State employees: absence without leave: reinstatement.

The State Civil Service Act provides that absence without leave for 5 consecutive working days is an automatic resignation from state service, as of the last date on which the employee worked. The act provides a procedure for a permanent or probationary state employee to seek reinstatement and for the Department of Human Resources to grant reinstatement. Reinstatement may be granted if (1) the employee makes a satisfactory explanation to the department as to the cause of his or her absence and his or her failure to obtain leave, and (2) the department finds that the employee is ready, able, and willing to resume the discharge of the duties of his or her position or has obtained consent for a leave of absence. This bill would permit an employee to demonstrate that he or she is ready, able, and willing to resume the discharge of the duties of his or her position by submitting written verification from his or her licensed health care provider that shows the employee is released to return to work. This bill would require the department to grant reinstatement if the hiring authority separates an employee from state service pursuant to those provisions before the expiration of the 5th working day.