Waiting Period for Unemployment Benefits (S.B. 1018)

1. Eliminates the required one week waiting period for the purpose of qualifying for up to five weeks of unemployment insurance benefits (one week of benefits for each week of training) if a person is required to attend uncompensated training as a condition for keeping a job.

2. Specifies that an individual is considered unemployed and available for work by participating in uncompensated training required to keep the person’s job.

Equal Pay Committee (S.B. 1266)

3. Establishes a nine-member equal pay committee to study specified factors for, and consequences of, wage disparities based on gender and race in both the public and private sectors and its impact on families and the economy. Prescribes the membership of the committee.

4. Requires the committee to submit an annual report of its findings and recommendations to the Governor and Legislature by December 10 of each year.

5. Qualifies members of the committee for reimbursements of expenses only.

6. Requires the Industrial Commission to provide staff and support services to the committee.

7. Requires the Governor to appoint members no later than ninety days after the general effective date.

Organizational Rights of Public Employees (S.B. 1267)

8. Expands the right to join employee associations that comply with state law from public safety employees of cities, towns, counties and fire districts to public employees of all political subdivisions in general.

9. Expands the bodies to which public employees may testify without reprisal from cities, towns, counties and fire districts to all political subdivisions.

Unbudgeted Vacancy Savings

10. Prohibits state agency heads from authorizing the use of unbudgeted vacancy savings to grant any promotional or financial payment to forego merit system coverage to state agency employees subject to the state personnel system.

Study Committee on State Employee Qualifications for Overtime Pay (H.B. 2122)

11. Establishes the study committee on state employee qualifications for overtime pay, consisting of four members of the Senate and three members of the House of Representatives. No more than two members from each chamber may be from the same political party.

12. Requires the committee to review and analyze:

a. Whether overtime pay should be based on time worked in excess of an employee’s daily work schedule or weekly work schedule;

b. Whether ADOA has received notification of grievances regarding work schedules and overtime pay and how these grievances were resolved;

c. The policies of state agencies regarding overtime pay;

d. Fiscal analysis of any proposed change in the qualification for state employee overtime;

e. Other issues relevant to state employee overtime pay.

13. Requires the committee to submit a report of its findings and recommendations by November 15, 2001 to the Governor, Legislature, Secretary of State and Director of the Arizona State Library, Archives, and Public Records.

14. Repeals the study committee on state employee qualifications for overtime pay on January 1, 2002.

Joint Legislative Study Committee on State Employee Compensation (S.B 1545)

15. Increases the Senate membership on the committee from three to four.

16. Requires DOA to submit a report on each state agency relating to state employee compensation to the SEC study committee by December 15, 2001. The report is required to contain the following information:

a. the process the agency uses to exempt an employee.

b. the number of exempt employees employed by the agency, the date those employees were exempted and the reason each employee was exempted.

c. promotional or financial payment offered or given to the employee as motivation to give up merit system coverage.

d. verbal or written commitments offering continued due process protection to employees in exchange for exemption from merit system coverage.

e. the impact to the agency’s overtime budget due to exempting employees.

17. Requires the joint legislative study committee on state employee compensation, to:

a. review the report submitted by DOA.

b. hold public hearings intended to gather information. The hearing will also include an assessment by DOA on the impact that arbitrarily exempting employees will have on the overall state employee compensation system.

c. discuss, with a representative of the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor, whether or not arbitrarily exempting state employees satisfies state and federal standards, specifically with respect to overtime pay.

18. Make recommendations, if any, for legislation.

19. Provides for a repeal date for the DOA report requirements of January 1, 2004.

20. Makes technical changes.

21. Provides for a general effective date.

JFK/ac