payment for the 25 days at the date of retirement or deatll, or may they instead option (sic) to apply those 25 days to retirement eligibility credit?

3. Finally, in the case of state agency entities, does the statute apply only to the employees of the actual "boards" (i.e. State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, Board of Regents, Board of Supervisors for LSU, Board of Supervisors for Southern University, Board of Supervisors for the

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Mr. Mark C. Drennen
OPINION NO. 03-0284
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Community and Technical Colleges, etc. which are distinctly enumerated in both the (sic)Article VIII of the Constitution and as separate state agencies and budgetary units in various statutes and/or appropriation acts)orwould it also apply to separate and distinct agencies/entities under the boards oversight?

LSA-R.S. 17:425 states the following in regards to the payment of accrued sick leave upon retirement or death:

Notwithstanding any other provision of the law to the contrary, beginning July 1, 1973, any parish or city school board, the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, or other boards of control of publicly supported educational institutions upon the retirement of any employee of such boards or upon his death prior to retirement, shall pay to such employee or to his heirs or assigns all sick leave which has accrued to such employee but which remains unused at the time of his retirement or at the time of his death if prior to retirement, not to exceed twenty-five days of unused sick leave.
Such pay shall be at the rate of pay received by the employee or teacher at the time of retirement or death prior to retirement. However, a city or parish school board may pay such unused sick leave beyond twenty-five days on a uniform basis not to exceed forty-five days at its discretion. Any payment of such unused sick leave beyond twenty-five days shall be based on affordability and the availability of funds. No unused sick leave beyond twenty-five days paid for under the provisions of this section shall be used in the calculation of retirement benefits and no state funds shall be used for the payment of such sick leave.

In response to your first question, LSA-R.S. 17:425 does not specify what retirement system an employee must be a member of for this statute to apply. A review of the specific language which enacted LSA-R.S. 17:425 does not limit the applicability of the statute to only members of the Teacher’s Retirement System of Louisiana.

As discussed in Attorney General Opinion 94-373 and Opinion No. 00-357, Civil Service Circular Number 001155 is authoritative with regard to payment of accrued unused sick leave for Civil Service employees and LSA-R.S. 17:425 is authoritative with regard to payment of accrued unused sick leave for those persons not in the classified service. Therefore, the application of LSA-R.S. 17:425 is not limited to only the members of the Teachers’ Retirement system, but, it applies to all retirement systems for teachers and employees of any parish or city school board, the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, or other boards of control of publicly supported educational institutions. As discussed above, LSA-R.S. 17:425 does not apply to Civil Service employees of these boards or institutions.

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Mr. Mark C. Drennen
OPINION NO. 03-0284
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In response to your second question, the last sentence of LSA-R.S. 17:425 states:

No unused sick leave beyond twenty-five days paid for under the provisions of this section shall be used in the calculation of retirement benefits and no state funds shall be used for the payment of such sick leave.

Additionally, for members of the Teacher’s Retirement System, LSA-R.S. 11:752 allows for the conversion of sick leave to membership service. Section D of the statute allows members to use unused sick leave days earned for membership service credit, less the number of days for which the employer pays upon the member’s retirement based upon the table in section D for the member’s type of employment at the time of retirement.

In Attorney General Opinion 92-93 our office opined the following:

It is clear when reading this statute that any parish or city school board upon the retirement of any employee of such board or upon his death prior to retirement, shall pay an employee all sick leave which has accrued to such employee but which remains unused at the time of his retirement or at the time of his death if prior to retirement, not to exceed twenty-five days of unused sick leave. The statute continues by allowing the board to have the discretion to pay an employee for unused sick leave for up to forty-five days.
The statute specifically states that no unused sick leave that is paid for beyond the twenty-five days is to be included in the calculation of retirement benefits. Therefore, it is apparent that the legislature intended for any sick leave that is paid to an employee that is less than twenty-five days is also to be excluded from the calculation of retirement benefits.

Also, see Attorney General Opinion 99-329.

Therefore, it is still the opinion of this office that the employee or their estate, does not have the option of either accepting payment for the twenty-five days at the date of retirement or death or to apply those twenty-five days to retirement eligibility credit. An employer must pay an employee of any parish or city school board, the State Board of Elementary and Secondary education, or other boards of control of publicly supported educational institutions upon retirement of any employee of such a board or upon his death prior to retirement all sick leave which has accrued to such employee but remains unused at the time of his retirement or at his death if prior to retirement not to exceed twenty-five days of unused sick leave.

In your third question, you seek a response as to whether LSA-R.S. 17:425 applies only to the employees of the actual "boards", (i.e. State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, Board of Regents, Board of Supervisors for LSU, Board of Supervisors for Southern University, Board of Supervisors for the Community and Technical Colleges, etc.

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OPINION NO. 03-0284
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which are distinctly enumerated in both Article VIII of the Constitution and as separate state agencies and budgetary units in various statutes and/or appropriation acts), orwould it also apply to separate and district agencies/entities under the boards oversight.

The Legislature has not limited the application of this statute solely to the boards you have listed in your question. LSA-R.S. 17:425 specifically includes "other boards of control of publicly supported educational institutions." Since Section 425 is included in the chapter concerning teachers and employees, the application of this Section extends to the teachers and employees of these agencies/entities.

I hope this opinion sufficiently addresses your concerns. If l can be of further assistance, please let me know.

Very truly yours,

RICHARD P. IEYOUB
ATTORNEY GENERAL

ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL

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