§36-26-36. Partial payment of accrued sick leave at time of retirement or death; calculation, accumulation, and use of sick leave.

(a) Upon retirement, each employee who acquires sick leave pursuant to the state Merit System shall receive payment of 50 percent of his or her accrued and unused sick leave, not to include escrowed sick leave as provided herein, at the time of his or her retirement, and payments for the sick leave shall be made at the same rate as his or her regular pay, not to exceed 600 hours.

(b) When a state employee in the classified service dies while in active service to the state, the estate of the deceased employee shall receive a monetary payment of 50 percent of the accrued and unused sick leave, not to exceed 600 hours, which the employee was credited with at the time of his or her death.

(c) The state shall calculate sick leave each pay period. Sick leave earned over 1200 hours shall be considered excess sick leave which shall be accrued and credited to the employee for use as sick leave in the year the excess sick leave is earned.

(d) Excess sick leave over 1200 hours shall be placed in escrow for the state employee who earned the sick leave to be used only as may be provided by State Personnel Board rules.

(e) This section does not preclude the accumulation of and payment for a greater number of hours of sick leave to an employee upon retirement pursuant to Section 16-1-18.1.

(Acts 1973, No. 752, p. 1125, §2; Acts 1996, No. 96-652, p. 1050, §1; Act 2000-328, p. 524, §1; Act 2012-376, p. 938, §1.)