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SolTrans updates employee handbook to align with state law SB848, adds bereavement and personal leave clarifications
Summary
The board approved three employee handbook revisions: normalizing service credit treatment for 30‑day personal leaves, adopting a peer‑informed bereavement approach consistent with state requirements, and adding unpaid reproductive loss leave to comply with SB848; staff retained health‑and‑welfare contributions where required.
The SolTrans Board voted to adopt revisions to three personnel policies in the employee handbook aimed at aligning benefits with state law and peer agency practice.
Human Resources (Suzanne) told the board the first change standardizes treatment of service credits and paid‑time accrual during rare 30‑day personal leaves to match peer agencies (benefit accrual paused consistent with family medical leave protocols). The second update implements state requirements for bereavement: staff incorporated a five‑day unpaid baseline consistent with state law but proposed a peer‑informed paid‑day approach (three paid days for in‑state funerals; five paid days for out‑of‑state funerals) with an exception path for executive director approval. The third policy creates a reproductive loss leave in order to comply with SB848 (effective Jan. 2024): five unpaid days for reproductive‑related losses with the option to use accrued leave; staff noted the law prohibits requiring documentation for that leave.
Board members asked clarifying questions about overlap with bereavement (for stillbirths, for example) and how the new leave interacts with existing sick and vacation leave; HR confirmed stillbirths could qualify under bereavement and that employees may use accrued leave to offset unpaid reproductive‑loss days.
The board approved the handbook revisions by unanimous vote and directed staff to incorporate the language in attachments A–C and circulate the updated handbook to employees.
