MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2021 Regular Session

To: Workforce Development; Public Health and Human Services

By: Representative Williams-Barnes

House Bill 1261

AN ACT ENTITLED THE "WOMEN'S ECONOMIC SECURITY ACT OF 2021"; TO REQUIRE MINIMUM SPENDING LEVELS ON THE CHILD CARE PAYMENT PROGRAM (CCPP) FROM THE TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY FAMILIES (TANF) BLOCK GRANT; TO AMEND SECTION 37-153-7, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO EXPAND THE MISSISSIPPI STATE WORKFORCE INVESTMENT BOARD TO INCLUDE A WOMAN WITH EXPERTISE IN ASSISTING WOMEN IN JOB TRAINING AND SECURING EMPLOYMENT IN NONTRADITIONAL OCCUPATIONS; TO AMEND SECTION 7-1-355, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF EMPLOYMENT SECURITY TO ACHIEVE GENDER EQUITY IN THE WORKFORCE INVESTMENT ACT OR WORKFORCE INNOVATION OPPORTUNITY ACT WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM; TO REQUIRE CERTAIN INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED IN AN ANNUAL REPORT TO THE LEGISLATURE; TO REQUIRE EQUAL PAY CERTIFICATES OF COMPLIANCE; TO CREATE WOMEN IN HIGH-WAGE, HIGH-DEMAND, NONTRADITIONAL JOBS GRANT PROGRAM; TO ESTABLISH THE MISSISSIPPI PAID FAMILY LEAVE ACT; TO ESTABLISH A MISSISSIPPI HIGHER EDUCATION GRANT PROGRAM FOR SINGLE MOTHERS TO PROVIDE FINANCIAL AID TO COMPLETE TWO- AND FOUR-YEAR DEGREES AT PUBLIC COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES ADMINISTERED BY THE POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE BILL; TO CREATE THE MISSISSIPPI MINIMUM WAGE ACT; TO PROVIDE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A STATE MINIMUM WAGE; TO AMEND SECTIONS 17-1-51 AND 25-3-40, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM TO THE PRECEDING SECTION; TO BRING FORWARD SECTIONS 7-7-204, 23-15-239, 37-7-307, 57-34-5, 85-3-4, 97-3-54.4 AND 99-19-20, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, FOR THE PURPOSE OF POSSIBLE AMENDMENT; TO PROVIDE THAT NO EMPLOYER SHALL PAY AN EMPLOYEE A WAGE AT A RATE LESS THAN THE RATE AT WHICH AN EMPLOYEE OF A DIFFERENT GENDER IS PAID FOR COMPARABLE WORK; TO PROVIDE THAT AN EMPLOYEE MAY FILE A PETITION IN THE PROPER CIRCUIT COURT FOR VIOLATIONS OF THIS ACT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Mississippi Women's Economic Security Act of 2021."

SECTION 2. (1) This section shall be known and cited as the "Mississippi Affordable Child Care Act."

(2) Each federal fiscal year, the Mississippi Department of Human Services (MDHS) and/or any state agency receiving and administering the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Block Grant shall spend no less than Twenty Million Dollars ($20,000,000.00) of federal TANF funds and/or state TANF Maintenance of Effort (MOE) funds on the Child Care Payment Program (CCPP). The Mississippi Department of Human Services (MDHS) and/or any state agency receiving and administering the federal TANF Block Grant shall transfer no less than twenty percent (20%) of the state's fixed basic block grant amount for its annual TANF Block Grant to the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) for purposes of serving eligible families through the Child Care Payment Program (CCPP).

SECTION 3. Section 37-153-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-153-7. (1) There is created the Mississippi Office of Workforce Development and the Mississippi State Workforce Investment Board, which shall serve as the advisory board for the office. The Mississippi State Workforce Investment Board shall be composed of * * *~~thirty‑one (31)~~ twenty-eight (28) voting members, of which a majority shall be representatives of business and industry in accordance with the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, or any successive acts.

(2) The members of the State Workforce Investment Board shall include:

(a) The Governor, or his designee;

(b) * * *~~Nineteen (19)~~ Sixteen (16) members, appointed by the Governor, of whom:

(i) A majority shall be representatives of businesses in the state, who:

1. Are owners of businesses, chief executives or operating officers of businesses, or other business executives or employers with optimum policymaking or hiring authority, and who, in addition, may be members of a local board described in Section 3122(b)(2)(A)(i) of the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. At least two (2) of the members appointed under this item 1. shall be small business owners, chief executives or operating officers of businesses with less than fifty (50) employees;

2. Represent businesses, including small businesses, or organizations representing businesses, which provide employment opportunities that, at a minimum, include high-quality, work-relevant training and development in high-demand industry sectors or occupations in the state; and

3. Are appointed from among individuals nominated by state business organizations and business trade associations;

(ii) Not less than twenty percent (20%) shall consist of representatives of the workforce within the state, which:

1. Includes labor organization representatives who have been nominated by state labor federations;

2. Includes a labor organization member or training director from an apprenticeship program in the state, which shall be a joint labor-management apprenticeship program if such a program exists in the state;

3. May include representatives of community-based organizations, including organizations serving veterans or providing or supporting competitive, integrated employment for individuals with disabilities, who have demonstrated experience and expertise in addressing employment, training or education needs of individuals with barriers to employment; and

4. May include representatives of organizations, including organizations serving out-of-school youth, who have demonstrated experience or expertise in addressing the employment, training or education needs of eligible youth;

5. Includes at least one (1) woman with expertise in assisting women in job training and securing employment in nontraditional occupations;

(iii) The balance shall include government representatives, including the lead state officials with primary responsibility for core programs, and chief elected officials (collectively representing both cities and counties, where appropriate);

(d) Two (2) representatives of businesses in the state appointed by the Governor from a list of three (3) recommendations from the Speaker of the House; and

(e) The following state officials:

(i) The Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Employment Security;

(ii) The Executive Director of the Department of Rehabilitation Services;

(iii) The State Superintendent of Public Education;

(iv) The Executive Director of the Mississippi Development Authority;

(v) The Executive Director of the Mississippi Community College Board;

* * *

( * * *~~vii~~vi) The Commissioner of the Institutions of Higher Learning.

(f) One (1) senator, appointed by the Lieutenant Governor, and one (1) representative, appointed by the Speaker of the House, shall serve on the state board in a nonvoting capacity.

(g) The Governor may appoint additional members if required by the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, or any successive acts.

(h) Members of the board shall serve a term of four (4) years, and shall not serve more than three (3) consecutive terms.

(i) The membership of the board shall reflect the diversity of the State of Mississippi.

(j) The Governor shall designate the Chairman of the Mississippi State Workforce Investment Board from among the business and industry voting members of the board, and a quorum of the board shall consist of a majority of the voting members of the board.

(k) The voting members of the board who are not state employees shall be entitled to reimbursement of their reasonable expenses in the manner and amount specified in Section 25-3-41 and shall be entitled to receive per diem compensation as authorized in Section 25-3-69.

(3) Members of the state board may be recalled by their appointing authority for cause, including a felony conviction, fraudulent or dishonest acts or gross abuse of discretion, failure to meet board member qualifications, or chronic failure to attend board meetings.

(4) The Mississippi Department of Employment Security shall establish limits on administrative costs for each portion of Mississippi's workforce development system consistent with the federal Workforce Investment Act or any future federal workforce legislation. The Mississippi Department of Employment Security shall be responsible for providing necessary administrative, clerical and budget support for the State Workforce Investment Board.

(5) The Mississippi State Workforce Investment Board shall have the following duties. These duties are intended to be consistent with the scope of duties provided in the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, amendments and successor legislation to this act, and other relevant federal law:

(a) Through the office, develop and submit to the Governor, Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the House a strategic plan for an integrated state workforce development system that aligns resources and structures the system to more effectively and efficiently meet the demands of Mississippi's employers and job seekers. This plan will comply with the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998, as amended, the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 and amendments and successor legislation to these acts;

(b) Assist the Governor, Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the House in the development and continuous improvement of the statewide workforce investment system that shall include:

(i) Development of linkages in order to assure coordination and nonduplication among programs and activities; and

(ii) Review local workforce development plans that reflect the use of funds from the federal Workforce Investment Act, * * *~~Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act,~~ the Wagner-Peyser Act and the * * * Mississippi Comprehensive Workforce Training and Education Consolidation Act;

(c) Recommend to the office the designation of local workforce investment areas as required in Section 116 of the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998 and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014. There shall be four (4) workforce investment areas that are generally aligned with the planning and development district structure in Mississippi. Planning and development districts will serve as the fiscal agents to manage Workforce Investment Act funds, oversee and support the local workforce investment boards aligned with the area and the local programs and activities as delivered by the one-stop employment and training system. The planning and development districts will perform this function through the provisions of the county cooperative service districts created under Sections 19-3-101 through 19-3-115; however, planning and development districts currently performing this function under the Interlocal Cooperation Act of 1974, Sections 17-13-1 through 17-13-17, may continue to do so;

(d) Assist the Governor in the development of an allocation formula for the distribution of funds for adult employment and training activities and youth activities to local workforce investment areas;

(e) Recommend comprehensive, results-oriented measures that shall be applied to all of Mississippi's workforce development system programs;

(f) Assist the Governor in the establishment and management of a one-stop employment and training system conforming to the requirements of the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998 and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014, as amended, recommending policy for implementing the Governor's approved plan for employment and training activities and services within the state. In developing this one-stop career operating system, the Mississippi State Workforce Investment Board, in conjunction with local workforce investment boards, shall:

(i) Design broad guidelines for the delivery of workforce development programs;

(ii) Identify all existing delivery agencies and other resources;

(iii) Define appropriate roles of the various agencies to include an analysis of service providers' strengths and weaknesses;

(iv) Determine the best way to utilize the various agencies to deliver services to recipients; and

(v) Develop a financial plan to support the delivery system that shall, at a minimum, include an accountability system;

(g) To provide authority, in accordance with any executive order of the Governor, for developing the necessary collaboration among state agencies at the highest level for accomplishing the purposes of this chapter;

(h) To monitor the effectiveness of the workforce development centers and WIN job centers;

(i) To advise the Governor, public schools, community/junior colleges and institutions of higher learning on effective school-to-work transition policies and programs that link students moving from high school to higher education and students moving between community colleges and four-year institutions in pursuit of academic and technical skills training;

(j) To work with industry to identify barriers that inhibit the delivery of quality workforce education and the responsiveness of educational institutions to the needs of industry;

(k) To provide periodic assessments on effectiveness and results of the overall Mississippi comprehensive workforce development system and district councils;

(l) Develop broad statewide development goals, including a goal to raise the state's labor force participation rate;

(m) Perform a comprehensive review of Mississippi's workforce development efforts, including the amount spent and effectiveness of programs supported by state or federal money; and

(n) To assist the Governor in carrying out any other responsibility required by the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998, as amended and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, successor legislation and amendments.

(6) The Mississippi State Workforce Investment Board shall coordinate all training programs and funds within its purview, consistent with the federal Workforce Investment Act, Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, amendments and successor legislation to these acts, and other relevant federal law.

Each state agency director responsible for workforce training activities shall advise the Mississippi Office of Workforce Development and the State Workforce Investment Board of appropriate federal and state requirements. Each state agency, department and institution shall report any monies received for workforce training activities or career and technical education and a detailed itemization of how those monies were spent to the state board. The board shall compile the data and provide a report of the monies and expenditures to the Chairs of the House and Senate Appropriations Committee, the Chair of the House Workforce Development Committee and the Chair of the Senate Economic and Workforce Development Committee by October 1 of each year. Each such state agency director shall remain responsible for the actions of his agency; however, each state agency and director shall work cooperatively to fulfill the state's goals.

(7) The State Workforce Investment Board shall establish an executive committee, which shall consist of the following State Workforce Investment Board members:

(a) The Chair of the State Workforce Investment Board;

(b) Two (2) business representatives currently serving on the state board selected by the Governor;

(d) The two (2) business representatives currently serving on the state board appointed by the Governor from a list of three (3) recommendations from the Speaker of the House;

(e) The two (2) legislators, who shall serve in a nonvoting capacity, one (1) of whom shall be appointed by the Lieutenant Governor from the membership of the Mississippi Senate and one (1) of whom shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives from the membership of the Mississippi House of Representatives.

(8) The executive committee shall select an executive director of the Office of Workforce Development, with the advice and consent of a majority of the State Workforce Investment Board. The executive committee shall seek input from economic development organizations across the state when selecting the executive director. The executive director shall:

(a) Be a person with extensive experience in development of economic, human and physical resources, and promotion of industrial and commercial development. The executive director shall have a bachelor's degree from a state-accredited institution and no less than eight (8) years of professional experience related to workforce or economic development;

(b) Perform the functions necessary for the daily operation and administration of the office, with oversight from the executive committee and the State Workforce Investment Board, to fulfill the duties of the state board as described in Chapter 476, Laws of 2020;

(c) Hire staff needed for the performance of his or her duties under this act. The executive director, with approval from the executive committee, shall set the compensation of any hired employees from any funds made available for that purpose;

(d) Enter any part of the Mississippi Community College Board, individual community and junior colleges, or other workforce training facilities operated by the state or its subdivisions;

(e) Serve at the will and pleasure of the executive committee;

(f) Promulgate rules and regulations, subject to oversight by the executive committee, not inconsistent with this chapter, as may be necessary to enforce the provisions in this act; and

(g) Perform any other actions he or she, in consultation with the executive committee, deems necessary to fulfill the duties under Chapter 476, Laws of 2020.

(9) The Office of Workforce Development and Mississippi Community College Board shall collaborate in the administration and oversight of the Mississippi Workforce Enhancement Training Fund and Mississippi Works Fund, as described in Section 71-5-353. The executive director shall maintain complete and exclusive operational control of the office's functions.

(10) The office shall file an annual report with the Governor, Secretary of State, President of the Senate, Secretary of the Senate, Speaker of the House, and Clerk of the House not later than October 1 of each year regarding all funds approved by the office to be expended on workforce training during the prior calendar year. The report shall include:

(a) Information on the performance of the Mississippi Workforce Enhancement Training Fund and the Mississippi Works Fund, in terms of adding value to the local and state economy, the contribution to future growth of the state economy, and movement toward state goals, including increasing the labor force participation rate; and

(b) With respect to specific workforce training projects:

(i) The location of the training;

(ii) The amount allocated to the project;

(iii) The purpose of the project;

(iv) The specific business entity that is the beneficiary of the project; and

(v) The number of employees intended to be trained and actually trained, if applicable, in the course of the project.

(c) All information concerning a proposed project which is provided to the executive director shall be kept confidential. Such confidentiality shall not limit disclosure under the Mississippi Public Records Act of 1983 of records describing the nature, quantity, cost or other pertinent information related to the activities of, or services performed using, the Mississippi Workforce Enhancement Training Fund or the Mississippi Works Fund.

(11) Nothing in Chapter 476, Laws of 2020 [Senate Bill No. 2564] shall void or otherwise interrupt any contract, lease, grant or other agreement previously entered into by the State Workforce Investment Board, Mississippi Community College Board, individual community or junior colleges, or other entities.

SECTION 4. Section 7-1-355, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

7-1-355. (1) The Mississippi Department of Employment Security, Office of the Governor, is designated as the sole administrator of all programs for which the state is the prime sponsor under Title 1(B) of Public Law 105-220, Workforce Investment Act of 1998, and the Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act (Public Law 113-128) and the regulations promulgated thereunder, and may take all necessary action to secure to this state the benefits of that legislation. The Mississippi Department of Employment Security, Office of the Governor, may receive and disburse funds for those programs that become available to it from any source.

(2) The Mississippi Department of Employment Security, Office of the Governor, shall establish guidelines on the amount and/or percentage of indirect and/or administrative expenses by the local fiscal agent or the Workforce Development Center operator. The Mississippi Department of Employment Security, Office of the Governor, shall develop an accountability system and make an annual report to the Legislature before December 31 of each year on Workforce Investment Act activities. The report shall include, but is not limited to, the following:

(a) The total number of individuals served through the Workforce Development Centers and the percentage and number of individuals for which a quarterly follow-up is provided;

(b) The number of individuals who receive core services by each center;

(d) The number of Workforce Investment Act vouchers issued by the Workforce Development Centers including:

(i) A list of schools and colleges to which these vouchers were issued and the average cost per school of the vouchers; and

(ii) A list of the types of programs for which these vouchers were issued;

(e) The number of individuals placed in a job through Workforce Development Centers;

(f) The monies and the amount retained for administrative and other costs received from Workforce Investment Act or Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act funds for each agency or organization that Workforce Investment Act or Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act funds flow through as a percentage and actual dollar amount of all Workforce Investment Act or Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act funds received.

(3) The Mississippi Department of Employment Security shall achieve gender pay equity in the Workforce Investment Act or Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act workforce development system. The department shall include in the annual report required by subsection (2) of this section:

(a) The gender and race of those seeking employment services;

(b) Training by training provider extended to each participant by gender; and

SECTION 5. Equal pay certificate. (1) No department or agency of the state shall execute a contract or agreement in excess of One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00) with a business that has twenty (20) or more full-time employees in this state or a state where the business has its primary place of business on a single day during the prior twelve (12) months, unless the business has an equal pay certificate or it has certified in writing that it is exempt. A certificate is valid for four (4) years.

(2) This section does not apply to a business with respect to a specific contract if the Executive Director of the Department of Finance and Administration determines that application of this section would cause undue hardship to the contracting entity.

(3) A business shall apply for an equal pay certificate by paying a One Hundred Fifty Dollar ($150.00) filing fee and submitting an equal pay compliance statement to the Department of Finance and Administration. The proceeds from the fees collected under this section shall be deposited in an equal pay certificate special revenue account. The Department of Finance and Administration shall issue an equal pay certificate of compliance to a business that submits to the department a statement signed by the chairperson of the board or chief executive officer of the business:

(a) That the business is in compliance with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964;

(b) That the average compensation for its female employees is not consistently below the average compensation for its male employees within each of the major job categories in the EEO-1 Employer Information Report for which an employee is expected to perform work under the contract, taking into account factors such as length of service, requirements of specific jobs, experience, skill, effort, responsibility, working conditions of the job, or other mitigating factors;

(c) That the business does not restrict employees of one (1) sex to certain job classifications and makes retention and promotion decisions without regard to sex;

(d) That wage and benefit disparities are corrected when identified to ensure compliance with the laws cited in paragraph (a) and with paragraph (b) of this subsection; and

(e) How often wages and benefits are evaluated to ensure compliance with the laws cited in paragraph (a) and with paragraph (b) of this subsection.

(4) The equal pay compliance statement shall also indicate whether the business, in setting compensation and benefits, uses:

(a) A market pricing approach;

(b) State prevailing wage or union contract requirements;

(d) An internal analysis; or

(e) An alternative approach to determine what level of wages and benefits to pay its employees. If the business uses an alternative approach, the business must provide a description of its approach.

Receipt of the equal pay compliance statement by the commissioner does not establish compliance with the laws set forth in subsection (3)(a) of this section.

(5) The Department of Finance and Administration must issue an equal pay certificate, or a statement of why the application was rejected, within fifteen (15) days of receipt of the application. An application may be rejected only if it does not comply with the requirements of subsection (3) of this section.

(6) An equal pay certificate for a business may be suspended or revoked by the Department of Finance and Administration when the business fails to make a good-faith effort to comply with the laws identified in subsection (3) of this section, fails to make a good-faith effort to comply with this section, or has multiple violations of this section or the laws identified in subsection (3) of this section. Before suspending or revoking a certificate, the Department of Finance and Administration must first have sought to conciliate with the business regarding wages and benefits due to employees.

(7) If a contract is awarded to a business that does not have an equal pay certificate as required under this section, or that is not in compliance with subsection (3) of this section, the Department of Finance and Administration may void the contract on behalf of the state. The contract award entity that is a party to the agreement must be notified by the Department of Finance and Administration before the Department of Finance and Administration takes action to void the contract.

A contract may be abridged or terminated by the contract award entity identified upon notice that the Department of Finance and Administration has suspended or revoked the certificate of the business.

(8) A business may obtain an administrative hearing before the suspension or revocation of its certificate is effective by filing a written request for a hearing twenty (20) days after service of notice by the Department of Finance and Administration. A business may obtain an administrative hearing before the contract award entity's abridgement or termination of a contract is effective by filing a written request for a hearing twenty (20) days after service of notice by the contract award entity.

(9) The Department of Finance and Administration must provide technical assistance to any business that requests assistance regarding this section.

(10) The State Auditor may audit the business's compliance with this section. As part of an audit, upon request, a business must provide the State Auditor the following information with respect to employees expected to perform work under the contract in each of the major job categories in the EEO-1 Employer Information Report:

(a) Number of male employees;

(b) Number of female employees;

(c) Average annualized salaries paid to male employees and to female employees, in the manner most consistent with the employer's compensation system, within each major job category;

(d) Information on performance payments, benefits, or other elements of compensation, in the manner most consistent with the employer's compensation system, if requested by the State Auditor as part of a determination as to whether these elements of compensation are different for male and female employees;

(e) Average length of service for male and female employees in each major job category; and

(f) Other information identified by the business or by the Department of Finance and Administration, as needed, to determine compliance.

(11) Data submitted to the Department of Finance and Administration related to equal pay certificates are private data on individuals or nonpublic data with respect to persons other than department employees. The Department of Finance and Administration's decision to issue, not issue, revoke or suspend an equal pay certificate is public data.

(12) The Department of Finance and Administration shall report to the Governor and the Legislature by January 31 of every year, beginning January 31, 2022. The report shall indicate the number of equal pay certificates issued, the number of audits conducted, the processes used by contractors to ensure compliance with subsection (3) of this section, and a summary of its auditing efforts. The Department of Finance and Administration shall consult with the Committee on the Status of Women in preparing the report.

SECTION 6. It is declared to be the public policy of the State of Mississippi to establish fair minimum wages for workers in order to safeguard their health, efficiency and general well-being and to protect those workers as well as their employers from the effects of unfair competition resulting from wage levels detrimental to their health, efficiency and well-being.

SECTION 7. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this act, every employer shall pay each of its employees a fair minimum wage as provided in this section.

(2) The state minimum wage shall be as follows:

(a) Beginning January 1, 2022, the rate of not less than Seven Dollars and Fifty Cents ($7.50) per hour;

(b) Beginning January 1, 2023, the rate of not less than Seven Dollars and Seventy-five Cents ($7.75) per hour;

(d) Beginning January 1, 2025, the rate of not less than Ten Dollars ($10.00) per hour.

(3) Whenever the highest federal minimum wage is increased, the minimum wage established under this section shall be increased to the amount of the federal minimum wage plus one-half of one

percent (1/2 of 1%) more than the federal rate, rounded to the nearest whole cent, effective on the same date as the increase in the highest federal minimum wage, and shall apply to all wage orders and administrative regulations then in force.

(4) The rates for learners, beginners, and persons under the age of eighteen (18) years shall be not less than eighty-five percent (85%) of the state minimum wage for the first two hundred (200) hours of their employment and equal to the applicable state minimum wage thereafter, except institutional training programs specifically exempted by the director.

SECTION 8. As used in this act, the following words shall have the meanings ascribed herein unless the context clearly requires otherwise:

(a) "Director" means the Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Employment Security.

(b) "Department" means the Mississippi Department of Employment Security, Office of the Governor, established under Section 71-5-101.

(c) "Wage" means compensation due to an employee by reason of his or her employment, payable in legal tender of the United States or checks on banks convertible into cash on demand at full face value, subject to any deductions, charges or allowances as may be permitted by this act or by regulations of the department under this act.

(d) "Employ" means to suffer or to permit to work.

(e) "Employer" means any individual, partnership, association, corporation, business trust, or any person or group of persons acting directly or indirectly in the interest of an employer in relation to an employee. The term "employer" does not mean:

(i) Any individual, partnership, association, corporation, business trust, or any person or group of persons acting directly or indirectly in the interest of an employer in relation to an employee that employs fewer than five (5) employees in a regular employment relationship; or

(ii) Any person, firm or corporation, or other entity subject to the provisions of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.

(f) "Independent contractor" means any individual who contracts to perform certain work away from the premises of his or her employer, uses his or her own methods to accomplish the work, and is subject to the control of the employer only as to the result of his or her work.

(g) "Employee" means any individual employed by an employer but does not mean:

(i) Any individual employed in a bona fide executive, administrative or professional capacity, or as an outside commission-paid salesperson, who customarily performs his or her services away from his or her employer's premises, taking orders for goods or services;

(ii) Any student performing services for any school, college or university in which he or she is enrolled and is regularly attending classes;

(iii) Any individual employed by the United States or by the state or any political subdivision of the state, except public schools and school districts;

(iv) Any individual engaged in an activity of any educational, charitable, religious or nonprofit organization where the employer/employee relationship does not in fact exist or where the service is rendered to the organization gratuitously;

(v) Any bona fide independent contractor;

(vi) Any individual employed by an agricultural employer who did not use more than five hundred (500) man-days of agricultural labor in any calendar quarter of the preceding calendar year;

(vii) The parent, spouse, child or other member of an agricultural employer's immediate family;

(viii) An individual who:

1. Is employed as a hand harvest laborer and is paid on a piece-rate basis in an operation that has been, and is customarily and generally recognized as having been, paid on a piece-rate basis in the region of employment;

2. Commutes daily from his or her permanent residence to the farm on which he or she is so employed; and

3. Has been employed in agriculture less than thirteen (13) weeks during the preceding calendar year;

(ix) A migrant who:

1. Is sixteen (16) years of age or under and is employed as a hand harvest laborer;

2. Is paid on a piece-rate basis in an operation which has been, and is customarily and generally recognized as having been, paid on a piece-rate basis in the region of employment;

3. Is employed on the same farm as his or her parents; and

4. Is paid the same piece-rate as employees over age sixteen (16) are paid on the same farm;

(x) Any employee principally engaged in the range production of livestock; or

(xi) Any employee employed in planting or tending trees, cruising, surveying or felling timber, or in preparing or transporting logs or other forestry products to the mill, processing plants, or railroad or other transportation terminal if the number of employees employed by his or her employer in the forestry or lumbering operations does not exceed eight (8).

(h) "Occupation" means any occupation, service, trade, business, industry, or branch or group of industries or employment or class of employment in which employees are gainfully employed.

(i) "Gratuities" means voluntary monetary contributions received by an employee from a guest, patron or customer for services rendered.

(j) "Man-day" means any day during any portion of which an employee performs any agricultural labor.

SECTION 9. Nothing in this act shall be deemed to interfere with, impede, or in any way diminish the right of employers and employees to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing in order to establish wages or other conditions of work.

SECTION 10. (1) Any employer who willfully:

(a) Hinders or delays the department or its authorized representative in the performance of its duties in the enforcement of this act;

(b) Refuses to admit the department or its authorized representative to any place of employment;

(c) Fails to make, keep and preserve any records as required under the provisions of this act or to make the record accessible to the department or its authorized representative upon demand;

(d) Refuses to furnish a sworn statement of the record or any other information required for the proper enforcement of this act to the department or its authorized representative upon demand; or

(e) Fails to post a summary of this act or a copy of any applicable regulations as required by this act shall be deemed in violation of this act and shall, upon conviction, be fined not less than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) nor more than Four Hundred Dollars ($400.00). For the purposes of this subsection, each violation shall constitute a separate offense.

(2) Any employer who pays or agrees to pay minimum wages at a rate less than the rate applicable under this act shall be guilty of a felony and the employer shall:

(a) Be fined not less than Four Thousand Dollars ($4,000.00) nor more than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) for each offense if the total amount of all unpaid wages owed to an employee is more than Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000.00);

(b) Be fined not less than Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000.00) nor more than Four Thousand Dollars ($4,000.00) or the agent or officer of the employer shall be imprisoned not more than one (1) year, or both, for each offense if the total amount of all unpaid wages owed to an employee is more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) but not more than Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000.00);

(c) Be fined not less than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) nor more than Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000.00) or the agent or officer of the employer shall be imprisoned not more than six (6) months, or both, for each offense if the total amount of all unpaid wages owed to an employee is more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) but not more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00); or

(d) Be fined not less than Four Hundred Dollars ($400.00) nor more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) or the agent or officer of the employer shall be imprisoned not more than three (3) months, or both, for each offense if the total amount of all unpaid wages owed to an employee is Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) or less.

(3) Any employer who willfully discharges or in any other manner willfully discriminates against any employee because:

(a) The employee has made any complaint to his or her employer, to the department, or to the director or his or her authorized representative that he or she has not been paid minimum wages in accordance with the provisions of this act;

(b) The employee has caused to be instituted or is about to cause to be instituted any proceeding under or related to this act; or

Shall be deemed in violation of this act and shall, upon conviction, be fined not more than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00).

SECTION 11. (1) For any occupation, the department shall make and revise any administrative regulations, including definitions of terms, as it may deem appropriate to carry out the purposes of this act or necessary to prevent the circumvention or evasion of those purposes and to safeguard the minimum wage rates established.

(2) The regulations may include, but are not limited to, regulations governing:

(a) Outside or commission salespeople;

(b) Learners and apprentices, their number, proportion or length of service;

(d) Special pay for special or extra work;

(e) Permitted charges to employees or allowances for board, lodging, apparel or other facilities or services customarily furnished by employers to employees;

(f) Allowances for gratuities; or

(g) Allowances for other special conditions or circumstances that may be usual in a particular employer/employee relationship.

(3) Regulations or revisions issued by the department under this section shall be made only after a public hearing, at which any person may be heard by the department, at least ten (10) days subsequent to publication of notice of the hearing in a newspaper of general circulation throughout the State of Mississippi.

SECTION 12. The director or his or her authorized representatives shall:

(a) Have authority to enter and inspect the place of business or employment of any employer in the state for the purpose of examining and inspecting any books, registers, payrolls and other records of any employer that in any way relate to or have a bearing upon the question of wages, hours or other conditions of employment of any employees; copy any of the books, registers, payrolls or other records as he or she may deem necessary or appropriate; and question employees to ascertain whether the provisions of this act and regulations issued under this act have been and are being complied with;

(b) Have authority to require from the employer full and correct statements in writing, including sworn statements, with respect to wages, hours, names, addresses and any information pertaining to his or her employees as the director or his or her authorized representative may deem necessary or appropriate;

(d) Otherwise implement and enforce the regulations and decisions of the department.

SECTION 13. Except as otherwise provided in this section, no employer shall employ any of his or her employees for a workweek longer than forty (40) hours unless the employee receives compensation for his or her employment in excess of the hours above specified at a rate not less than one and one-half (1-1/2) times the regular rate of pay at which he or she is employed.

SECTION 14. (1) Every employer of an employee engaged in any occupation in which gratuities have been customarily and usually constituted and have been recognized as a part of remuneration for hiring purposes shall be entitled to an allowance for gratuities as a part of the hourly wage rate provided in Section 7 of this act in an amount not to exceed fifty percent (50%) of the minimum wage established by Section 7 of this act, provided that the employee actually received that amount in gratuities and that the application of the foregoing gratuity allowances results in payment of wages other than gratuities to tipped employees, including full-time students, subject to the provisions of this act, of not less than fifty percent (50%) of the minimum wage prescribed by this act.

(2) In determining whether an employee received in gratuities the amount claimed, the director may require the employee to show to the satisfaction of the director that the actual amount of gratuities received by him or her during any workweek was less than the amount determined by the employer as the amount by which the wage paid the employee was deemed to be increased under this section.

SECTION 15. (1) Every employer subject to any provisions of this act shall keep a summary of this act, approved by the department, and copies of any applicable regulations issued under this act posted in a conspicuous and accessible place in or about the premises where any person subject to this act is employed.

(2) Employers shall be furnished copies of the summaries of this statute and regulations by the director on request without charge.

SECTION 16. (1) Every employer subject to any provision of this act or of any regulation issued under this act shall make and keep for a period of not less than three (3) years, in or about the premises where any employee is employed, a record of the name, address and occupation of each of his or her employees, the rate of pay and the amount paid each pay period to each employee and any other information as the department prescribes by regulation as necessary or appropriate for the enforcement of the provisions of this act or of the regulations under this act.

(2) The records shall be open for inspection or transcription by the director or his or her authorized representative at any reasonable time.

(3) Every employer shall furnish to the director or to his or her authorized representative on demand a sworn statement of the records and information upon forms prescribed or approved by the director.

SECTION 17. (1) Any employer who pays any employee less than minimum wages to which the employee is entitled under or by virtue of this act shall be liable to the employee affected for the full amount of the wages, less any amount actually paid to the employee by the employer, and for costs and reasonable attorney's fees as may be allowed by the court.

(2) Any agreement between the employee and employer to work for less than minimum wages shall be no defense to the action.

(3) The venue of the action shall lie in the circuit court of any county in which the services which are the subject of the employment were performed.

(4) The director shall have the authority to fully enforce this act by instituting legal action to recover any wages which he or she determines to be due to employees under this act.

SECTION 18. Section 17-1-51, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

17-1-51. (1) No county, board of supervisors of a county, municipality or governing authority of a municipality is authorized to establish a mandatory, minimum living wage rate that is lower than the rate provided in this act, minimum number of vacation or sick days, whether paid or unpaid, that would regulate how a private employer pays its employees. Each county, board of supervisors of a county, municipality or governing authority of a municipality shall be prohibited from establishing a mandatory, minimum living wage rate that is lower than the rate provided in this act, minimum number of vacation or sick days, whether paid or unpaid, that would regulate how a private employer pays its employees.

(2) The Legislature finds that the prohibitions of subsection (1) of this section are necessary to ensure an economic climate conducive to new business development and job growth in the State of Mississippi while protecting the health and well-being of workers. * * *

* * *

( * * *43) The Legislature concludes from * * *~~these findings~~ this finding that, in order for a business to remain competitive and yet attract and retain the highest possible caliber of employees, and thereby remain sound, an enterprise must work in * * *~~a uniform~~ an environment * * *~~with respect to~~ that respects its workers and that encourages the payment of fair minimum wage rates * * *. The net impact of any local * * *~~variations in mandated~~ wages that are greater than the rate provided in this act * * * will be economically * * *~~unstable~~ stable and create a * * *~~decline~~ rise and * * *~~decrease~~ increase in the standard of living for the citizens of the state. * * *

SECTION 19. Section 25-3-40, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

25-3-40. On July 1, 1978, and each year thereafter, the Mississippi Compensation Plan shall be amended to provide salary increases in such amounts and percentages as might be recommended by the Legislative Budget Office and as may be authorized by funds appropriated by the Legislature for the purpose of granting incentive salary increases as deemed possible dependent upon the availability of general and special funds.

It is hereby declared to be the intent of the Mississippi Legislature to implement the minimum wage as enacted by statutory law of the United States Congress subject to funds being available for that purpose. It is further the intent of the Legislature to implement the state minimum wage as provided in this act. It is the intent and purpose of this section to maximize annual salary increases consistent with the availability of funds as might be determined by the Mississippi Legislature at its regular annual session and that all salary increases hereafter be made consistent with the provisions of this section.

SECTION 20. Section 7-7-204, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:

7-7-204. (1) Within the limits of the funds available to the Office of the State Auditor for such purpose, the State Auditor may grant a paid internship to students pursuing junior or senior undergraduate-level year coursework toward a bachelor's degree in accounting or graduate-level coursework toward a master's degree in accounting. Those applicants deemed qualified shall receive funds that may be used to pay for tuition, books and related fees to pursue their degree. It is the intent of the Legislature that the paid internship program (hereinafter referred to as the program) shall be used as an incentive for accounting students to develop job-related skills and to encourage accounting careers at the Office of the State Auditor.

(2) In order to be eligible for the program, an applicant must:

(a) Attend any college or school approved and designated by the Office of the State Auditor.

(b) Satisfy the following conditions:

(i) Undergraduate stipulations: Applicants must have successfully obtained a minimum of fifty-eight (58) semester hours toward a bachelor of science degree in accounting from a Mississippi institution of higher learning.

Applicants must have achieved a minimum grade point average (GPA) on the previously obtained semester hours toward a bachelor of science degree in accounting of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.

If accepted into the program, participants shall maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale in all coursework counted toward a bachelor of science degree in accounting.

(ii) Graduate stipulations: Applicants must have met the regular admission standards and have been accepted into the master of science accounting program at a Mississippi institution of higher learning.

If accepted into the program, participants shall maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale in all coursework counted toward a master of science degree in accounting.

(c) All program participants will be required to work a total of three hundred thirty-six (336) hours each summer at the Office of the State Auditor in Jackson, Mississippi.

(d) Agree to work as an auditor at the Office of the State Auditor upon graduation for a period of time equivalent to the period of time for which the applicant receives compensation, calculated to the nearest whole month, but in no event less than two (2) years.

(3) (a) Before being placed into the program, each applicant shall enter into a contract with the Office of the State Auditor, which shall be deemed a contract with the State of Mississippi, agreeing to the terms and conditions upon which the internship shall be granted to him. The contract shall include such terms and provisions necessary to carry out the full purpose and intent of this section. The form of such contract shall be prepared and approved by the Attorney General of this state, and shall be signed by the State Auditor of the Office of the State Auditor and the participant.

(b) Upon entry into the program, participants will become employees of the Office of the State Auditor during their time in the program and shall be eligible for benefits such as medical insurance paid by the agency for the participant; however, in accordance with Section 25-11-105II(b), those participants shall not become members of the Public Employees' Retirement System while participating in the program. Participants shall not accrue personal or major medical leave while they are in the program.

(c) The Office of the State Auditor shall have the authority to cancel any contract made between it and any program participant upon such cause being deemed sufficient by the State Auditor.

(d) The Office of the State Auditor is vested with full and complete authority and power to sue in its own name any participant for any damages due the state on any such uncompleted contract, which suit shall be filed and handled by the Attorney General of the state. The Office of the State Auditor may contract with a collection agency or banking institution, subject to approval by the Attorney General, for collection of any damages due the state from any participant. The State of Mississippi, the Office of the State Auditor and its employees are immune from any suit brought in law or equity for actions taken by the collection agency or banking institution incidental to or arising from their performance under the contract. The Office of the State Auditor, collection agency and banking institution may negotiate for the payment of a sum that is less than full payment in order to satisfy any damages the participant owes the state, subject to approval by the director of the sponsoring facility within the Office of the State Auditor.

(4) (a) Any recipient who is accepted into the program by the Mississippi Office of the State Auditor and who fails to complete undergraduate- or graduate-level coursework toward a degree in accounting, or withdraws from school at any time before completing his or her education, shall be liable to repay the Office of the State Auditor for all monies received during the time the recipient was in the program, at the rate of pay received by the employee while in the program, including benefits paid by the agency for the participant, and monies received for tuition, books and related fees used to pursue their degree with interest accruing at ten percent (10%) per annum from the date the recipient failed or withdrew from school. The recipient also will not be liable for repayment for any money earned during the required summer hours. This money shall be considered earned by the recipient at the federal minimum wage rate.

(b) All paid internship compensation received by the recipient while in school shall be considered earned conditioned upon the fulfillment of the terms and obligations of the paid internship contract and this section. However, no recipient of the paid internship shall accrue personal or major medical leave while the recipient is pursuing junior or senior undergraduate-level year coursework toward a bachelor's degree in accounting or graduate-level coursework toward a master's degree in accounting. The recipient shall not be liable for liquidated damages.

(c) If the recipient does not work as an auditor at the Office of the State Auditor for the period required under subsection (2)(d) of this section, the recipient shall be liable for repayment on demand of the remaining portion of the compensation that the recipient was paid while in the program which has not been unconditionally earned, with interest accruing at ten percent (10%) per annum from the recipient's date of graduation or the date that the recipient last worked at the Office of the State Auditor, whichever is the later date. In addition, there shall be included in any contract for paid student internship a provision for liquidated damages equal to Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) which may be reduced on a pro rata basis for each year served under such contract.

SECTION 21. Section 23-15-239, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:

[Until January 1, 2020, this section shall read as follows:]

23-15-239. (1) The executive committee of each county, in the case of a primary election, or the election commissioners of each county, in the case of all other elections, in conjunction with the circuit clerk, shall, in the years in which counties conduct an election, sponsor and conduct, not less than five (5) days before each election, not less than four (4) hours and not more than eight (8) hours of poll manager training to instruct poll managers as to their duties in the proper administration of the election and the operation of the polling place. Any poll manager who completes the online training course provided by the Secretary of State shall only be required to complete two (2) hours of in-person poll manager training. No poll manager shall serve in any election unless he or she has received these instructions once during the twelve (12) months immediately preceding the date upon which the election is held; however, nothing in this section shall prevent the appointment of an alternate poll manager to fill a vacancy in case of an emergency. The county executive committee or the election commissioners, as appropriate, shall train a sufficient number of alternates to serve in the event a poll manager is unable to serve for any reason.

(2) (a) If it is eligible under Section 23-15-266, the county executive committee may enter into a written agreement with the circuit clerk or the county election commission authorizing the circuit clerk or the county election commission to perform any of the duties required of the county executive committee pursuant to this section. Any agreement entered into pursuant to this subsection shall be signed by the chair of the county executive committee and the circuit clerk or the chair of the county election commission, as appropriate. The county executive committee shall notify the state executive committee and the Secretary of State of the existence of the agreement.

(b) If it is eligible under Section 23-15-266, the municipal executive committee may enter into a written agreement with the municipal clerk or the municipal election commission authorizing the municipal clerk or the municipal election commission to perform any of the duties required of the municipal executive committee pursuant to this section. Any agreement entered into pursuant to this subsection shall be signed by the chair of the municipal executive committee and the municipal clerk or the chair of the municipal election commission, as appropriate. The municipal executive committee shall notify the state executive committee and the Secretary of State of the existence of the agreement.

(3) The board of supervisors and the municipal governing authority, in their discretion, may compensate poll managers who attend these training sessions. The compensation shall be at a rate of not less than the federal hourly minimum wage nor more than Twelve Dollars ($12.00) per hour. Poll managers shall not be compensated for more than sixteen (16) hours of attendance at the training sessions regardless of the actual amount of time that they attended the training sessions.

(4) The time and location of the training sessions required pursuant to this section shall be announced to the general public by posting a notice thereof at the courthouse and by delivering a copy of the notice to the office of a newspaper having general circulation in the county five (5) days before the date upon which the training session is to be conducted. Persons who will serve as poll watchers for candidates and political parties, as well as members of the general public, shall be allowed to attend the sessions.

(5) Subject to the following annual limitations, the election commissioners shall be entitled to receive a per diem in the amount of One Hundred Dollars ($100.00), to be paid from the county general fund, for every day or period of no less than five (5) hours accumulated over two (2) or more days actually employed in the performance of their duties for the necessary time spent in conducting training sessions as required by this section:

(a) In counties having less than fifteen thousand (15,000) residents according to the latest federal decennial census, not more than five (5) days per year;

(b) In counties having fifteen thousand (15,000) residents according to the latest federal decennial census but less than thirty thousand (30,000) residents according to the latest federal decennial census, not more than eight (8) days per year;

(c) In counties having thirty thousand (30,000) residents according to the latest federal decennial census but less than seventy thousand (70,000) residents according to the latest federal decennial census, not more than ten (10) days per year;

(d) In counties having seventy thousand (70,000) residents according to the latest federal decennial census but less than ninety thousand (90,000) residents according to the latest federal decennial census, not more than twelve (12) days per year;

(e) In counties having ninety thousand (90,000) residents according to the latest federal decennial census but less than one hundred seventy thousand (170,000) residents according to the latest federal decennial census, not more than fifteen (15) days per year;

(f) In counties having one hundred seventy thousand (170,000) residents according to the latest federal decennial census but less than two hundred thousand (200,000) residents according to the latest federal decennial census, not more than eighteen (18) days per year;

(g) In counties having two hundred thousand (200,000) residents according to the latest federal decennial census but less than two hundred twenty-five thousand (225,000) residents according to the latest federal decennial census, not more than nineteen (19) days per year;

(h) In counties having two hundred twenty-five thousand (225,000) residents or more according to the latest federal decennial census, not more than twenty-two (22) days per year.

(6) Election commissioners shall claim the per diem authorized in subsection (5) of this section in the manner provided for in Section 23-15-153(6).

(7) (a) To provide poll manager training, the Secretary of State has developed a single, comprehensive poll manager training program to ensure uniform, secure elections throughout the state. The program includes online training on all state and federal election laws and procedures and voting machine opening and closing procedures.

(b) County election commissioners shall designate one (1) poll manager per precinct, who shall individually access and complete the online training program, including all skills assessments, at least five (5) days before an election. The poll manager shall be defined as a "certified poll manager," and entitled to a "Certificate of Completion" and compensation for the successful completion of the training and skills assessment in the amount of Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00) payable from the Secretary of State. Compensation paid to any poll manager under this paragraph (b) shall not exceed Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00) per calendar year.

(c) Every election held after January 1, 2018, shall have at least one (1) certified poll manager appointed by the county election officials to work in each polling place in the county during each general election.

[From and after January 1, 2020, this section shall read as follows:]

(a) In counties having less than fifteen thousand (15,000) residents according to the latest federal decennial census, not more than five (5) days per year;

(h) In counties having two hundred twenty-five thousand (225,000) residents or more according to the latest federal decennial census, not more than twenty-two (22) days per year.

(6) Election commissioners shall claim the per diem authorized in subsection (5) of this section in the manner provided for in Section 23-15-153(6).

(b) County poll managers who individually access and complete the online training program, including all skills assessments, at least five (5) days before an election shall be defined as "certified poll managers," and entitled to a "Certificate of Completion."

(c) At least one (1) certified poll manager shall be appointed by the county election officials to work in each polling place in the county during each general election.

SECTION 22. Section 37-7-307, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:

37-7-307. (1) For purposes of this section, the term "licensed employee" means any employee of a public school district required to hold a valid license by the Commission on Teacher and Administrator Education, Certification and Licensure and Development.

(2) The school board of a school district shall establish by rules and regulations a policy of sick leave with pay for licensed employees and teacher assistants employed in the school district, and such policy shall include the following minimum provisions for sick and emergency leave with pay:

(a) Each licensed employee and teacher assistant, at the beginning of each school year, shall be credited with a minimum sick leave allowance, with pay, of seven (7) days for absences caused by illness or physical disability of the employee during that school year.

(b) Any unused portion of the total sick leave allowance shall be carried over to the next school year and credited to such licensed employee and teacher assistant if the licensed employee or teacher assistant remains employed in the same school district. In the event any public school licensed employee or teacher assistant transfers from one public school district in Mississippi to another, any unused portion of the total sick leave allowance credited to such licensed employee or teacher assistant shall be credited to such licensed employee or teacher assistant in the computation of unused leave for retirement purposes under Section 25-11-109. Accumulation of sick leave allowed under this section shall be unlimited.

(c) No deduction from the pay of such licensed employee or teacher assistant may be made because of absence of such licensed employee or teacher assistant caused by illness or physical disability of the licensed employee or teacher assistant until after all sick leave allowance credited to such licensed employee or teacher assistant has been used.

(d) For the first ten (10) days of absence of a licensed employee because of illness or physical disability, in any school year, in excess of the sick leave allowance credited to such licensed employee, there shall be deducted from the pay of such licensed employee the established substitute amount of licensed employee compensation paid in that local school district, necessitated because of the absence of the licensed employee as a result of illness or physical disability. In lieu of deducting the established substitute amount from the pay of such licensed employee, the policy may allow the licensed employee to receive full pay for the first ten (10) days of absence because of illness or physical disability, in any school year, in excess of the sick leave allowance credited to such licensed employee. Thereafter, the regular pay of such absent licensed employee shall be suspended and withheld in its entirety for any period of absence because of illness or physical disability during that school year.

(3) (a) Beginning with the school year 1983-1984, each licensed employee at the beginning of each school year shall be credited with a minimum personal leave allowance, with pay, of two (2) days for absences caused by personal reasons during that school year. Effective for the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 school years, licensed employees shall be credited with an additional one-half (1/2) day of personal leave for every day the licensed employee is furloughed without pay as provided in Section 37-7-308. Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (b) of this subsection, such personal leave shall not be taken on the first day of the school term, the last day of the school term, on a day previous to a holiday or a day after a holiday. Personal leave may be used for professional purposes, including absences caused by attendance of such licensed employee at a seminar, class, training program, professional association or other functions designed for educators. No deduction from the pay of such licensed employee may be made because of absence of such licensed employee caused by personal reasons until after all personal leave allowance credited to such licensed employee has been used. However, the superintendent of a school district, in his discretion, may allow a licensed employee personal leave in addition to any minimum personal leave allowance, under the condition that there shall be deducted from the salary of such licensed employee the actual amount of any compensation paid to any person as a substitute, necessitated because of the absence of the licensed employee. Any unused portion of the total personal leave allowance up to five (5) days shall be carried over to the next school year and credited to such licensed employee if the licensed employee remains employed in the same school district. Any personal leave allowed for a furlough day shall not be carried over to the next school year.

(b) Notwithstanding the restrictions on the use of personal leave prescribed under paragraph (a) of this subsection, a licensed employee may use personal leave as follows:

(i) Personal leave may be taken on the first day of the school term, the last day of the school term, on a day previous to a holiday or a day after a holiday if, on the applicable day, an immediate family member of the employee is being deployed for military service.

(ii) Personal leave may be taken on a day previous to a holiday or a day after a holiday if an employee of a school district has either a minimum of ten (10) years' experience as an employee of that school district or a minimum of thirty (30) days of unused accumulated leave that has been earned while employed in that school district.

(iii) Personal leave may be taken on the first day of the school term, the last day of the school term, on a day previous to a holiday or a day after a holiday if, on the applicable day, the employee has been summoned to appear for jury duty or as a witness in court.

(iv) Personal leave may be taken on the first day of the school term, the last day of the school term, on a day previous to a holiday or a day after a holiday if, on the applicable day, an immediate family member of the employee dies or funeral services are held. Any day of the three (3) bereavement days may be used at the discretion of the teacher, and are not required to be taken in consecutive succession.

For the purpose of this subsection (3), the term "immediate family member" means spouse, parent, stepparent, child or stepchild, grandparent or sibling, including a stepbrother or stepsister.

(4) Beginning with the school year 1992-1993, each licensed employee shall be credited with a professional leave allowance, with pay, for each day of absence caused by reason of such employee's statutorily required membership and attendance at a regular or special meeting held within the State of Mississippi of the State Board of Education, the Commission on Teacher and Administrator Education, Certification and Licensure and Development, the Commission on School Accreditation, the Mississippi Authority for Educational Television, the meetings of the state textbook rating committees or other meetings authorized by local school board policy.

(5) Upon retirement from employment, each licensed and nonlicensed employee shall be paid for not more than thirty (30) days of unused accumulated leave earned while employed by the school district in which the employee is last employed. Such payment for licensed employees shall be made by the school district at a rate equal to the amount paid to substitute teachers and for nonlicensed employees, the payment shall be made by the school district at a rate equal to the federal minimum wage. The payment shall be treated in the same manner for retirement purposes as a lump-sum payment for personal leave as provided in Section 25-11-103(f). Any remaining lawfully credited unused leave, for which payment has not been made, shall be certified to the Public Employees' Retirement System in the same manner and subject to the same limitations as otherwise provided by law for unused leave. No payment for unused accumulated leave may be made to either a licensed or nonlicensed employee at termination or separation from service for any purpose other than for the purpose of retirement.

(6) The school board may adopt rules and regulations which will reasonably aid to implement the policy of sick and personal leave, including, but not limited to, rules and regulations having the following general effect:

(a) Requiring the absent employee to furnish the certificate of a physician or dentist or other medical practitioner as to the illness of the absent licensed employee, where the absence is for four (4) or more consecutive school days, or for two (2) consecutive school days immediately preceding or following a nonschool day;

(b) Providing penalties, by way of full deduction from salary, or entry on the work record of the employee, or other appropriate penalties, for any materially false statement by the employee as to the cause of absence;

(c) Forfeiture of accumulated or future sick leave, if the absence of the employee is caused by optional dental or medical treatment or surgery which could, without medical risk, have been provided, furnished or performed at a time when school was not in session;

(d) Enlarging, increasing or providing greater sick or personal leave allowances than the minimum standards established by this section in the discretion of the school board of each school district.

(7) School boards may include in their budgets provisions for the payment of substitute employees, necessitated because of the absence of regular licensed employees. All such substitute employees shall be paid wholly from district funds, except as otherwise provided for long-term substitute teachers in Section 37-19-20. Such school boards, in their discretion, also may pay, from district funds other than adequate education program funds, the whole or any part of the salaries of all employees granted leaves for the purpose of special studies or training.

(8) The school board may further adopt rules and regulations which will reasonably implement such leave policies for all other nonlicensed and hourly paid school employees as the board deems appropriate. Effective for the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 school years, nonlicensed employees shall be credited with an additional one-half (1/2) day of personal leave for every day the nonlicensed employee is furloughed without pay as provided in Section 37-7-308.

(9) Vacation leave granted to either licensed or nonlicensed employees shall be synonymous with personal leave. Unused vacation or personal leave accumulated by licensed employees in excess of the maximum five (5) days which may be carried over from one year to the next may be converted to sick leave. The annual conversion of unused vacation or personal leave to sick days for licensed or unlicensed employees shall not exceed the allowable number of personal leave days as provided in Section 25-3-93. The annual total number of converted unused vacation and/or personal days added to the annual unused sick days for any employee shall not exceed the combined allowable number of days per year provided in Sections 25-3-93 and 25-3-95. Local school board policies that provide for vacation, personal and sick leave for employees shall not exceed the provisions for leave as provided in Sections 25-3-93 and 25-3-95. Any personal or vacation leave previously converted to sick leave under a lawfully adopted policy before May 1, 2004, or such personal or vacation leave accumulated and available for use prior to May 1, 2004, under a lawfully adopted policy but converted to sick leave after May 1, 2004, shall be recognized as accrued leave by the local school district and available for use by the employee. The leave converted under a lawfully adopted policy prior to May 1, 2004, or such personal and vacation leave accumulated and available for use as of May 1, 2004, which was subsequently converted to sick leave may be certified to the Public Employees' Retirement System upon termination of employment and any such leave previously converted and certified to the Public Employees' Retirement System shall be recognized.

(10) (a) For the purposes of this subsection, the following words and phrases shall have the meaning ascribed in this paragraph unless the context requires otherwise:

(i) "Catastrophic injury or illness" means a life-threatening injury or illness of an employee or a member of an employee's immediate family that totally incapacitates the employee from work, as verified by a licensed physician, and forces the employee to exhaust all leave time earned by that employee, resulting in the loss of compensation from the local school district for the employee. Conditions that are short-term in nature, including, but not limited to, common illnesses such as influenza and the measles, and common injuries, are not catastrophic. Chronic illnesses or injuries, such as cancer or major surgery, that result in intermittent absences from work and that are long-term in nature and require long recuperation periods may be considered catastrophic.

(ii) "Immediate family" means spouse, parent, stepparent, sibling, child or stepchild, grandparent, stepbrother or stepsister.

(b) Any school district employee may donate a portion of his or her unused accumulated personal leave or sick leave to another employee of the same school district who is suffering from a catastrophic injury or illness or who has a member of his or her immediate family suffering from a catastrophic injury or illness, in accordance with the following:

(i) The employee donating the leave (the "donor employee") shall designate the employee who is to receive the leave (the "recipient employee") and the amount of unused accumulated personal leave and sick leave that is to be donated, and shall notify the school district superintendent or his designee of his or her designation.

(ii) The maximum amount of unused accumulated personal leave that an employee may donate to any other employee may not exceed a number of days that would leave the donor employee with fewer than seven (7) days of personal leave remaining, and the maximum amount of unused accumulated sick leave that an employee may donate to any other employee may not exceed fifty percent (50%) of the unused accumulated sick leave of the donor employee.

(iii) An employee must have exhausted all of his or her available leave before he or she will be eligible to receive any leave donated by another employee. Eligibility for donated leave shall be based upon review and approval by the donor employee's supervisor.

(iv) Before an employee may receive donated leave, he or she must provide the school district superintendent or his designee with a physician's statement that states that the illness meets the catastrophic criteria established under this section, the beginning date of the catastrophic injury or illness, a description of the injury or illness, and a prognosis for recovery and the anticipated date that the recipient employee will be able to return to work.

(v) Before an employee may receive donated leave, the superintendent of education of the school district shall appoint a review committee to approve or disapprove the said donations of leave, including the determination that the illness is catastrophic within the meaning of this section.

(vi) If the total amount of leave that is donated to any employee is not used by the recipient employee, the whole days of donated leave shall be returned to the donor employees on a pro rata basis, based on the ratio of the number of days of leave donated by each donor employee to the total number of days of leave donated by all donor employees.

(vii) Donated leave shall not be used in lieu of disability retirement.

(11) Effective January 1, 2020, the provisions of this section shall be fully applicable to any licensed employee of the Mississippi School of the Arts (MSA).

SECTION 23. Section 57-34-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:

57-34-5. Definitions. As used in this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, unless the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

(a) "Act" means the provisions of this chapter.

(b) "Authority" means the Alabama-Mississippi Joint Economic Development Authority created pursuant to this chapter.

(d) "Designated geographic area" means:

(i) Those counties in the State of Alabama that share a common border with any county in the State of Mississippi; and

(ii) Those counties in the State of Mississippi that share a common border with any county in the State of Alabama.

(e) "Herein," "hereby," "hereunder," "hereof" and other equivalent words refer to this chapter as an entirety and not solely to the particular section or portion thereof in which any such word is used.

(f) "Project" means:

(i) Any industrial, commercial, research and development, warehousing, distribution, transportation, processing, mining, United States government or tourism enterprise together with all real property required for construction, maintenance and operation of the enterprise:

1. With an initial capital investment of not less than Three Hundred Million Dollars ($300,000,000.00) from private or United States government sources together with all buildings, and other supporting land and facilities, structures or improvements of whatever kind required or useful for construction, maintenance and operation of the enterprise; or

2. With an initial capital investment of not less than One Hundred Fifty Million Dollars ($150,000,000.00) from private or United States government sources together with all buildings and other supporting land and facilities, structures or improvements of whatever kind required or useful for construction, maintenance and operation of the enterprise and which creates at least one thousand (1,000) net new full-time jobs; or

3. Which creates at least one thousand (1,000) net new full-time jobs which provide an average hourly wage of not less than two hundred percent (200%) of the federal minimum wage in effect on the date the project is placed in service.

(ii) Any addition to, or expansion of, any existing enterprise as described in this paragraph if the addition or expansion:

1. Has an initial capital investment of not less than Three Hundred Million Dollars ($300,000,000.00) from private or United States government sources;

2. Has an initial capital investment of not less than One Hundred Fifty Million Dollars ($150,000,000.00) from private or United States government sources together with all buildings and other supporting land and facilities, structures or improvements of whatever kind required or useful for construction, maintenance and operation of the enterprise and which creates at least one thousand (1,000) net new full-time jobs; or

3. Creates at least one thousand (1,000) net new full-time jobs which provide an average hourly wage of not less than two hundred percent (200%) of the federal minimum wage in effect on the date the project is placed in service.

(iii) Any development with an initial capital investment from private sources of not less than Seven Hundred Fifty Million Dollars ($750,000,000.00) which will create at least three thousand (3,000) net new full-time jobs satisfying criteria to be established by the authority.

In addition to meeting the other requirements of this paragraph, in order to fall within the definition of the term "project":

(i) The enterprise or development must be located within the designated geographic area; and

(ii) Each state must provide funds or in-kind contributions equal to at least one-third (1/3) of the total costs of the project to the states.

(g) "Project agreement" means an agreement, approved by the Legislature of the states, setting forth certain obligations, responsibilities, benefits, administrative matters and any other matters with respect to a specific project that are not inconsistent with the terms of this chapter as the legislatures of the states deem appropriate with respect to a specific project.

(h) "Project tax revenues" means:

(i) All of the following state and local taxes paid directly to a state or a local government by the project: income taxes, ad valorem taxes on real and personal property, sales and use taxes, franchise taxes, license taxes, excise taxes and severance taxes; and

(ii) All state and local personal income tax and occupational tax withholdings from employees of the project attributable to employment at the project.

(i) "States" means the State of Alabama and the State of Mississippi collectively.

SECTION 24. Section 85-3-4, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:

85-3-4. (1) The wages, salaries or other compensation of laborers or employees, residents of this state, shall be exempt from seizure under attachment, execution or garnishment for a period of thirty (30) days from the date of service of any writ of attachment, execution or garnishment.

(2) After the passage of the period of thirty (30) days described in subsection (1) of this section, the maximum part of the aggregate disposable earnings (as defined by Section 1672(b) of Title 15, USCS) of an individual that may be levied by attachment, execution or garnishment shall be:

(a) In the case of earnings for any workweek, the lesser amount of either,

(i) Twenty-five percent (25%) of his disposable earnings for that week, or

(ii) The amount by which his disposable earnings for that week exceed thirty (30) times the federal minimum hourly wage (prescribed by section 206 (a)(1) of Title 29, USCS) in effect at the time the earnings are payable; or

(b) In the case of earnings for any period other than a week, the amount by which his disposable earnings exceed the following "multiple" of the federal minimum hourly wage which is equivalent in effect to that set forth in subparagraph (a)(ii) of this subsection (2): The number of workweeks, or fractions thereof multiplied by thirty (30) multiplied by the applicable federal minimum wage.

(3) (a) The restrictions of subsections (1) and (2) of this section do not apply in the case of:

(i) Any order for the support of any person issued by a court of competent jurisdiction or in accordance with an administrative procedure, which is established by state law, which affords substantial due process, and which is subject to judicial review.

(ii) Any debt due for any state or local tax.

(b) Except as provided in subparagraph (b)(iii) of this subsection (3), the maximum part of the aggregate disposable earnings of an individual for any workweek which is subject to garnishment to enforce any order for the support of any person shall not exceed:

(i) Where such individual is supporting his spouse or dependent child (other than a spouse or child with respect to whose support such order is used), fifty percent (50%) of such individual's disposable earnings for that week; and

(ii) Where such individual is not supporting such a spouse or dependent child described in subparagraph (b)(i) of this subsection (3), sixty percent (60%) of such individual's disposable earnings for that week;

(iii) With respect to the disposable earnings of any individual for that workweek, the fifty percent (50%) specified in subparagraph (b)(i) of this subsection (3) shall be deemed to be fifty-five percent (55%) and the sixty percent (60%) specified in subparagraph (b)(ii) of this subsection (3) shall be deemed to be sixty-five percent (65%), if and to the extent that such earnings are subject to garnishment to enforce a support order with respect to a period which is prior to the period of twelve (12) weeks which ends with the beginning of such workweek.

SECTION 25. Section 97-3-54.4, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:

97-3-54.4. For the purposes of the Mississippi Human Trafficking Act the following words and phrases shall have the meanings ascribed herein unless the context clearly requires otherwise:

(a) "Act" or "this act" means the Mississippi Human Trafficking Act.

(b) "Actor" means a person who violates any of the provisions of Sections 97-3-54 through 97-3-54.4.

(c) "Blackmail" means obtaining property or things of value of another by threatening to (i) inflict bodily injury on anyone; or (ii) commit any other criminal offense.

(d) "Coerce" or "coercion" means:

(i) Causing or threatening to cause bodily harm to any person, physically restraining or confining any person, or threatening to physically restrain or confine any person;

(ii) Exposing or threatening to expose any fact or information or disseminating or threatening to disseminate any fact or information that would tend to subject a person to criminal or immigration proceedings, hatred, contempt or ridicule;

(iii) Destroying, concealing, removing, confiscating or possessing any actual or purported passport or other immigration document, or any other actual or purported government identification document of any person;

(iv) Providing a controlled substance to a person for the purpose of compelling the person to engage in labor or sexual servitude against the person's will;

(v) Causing or threatening to cause financial harm to any person or using financial control over any person;

(vi) Abusing or threatening to abuse a position of power, the law, or legal process;

(vii) Using blackmail;

(viii) Using an individual's personal services as payment or satisfaction of a real or purported debt when: 1. the reasonable value of the services is not applied toward the liquidation of the debt; 2. the length of the services is not limited and the nature of the services is not defined; 3. the principal amount of the debt does not reasonably reflect the value of the items or services for which the debt is incurred; or 4. the individual is prevented from acquiring accurate and timely information about the disposition of the debt; or

(ix) Using any scheme, plan or pattern of conduct intended to cause any person to believe that, if the person did not perform the labor or services, that the person or another person would suffer serious harm or physical restraint.

(e) "Commercial sexual activity" means any sex act on account of which anything of value is given to, promised to, or received by any person.

(f) "Enterprise" means any individual, sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, union or other legal entity, or any association or group of individuals associated in fact regardless of whether a legal entity has been formed pursuant to any state, federal or territorial law. It includes illicit as well as licit enterprises and governmental as well as other entities.

(g) "Financial harm" includes, but is not limited to, extortion as defined by Section 97-3-82, Mississippi Code of 1972, or violation of the usury law as defined by Title 75, Chapter 17, Mississippi Code of 1972.

(h) "Forced labor or services" means labor or services that are performed or provided by another person and are obtained or maintained through coercion.

(i) "Labor" means work of economic or financial value.

(j) "Maintain" means, in relation to labor or services, to secure continued performance thereof, regardless of any initial agreement on the part of the trafficked person to perform such labor or service.

(k) "Minor" means a person under the age of eighteen (18) years.

(l) "Obtain" means, in relation to labor or services, to secure performance thereof.

(m) "Pecuniary damages" means any of the following:

(i) The greater of the gross income or value to the defendant of the victim's labor or services, including sexual services, not reduced by the expense the defendant incurred as a result of maintaining the victim, or the value of the victim's labor or services calculated under the minimum wage and overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 USCS Section 201 et seq., whichever is higher;

(ii) If it is not possible or in the best interest of the victim to compute a value under subparagraph (i) of this paragraph (m), the equivalent of the value of the victim's labor or services if the victim had provided labor or services that were subject to the minimum wage and overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 USCS 201 et seq.;

(iii) Costs and expenses incurred by the victim as a result of the offense for:

1. Medical services;

2. Therapy or psychological counseling;

3. Temporary housing;

4. Transportation;

5. Childcare;

6. Physical and occupational therapy or rehabilitation;

7. Funeral, interment, and burial services;

reasonable attorney's fees and other legal costs; and

8. Other expenses incurred by the victim.

(n) "Serious harm" means harm, whether physical or nonphysical, including psychological, economic or reputational, to an individual that would compel a reasonable person in similar circumstances as the individual to perform or continue to perform labor or services to avoid incurring the harm.

(o) "Services" means an ongoing relationship between a person and the actor in which the person performs activities under the supervision of or for the benefit of the actor or a third party and includes, without limitation, commercial sexual activity, sexually explicit performances, or the production of sexually explicit materials.

(p) "Sexually explicit performance" means a live or public act or show intended to arouse or satisfy the sexual desires or appeal to the prurient interests of patrons.

(q) "Trafficked person" means a person subjected to the practices prohibited by this act regardless of whether a perpetrator is identified, apprehended, prosecuted or convicted, and is a term used interchangeably with the terms "victim," "victim of trafficking" and "trafficking victim."

(r) "Venture" means any group of two (2) or more individuals associated in fact, whether or not a legal entity.

(s) "Sexually oriented material" shall have the meaning ascribed in Section 97-5-27, Mississippi Code of 1972.

SECTION 26. Section 99-19-20, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:

99-19-20. (1) Except as otherwise provided under Section 99-19-20.1, when any court sentences a defendant to pay a fine, the court may order (a) that the fine be paid immediately, or (b) that the fine be paid in installments to the clerk of the court or to the judge, if there be no clerk, or (c) that payment of the fine be a condition of probation, or (d) that the defendant be required to work on public property for public benefit under the direction of the sheriff for a specific number of hours, or (e) any combination of the above.

(2) Except as otherwise provided under Section 99-19-20.1, the defendant may be imprisoned until the fine is paid if the defendant is financially able to pay a fine and the court so finds, subject to the limitations provided under this section. The defendant shall not be imprisoned if the defendant is financially unable to pay a fine and so states to the court in writing, under oath, after sentence is pronounced, and the court so finds, except if the defendant is financially unable to pay a fine and such defendant failed or refused to comply with a prior sentence as specified in subsection (1) of this section, the defendant may be imprisoned.

This subsection shall be limited as follows:

(a) In no event shall such period of imprisonment exceed one (1) day for each One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) of the fine.

(b) If a sentence of imprisonment, as well as a fine, were imposed, the aggregate of such term for nonpayment of a fine and the original sentence of imprisonment shall not exceed the maximum authorized term of imprisonment.

(c) It shall be in the discretion of the judge to determine the rate of the credit to be earned for work performed under subsection (1)(d), but the rate shall be no lower than the rate of the highest current federal minimum wage.

(3) Periods of confinement imposed for nonpayment of two (2) or more fines shall run consecutively unless specified by the court to run concurrently.

SECTION 27. (1) Definitions. The following words and phrases shall have the meanings as defined in this section unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

(a) "Child" means a biological, adopted, or foster child, a stepchild, a legal ward, or a child of a person standing in loco parentis, who is: (i) under eighteen (18) years of age; (ii) or eighteen (18) years of age or older and incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability.

(b) "Department" means the Mississippi Department of Employment Security.

(d) "Employee" means a person who has been employed: (i) for at least twelve (12) months by the employer with respect to whom leave is requested; and (ii) for at least one thousand two hundred fifty (1,250) hours of service with the employer during the previous twelve-month period.

"Employee" does not mean a person who is employed at a worksite at which the employer employs less than fifty (50) employees if the total number of employees employed by that employer within seventy-five (75) miles of that worksite is less than fifty (50).

(e) "Employer" means: (i) any person, firm, corporation, partnership, business trust, legal representative, or other business entity which engages in any business, industry, profession, or activity in this state and includes any unit of local government including, but not limited to, a county, city, town, municipal corporation, quasi-municipal corporation, or political subdivision, which employs fifty (50) or more employees for each working day during each of twenty (20) or more calendar workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year; (ii) the state, state institutions, and state agencies; and (iii) any unit of local government including, but not limited to, a county, city, town, municipal corporation, quasi-municipal corporation, or political subdivision.

(f) "Employment benefits" means all benefits provided or made available to employees by an employer, including group life insurance, health insurance, disability insurance, sick leave, annual leave, educational benefits, and pensions except benefits that are provided by a practice or written policy of an employer or through an employee benefit plan as defined in 29 USC Section 1002(3).

(g) "Family member" means a child, parent, spouse, or state registered domestic partner of an employee.

(h) "Health care provider" means: (i) a person licensed as a physician or an osteopathic physician and surgeon; (ii) a person licensed as an advanced registered nurse practitioner; or (iii) any other person determined by the director to be capable of providing health care services.

(i) "Intermittent leave" is leave taken in separate blocks of time due to a single qualifying reason.

(j) "Leave for a family member's serious health condition" means leave as defined in subsection (3) of this section.

(k) "Leave for the birth or placement of a child" means leave as defined in subsection (3) of this section.

(l) "Leave for the employee's serious health condition" means leave as defined in subsection (3) of this section.

(m) "Parent" means the biological or adoptive parent of an employee or an individual who stood in loco parentis to an employee when the employee was a child.

(n) "Period of incapacity" means an inability to work, attend school, or perform other regular daily activities because of the serious health condition, treatment of that condition or recovery from it, or subsequent treatment in connection with such inpatient care.

(o) "Reduced leave schedule" means a leave schedule that reduces the usual number of hours per workweek, or hours per workday, of an employee.

(p) (i) "Serious health condition" means an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves: 1. inpatient care in a hospital, hospice, or residential medical care facility, including any period of incapacity; or 2. continuing treatment by a health care provider. A serious health condition involving continuing treatment by a health care provider includes any one or more of the following:

1. A period of incapacity of more than three (3) consecutive calendar days, and any subsequent treatment or period of incapacity relating to the same condition, that also involves:

a. Treatment two (2) or more times by a health care provider, by a nurse or physician's assistant under direct supervision of a health care provider, or by a provider of health care services under orders of, or on referral by, a health care provider; or

b. Treatment by a health care provider on at least one (1) occasion which results in a regimen of continuing treatment under the supervision of the health care provider;

2. Any period of incapacity due to pregnancy, or for prenatal care;

3. Any period of incapacity or treatment for such incapacity due to a chronic serious health condition. A chronic serious health condition is one which:

a. Requires periodic visits for treatment by a health care provider, or by a nurse or physician's assistant under direct supervision of a health care provider;

b. Continues over an extended period of time, including recurring episodes of a single underlying condition; and

c. May cause episodic rather than a continuing period of incapacity;

4. A period of incapacity which is permanent or long-term due to a condition for which treatment may not be effective. The employee or family member must be under the continuing supervision of, but need not be receiving active treatment by, a health care provider; or

5. Any period of absence to receive multiple treatments, including any period of recovery from the treatments, by a health care provider or by a provider of health care services under orders of, or on referral by, a health care provider, either for restorative surgery after an accident or other injury, or for a condition that would likely result in a period of incapacity of more than three (3) consecutive calendar days in the absence of medical intervention or treatment, such as cancer, severe arthritis, or kidney disease.

(ii) Treatment for purposes of subparagraph (i) of this paragraph (p) includes, but is not limited to, examinations to determine if a serious health condition exists and evaluations of the condition.

Treatment does not include routine physical examinations, eye examinations, or dental examinations. Under subparagraph (i)1.b. of this paragraph (p), a regimen of continuing treatment includes, but is not limited to, a course of prescription medication or therapy requiring special equipment to resolve or alleviate the health condition. A regimen of continuing treatment that includes taking over-the-counter medications, such as aspirin, antihistamines, or salves, or bed rest, drinking fluids, exercise, and other similar activities that can be initiated without a visit to a health care provider, is not, by itself, sufficient to constitute a regimen of continuing treatment for purposes of this act.

(iii) Conditions for which cosmetic treatments are administered are not "serious health conditions" unless inpatient hospital care is required or unless complications develop. Unless complications arise, the common cold, the flu, earaches, upset stomach, minor ulcers, headaches other than migraine, routine dental or orthodontia problems, and periodontal disease are examples of conditions that do not meet the definition of a "serious health condition" and do not qualify for leave under this act. Restorative dental or plastic surgery after an injury or removal of cancerous growths are serious health conditions provided all the other conditions of this section are met.

Mental illness resulting from stress or allergies may be serious health conditions provided all the other conditions of this section are met.

(iv) Substance abuse may be a serious health condition if the conditions of this section are met. However, leave may only be taken for treatment for substance abuse by a health care provider or by a provider of health care services upon referral by a health care provider. Absence from work because of the employee's use of the substance, rather than for treatment, does not qualify for leave under this act.

(v) Absences attributable to incapacity under subparagraph (i)1. or 3. of this paragraph (p) qualify for leave under this act even though the employee or the immediate family member does not receive treatment from a health care provider during the absence, and even if the absence does not last more than three (3) days.

(q) "Spouse" means a husband or wife, as the case may be, or state registered domestic partner.

(2) Administration. The Mississippi Department of Employment Security shall administer the provisions of this act.

(3) Entitlement to paid leave. (a) An employee is entitled to a total of twelve (12) workweeks of paid leave during any twe1ve-month period for one or more of the following:

(i) Because of the birth of a child of the employee and in order to care for the child;

(ii) Because of the placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster care;

(iii) In order to care for a family member of the employee, if the family member has a serious health condition; or

(iv) Because of a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the functions of the position of the employee.

(b) The entitlement to leave for the birth or placement of a child expires at the end of the twelve-month period beginning on the date of such birth or placement.

(4) Leave taken intermittently or on reduced leave schedule. (a) When paid leave is taken after the birth or placement of a child for adoption or foster care, an employee may take paid leave intermittently or on a reduced paid leave schedule with the employers' agreement. The employers' agreement is not required, however, for paid leave during which the employee has a serious health condition in connection with the birth of a child or if the newborn child has a serious health condition.

(b) Paid leave may be taken intermittently or on a reduced leave schedule when medically necessary for medical treatment of a serious health condition by or under the supervision of a health care provider, or for recovery from treatment or recovery from a serious health condition. It may also be taken to provide care or psychological comfort to an immediate family member with a serious health condition.

(i) Intermittent paid leave may be taken for a serious health condition that requires treatment by a health care provider periodically, rather than for one (1) continuous period of time, and may include leave of periods from an hour or more to several weeks.

(ii) Intermittent or reduced schedule paid leave may be taken for absences where the employee or family member is incapacitated or unable to perform the essential functions of the position because of a chronic serious health condition even if he or she does not receive treatment by a health care provider.

(c) There is no limit on the size of an increment of paid leave when an employee takes intermittent paid leave or paid leave on a reduced paid leave schedule. However, an employer may limit leave increments to the shortest period of time that the employer's payroll system uses to account for absences or use of leave, provided it is one (1) hour or less.

(d) The taking of paid leave intermittently or on a reduced leave schedule under this section may not result in a reduction in the total amount of leave to which the employee is entitled beyond the amount of leave actually taken.

(e) If an employee requests intermittent paid leave, or leave on a reduced leave schedule, for a family member's serious health condition or the employees' serious health condition when the condition is foreseeable based on planned medical treatment, the employer may require such employee to transfer temporarily to an available alternative position offered by the employer for which the employee is qualified and that:

(i) Has equivalent pay and benefits; and

(ii) Better accommodates recurring periods of leave than the regular employment position of the employee.

(5) Foreseeable paid leave. (a) If the necessity for paid leave for the birth or placement of a child is foreseeable based on an expected birth or placement, the employee shall provide the employer with not less than thirty (30) days notice, before the date the leave is to begin, of the employee's intention to take leave for the birth or placement of a child, except that if the date of the birth or placement requires leave to begin in less than thirty (30) days, the employee shall provide such notice as is practicable.

(b) If the necessity for paid leave for a family member's serious health condition or the employee's serious health condition is foreseeable based on planned medical treatment, the employee:

(i) Must make a reasonable effort to schedule the treatment so as not to unduly disrupt the operations of the employer, subject to the approval of the health care provider of the employee or the health care provider of the family member, as appropriate; and

(ii) Must provide the employer with not less than thirty (30) days notice, before the date the leave is to begin, of the employee's intention to take leave for a family member's serious health condition or the employee's serious health condition, except that if the date of the treatment requires leave to begin in less than thirty (30) days, the employee must provide such notice as is practicable.

(6) Spouses employed by same employer. If spouses entitled to leave under this act are employed by the same employer, the aggregate number of workweeks of paid leave to which both may be entitled may be limited to twelve (12) workweeks during any twelve-month period, if such leave is taken: (a) for the birth or placement of a child; or (b) for a parent's serious health condition.

(7) Certification. (a) An employer may require that a request for paid leave for a family member's serious health condition or the employee's serious health condition be supported by a certification issued by the health care provider of the employee or of the family member, as appropriate. The employee must provide, in a timely manner, a copy of the certification to the employer.

(b) Certification provided under paragraph (a) of this subsection is sufficient if it states:

(i) The date on which the serious health condition commenced;

(ii) The probable duration of the condition;

(iii) The appropriate medical facts within the knowledge of the health care provider regarding the condition;

(iv) 1. For purposes of leave for a family member's serious health condition, a statement that the employee is needed to care for the family member and an estimate of the amount of time that such employee is needed to care for the family member; and

2. For purposes of leave for the employee's serious health condition, a statement that the employee is unable to perform the functions of the position of the employee;

(v) In the case of certification for intermittent leave, or leave on a reduced leave schedule, for planned medical treatment, the dates on which the treatment is expected to be given and the duration of the treatment;

(vi) In the case of certification for intermittent leave, or leave on a reduced leave schedule, for the employee's serious health condition, a statement of the medical necessity for the intermittent leave or leave on a reduced leave schedule, and the expected duration of the intermittent leave or reduced leave schedule; and

(vii) In the case of certification for intermittent leave, or leave on a reduced leave schedule, for a family member's serious health condition, a statement that the employee's intermittent leave or leave on a reduced leave schedule is necessary for the care of the family member who has a serious health condition, or will assist in their recovery, and the expected duration and schedule of the intermittent leave or reduced leave schedule.

(c) If the employer has reason to doubt the validity of the certification provided under paragraph (a) of this subsection (7) for leave for a family member's serious health condition or the employee's serious health condition, the employer may require, at the expense of the employer, that the employee obtain the opinion of a second health care provider designated or approved by the employer concerning any information certified under paragraph (b) of this subsection (7) for the leave. The second health care provider may not be employed on a regular basis by the employer.

(d) If the second opinion described in paragraph (c) of this subsection (7) differs from the opinion in the original certification provided under paragraph (a) of this subsection (7), the employer may require, at the expense of the employer, that the employee obtain the opinion of a third health care provider designated or approved jointly by the employer and the employee concerning the information certified under paragraph (b) of this subsection (7). The opinion of the third health care provider concerning the information certified under paragraph (b) of this subsection (7) is considered to be final and is binding on the employer and the employee.

(e) The employer may require that the employee obtain subsequent recertifications on a reasonable basis.

(8) Employment protection. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this subsection, any employee who takes paid leave for the intended purpose of the leave is entitled, on return from the leave:

(i) To be restored by the employer to the position of employment held by the employee when the leave commenced; or

(ii) To be restored to an equivalent position with equivalent employment benefits, pay, and other terms and conditions of employment at a workplace within twenty (20) miles of the employee's workplace when leave commenced.

(b) The taking of leave may not result in the loss of any employment benefits accrued before the date on which the leave commenced.

(c) Nothing in this section entitles any restored employee to (i) the accrual of any seniority or employment benefits during any period of leave; or (ii) any right, benefit, or position of employment other than any right, benefit, or position to which the employee would have been entitled had the employee not taken the leave.

(d) As a condition of restoration under paragraph (a) of this subsection for an employee who has taken leave for the employee's serious health condition, the employer may have a uniformly applied practice or policy that requires each such employee to receive certification from the health care provider of the employee that the employee is able to resume work, except that nothing in this paragraph (d) supersedes a valid local law or a collective bargaining agreement that governs the return to work of such employees.

(e) Nothing in this subsection prohibits an employer from requiring an employee on leave to report periodically to the employer on the status and intention of the employee to return to work.

An employer may deny restoration under this subsection to any salaried employee who is among the highest paid ten percent (10%) of the employees employed by the employer within seventy-five (75) miles of the facility at which the employee is employed if:

(i) Denial is necessary to prevent substantial and grievous economic injury to the operations of the employer;

(ii) The employer notifies the employee of the intent of the employer to deny restoration on such basis at the time the employer determines that the injury would occur; and

(iii) The leave has commenced and the employee elects not to return to employment after receiving the notice.

(9) Employment benefits. During any period of paid leave taken, if the employee is not eligible for any employer contribution to medical or dental benefits under an applicable collective bargaining agreement or employer policy during any period of leave, an employer shall allow the employee to continue, at the employee's expense, medical or dental insurance coverage, including any spouse and dependent coverage, in accordance with state or federal law. The premium to be paid by the employee shall not exceed one hundred two percent (102%) of the applicable premium for the leave period.

(10) Prohibited acts. (a) It is unlawful for any employer to:

(i) Interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right provided under this act; or

(ii) Discharge or in any other manner discriminate against any individual for opposing any practice made unlawful by this act.

(b) It is unlawful for any person to discharge or in any other manner discriminate against any individual because the individual has:

(i) Filed any charge, or has instituted or caused to be instituted any proceeding, under or related to this act;

(ii) Given, or is about to give, any information in connection with any inquiry or proceeding relating to any right provided under this act; or

(iii) Testified, or is about to testify, in any inquiry or proceeding relating to any right provided under this act.

(11) Complaint investigations by director. Upon complaint by an employee, the director shall investigate to determine if there has been compliance with this act and the rules adopted under this act. If the investigation indicates that a violation may have occurred, a hearing must be held. The director must issue a written determination including his or her findings after the hearing. A judicial appeal from the director's determination may be taken, with the prevailing party entitled to recover reasonable costs and attorney's fees.

(12) Civil penalty. An employer who is found to have violated a requirement of this act and the rules adopted under this act, is subject to a civil penalty of not less than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) for each violation. Civil penalties must be collected by the department and deposited into the family and medical leave enforcement account.

(13) Civil action by employees. (a) Any employer who violates is liable:

(i) For damages equal to:

1. The amount of:

a. Any wages, salary, employment benefits, or other compensation denied or lost to such employee by reason of the violation; or

b. In a case in which wages, salary, employment benefits, or other compensation have not been denied or lost to the employee, any actual monetary losses sustained by the employee as a direct result of the violation, such as the cost of providing care, up to a sum equal to twelve (12) weeks of wages or salary for the employee;

2. The interest on the amount described in subparagraph (i)1. of this paragraph (a) calculated at the prevailing rate; and

3. An additional amount as liquidated damages equal to the sum of the amount described in subparagraph (i)1. of this paragraph (a) and the interest described in subparagraph (i)2. of this paragraph (a), except that if an employer who has violated proves to the satisfaction of the court that the act or omission which violated was in good faith and that the employer had reasonable grounds for believing that the act or omission was not a violation of, the court may, in the discretion of the court, reduce the amount of the liability to the amount and interest determined under subparagraph (i)1 and 2 of this paragraph (a), respectively; and

(ii) For such equitable relief as may be appropriate, including employment, reinstatement, and promotion.

(b) An action to recover the damages or equitable relief prescribed in subsection (1) of this section may be maintained against any employer in any court of competent jurisdiction by any one or more employees for and on behalf of:

(i) The employees; or

(ii) The employees and other employees similarly situated.

(c) The court in such an action shall, in addition to any judgment awarded to the plaintiff, allow reasonable attorney's fees, reasonable expert witness fees, and other costs of the action to be paid by the defendant.

(14) Notice—Penalties. Each employer shall post and keep posted, in conspicuous places on the premises of the employer where notices to employees and applicants for employment are customarily posted, a notice, to be prepared or approved by the director, setting forth excerpts from, or summaries of, the pertinent provisions of this act and information pertaining to the filing of a charge. Any employer that willfully violates this section may be subject to a civil penalty of not more than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) for each separate offense. Any penalties collected by the department under this subsection shall be deposited into the family and medical leave enforcement account.

(15) Effect on other laws. Nothing in this act shall be construed: (a) to modify or affect any state or local law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability; or (b) to supersede any provision of any local law that provides greater family or medical leave rights than the rights established under this act.

(16) Effect on existing employment benefits. Nothing in this act diminishes the obligation of an employer to comply with any collective bargaining agreement or any employment benefit program or plan that provides greater family or medical leave rights to employees than the rights established under this act. The rights established for employees under this act may not be diminished by any collective bargaining agreement or any employment benefit program or plan.

(17) Encouragement of more generous leave policies. Nothing in this act shall be construed to discourage employers from adopting or retaining leave policies more generous than any policies that comply with the requirements under this act.

(18) Relationship to federal Family and Medical Leave Act. (a) Leave under this section and leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (Act Feb. 5, 1993, Public Law 103-3, 107 Stat. 6) is in addition to any leave for sickness or temporary disability because of pregnancy or childbirth;

(b) Leave taken under this act must be taken concurrently with any leave taken under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (Act Feb. 5, 1993, Public Law 103-3, 107 Stat. 6).

(19) Construction. This must be construed to the extent possible in a manner that is consistent with similar provisions, if any, of the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (Act Feb. 5, 1993, Public Law 103-3, 107 Stat. 6), and that gives consideration to the rules, precedents, and practices of the federal Department of Labor relevant to the federal act.

SECTION 28. Women in High-Wage, High-Demand, Nontraditional Jobs Grant Program. (1) The following words and phrases shall have the meanings as defined in this section unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

(a) "Commissioner" means the Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Employment Security.

(b) "Eligible organization" includes, but is not limited to:

(i) Community-based organizations experienced in serving women;

(ii) Employers;

(iii) Business and trade associations;

(iv) Labor unions and employee organizations;

(v) Registered apprenticeship programs;

(vi) Secondary and postsecondary education institutions located in Mississippi; and

(vii) Workforce and economic development agencies.

(c) "High-wage, high-demand" means occupations that represent at least one-tenth of one percent (0.1%) of total employment in the base year, have an annual median salary which is higher than the average for the current year, and are projected to have more total openings as a share of employment than the average.

(d) "Low-income" means income less than two hundred percent (200%) of the federal poverty guideline adjusted for a family size of four (4).

(e) "Nontraditional occupations" mean those occupations in which women make up less than twenty-five percent (25%) of the workforce as defined under United States Code, Title 20, Section 2302.

(2) Grant program. The Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Employment Security shall establish the Women in High-Wage, High-Demand, Nontraditional Jobs Grant Program to increase the number of women in high-wage, high-demand, nontraditional occupations. The Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Employment Security shall make grants to eligible organizations for programs that encourage and assist women to enter high-wage, high-demand, nontraditional occupations, including, but not limited to, those in the skilled trades, science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) occupations.

(3) Use of funds. Grant funds awarded under this section may be used for:

(a) Recruitment, preparation, placement, and retention of women, including low-income women with child care responsibilities, in registered apprenticeships, postsecondary education programs, on-the-job training and permanent employment in high-wage, high-demand, nontraditional occupations;

(b) Secondary or postsecondary education or other training to prepare women to succeed in high-wage, high-demand, nontraditional occupations. Activities under this section may be conducted by the grantee or in collaboration with another institution, including, but not limited to, a public or private secondary or postsecondary school;

(c) Innovative, hands-on best practices that stimulate interest in high-wage, high-demand, nontraditional occupations among women, increase awareness among women about opportunities in high-wage, high-demand, nontraditional occupations, or increase access to secondary programming leading to jobs in high-wage, high-demand, nontraditional occupations. Best practices include, but are not limited to, mentoring, internships, or apprenticeships for women in high-wage, high-demand, nontraditional occupations;

(d) Training and other staff development for job seeker counselors and caseworkers on opportunities in high-wage, high-demand, nontraditional occupations;

(e) Incentives for employers and sponsors of registered apprenticeship programs to retain women in high-wage, high-demand, nontraditional occupations for more than one (1) year;

(f) Training and technical assistance for employers to create a safe and healthy workplace environment designed to retain and advance women, including best practices for addressing sexual harassment, and to overcome gender inequity among employers and registered apprenticeship programs;

(g) Public education and outreach activities to overcome stereotypes about women in high-wage, high-demand, nontraditional occupations, including the development of educational and marketing materials; and

(h) Support for women in high-wage, high-demand, nontraditional occupations including, but not limited to, assistance with workplace issues resolution and access to advocacy assistance and services.

(4) Grant applications must include detailed information about how the applicant plans to:

(a) Increase women's participation in high-wage, high-demand occupations in which women are currently underrepresented in the workforce;

(b) Comply with the requirements under subsection (3) of this section; and

(5) In awarding grants under this section, the executive director shall give priority to eligible organizations:

(a) With demonstrated success in recruiting and preparing women, especially low-income women with child care responsibilities, for high-wage, high-demand, nontraditional occupations; and

(b) That leverage additional public and private resources.

(6) At least fifty percent (50%) of total grant funds must be awarded to programs providing services and activities targeted to low-income women.

(7) The executive director shall monitor the use of funds under this section, collect and compile information on the activities of other state agencies and public or private entities that have purposes similar to those under this section, and identify other public and private funding available for these purposes.

SECTION 29. (1) There is established the Mississippi Higher Education Grant Program for Single Mothers. This program is for college or university freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors and will be administered by the Mississippi Postsecondary Education Financial Assistance Board established under Section 37-106-9. The board shall set the dates and deadlines for applying for an award under this section and shall establish the rules and regulations as it deems necessary and proper to carry out the purposes and intent of this section.

(2) The board shall approve grants to full-time and part-time freshmen, sophomore, junior and senior Mississippi residents who meet the general requirements for student eligibility as provided in subsection (4) of this section.

(3) Grants under the program shall be for single mothers who are Mississippi resident students from any Mississippi family whose prior year adjusted gross income (AGI) is at or below one hundred and fifty percent (150%) of the Federal Poverty Guidelines. The award shall be applied to tuition, rooms and meals, books, materials, fees and child care expenses and shall be at least One Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($1,500.00) for students attending any board-approved institution of higher learning or community or junior college. The award will be prorated per term, semester or quarter of the academic year for costs of attendance, calculated according to the formula specified in subsection (8) of this section.

(4) The general requirements for initial eligibility for the Mississippi Higher Education Grant Program for Single Mothers shall consist of the following:

(a) An unmarried mother to at least one (1) minor child.

(b) Member of a Mississippi family whose prior year adjusted gross income (AGI) is at or below one hundred and fifty percent (150%) of the Federal Poverty Guidelines.

(c) Acceptance for enrollment at any state institution of higher learning or public community or junior college located in Mississippi, or any regionally accredited, state-approved, nonprofit two-year or four-year college or university located in Mississippi and approved by the board.

(d) Completion of a secondary education as follows:

(i) Graduation from high school verified by the institution before disbursement of award with a minimum grade point average of 2.0 calculated on a 4.0 scale after seven (7) semesters as certified by the high school counselor or other authorized school official on the application; or

(ii) Attendance at a home education program during grade levels 9 through 12; or

(iii) Satisfactory completion of the High School Equivalency Diploma; or

(iv) Successful completion of the International Baccalaureate Program.

(e) A minimum score of fifteen (15) on the ACT test except that any student entering a vocational or technical program of study, or who has satisfactorily completed the High School Equivalency Diploma Test and attends a community or junior college will not be required to have a test score under the ACT unless a student enrolls in courses of academic study.

(f) Any student currently enrolled in any qualified institution shall have to only meet the same requirements as students who are applying for a renewal award.

(5) By accepting a Mississippi Higher Education Grant for Single Mothers, the student is attesting to the accuracy, completeness and correctness of information provided to demonstrate the student's eligibility. Falsification of such information shall result in the denial of any pending grant and revocation of any award currently held to the extent that no further payments shall be made. Any student knowingly making false statements in order to receive a grant shall be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable, upon conviction thereof, by a fine of up to Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00), a prison sentence of up to one (1) year in the county jail, or both, and shall be required to return all grants wrongfully obtained.

(6) Eligibility for renewal of Mississippi Higher Education Grants for Single Mothers shall be evaluated at the end of each semester, or term, of each academic year. As a condition for renewal, a student shall:

(a) Make steady academic progress toward a certificate or degree, as outlined in the school Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards and certified by the institution's registrar.

(b) Maintain continuous enrollment for not less than two (2) semesters or three (3) quarters in each successive academic year, unless granted an exception for cause by the administering board; examples of cause may include student participation in a cooperative program, internship program or foreign study program. If a student fails to maintain continuous enrollment, and is not granted an exception for cause by the administering board, the student is ineligible to receive the grant during the following semester or trimester or term of the regular academic year.

(c) Have a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.0 calculated on a 4.0 scale at the end of each semester or trimester or term.

(7) Each student, each year, must complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid form or a Statement of Certification as designed by the administering board to determine her eligibility for a grant.

(8) (a) The amount of the Mississippi Higher Education Grant for Single Mothers awarded to any one (1) student, up to the maximum amount provided in subsection (3) of this section, shall be the difference of the student's cost of attendance at her accredited college of choice and the amount of federal aid such student may receive, not to supplant but to supplement the amount of any federal aid awarded to the student. Cost of attendance is the tuition and fees of the applicable institution plus an allowance for room, meals, books, materials and child care expenses.

(b) Payment of the grant shall be made payable to the recipient and the educational institution and mailed directly to the institution, to be applied first to tuition.

(9) In order for an institution to remain eligible for its students to participate in the Mississippi Higher Education Grant Program for Single Mothers, the institution shall comply with any other requirements set forth by the board.

(10) No student may receive a Mississippi Higher Education Grant for Single Mothers for more than the equivalent semesters or quarters required to complete one (1) baccalaureate degree or one (1) certificate or associate degree program per institution.

(11) In no case shall any student receive any combination of student financial aid that would exceed the cost of attendance, as defined in subsection (8)(a) of this section.

SECTION 30. Each federal fiscal year, any Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) state Maintenance of Effort (MOE) funds spent on or allocated to state-funded scholarship programs administered by the Mississippi Institutes of Higher Learning and/or the Mississippi Community College Board shall be spent solely on or allocated solely for the Mississippi Higher Education Grant Program for Single Mothers. This funding requirement shall not preclude any additional state funds to be spent on or allocated to the Mississippi Higher Education Grant Program for Single Mothers.

SECTION 31. Sections 31 through 33 shall be known and may be cited as the "Evelyn Gandy Fair Pay Act."

SECTION 32. The Mississippi Legislature finds that the existence of wage differentials based on sex in industries engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce:

(a) Depresses the wages and living standards for employees that are necessary for their health and efficiency, thereby increasing the poverty rate in Mississippi;

(b) Prevents the maximum utilization of the available labor resources, thereby depressing the growth of the state GDP;

(d) Burdens commerce and the free flow of goods in commerce; and

(e) Constitutes an unfair method of competition.

SECTION 33. (1) No employer shall discriminate in any way against any employee on the basis of sex by paying a salary or wage to any employee at a rate less than the rate paid to its employees of the opposite sex for equal work on jobs that require equal skill, effort and responsibility to perform, and which are performed under similar working conditions, except where such payment is made pursuant to:

(a) A seniority system; however, time spent on leave due to a pregnancy-related condition and parental, family and medical leave, shall not reduce the seniority-level of an employee;

(b) A merit system;

(d) A differential based on any bona fide factor other than sex if the factor:

(i) Is not based on or derived from a differential in wage based on sex;

(ii) Is job-related with respect to the position and necessary for the business; and

(iii) Accounts for the entire differential.

An employer who is paying a wage rate differential in violation of this subsection shall not, in order to comply with the provisions of this subsection, reduce the wage rate of any employee.

(2) (a) No labor organization, or its agents, representing employees of an employer whose employees are subject to the provisions of this section, shall cause or attempt to cause the employer to discriminate against an employee in violation of subsection (1) of this section.

(b) As used in this subsection (2), the term "labor organization" means any organization of any kind, or any agency or employee representation committee or plan, in which employees participate and which exists for the purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with employers concerning grievances, labor disputes, wages, rates of pay, hours of employment or conditions of work.

(3) For purposes of administration and enforcement, any amounts owed to an employee that have been withheld in violation of this section shall be deemed to be unpaid minimum wages or unpaid overtime compensation.

(4) (a) An employer that has been charged with unlawful sex discrimination under this section shall be entitled to a rebuttable presumption that the employer has not engaged in unlawful sex discrimination in violation of this section if:

(i) The charge is made by an employee who holds a job predominantly occupied by members of one (1) sex, which means that at least seventy-five percent (75%) of the occupants of the job are of the same sex, and the employee alleges he or she is being paid less than an employee who does a different job;

(ii) The employer has, within two (2) years of the commencement of the action, completed a self-evaluation that meets the standards set forth in paragraph (d) of this subsection; and

(iii) The employer makes an affirmative showing that it has made reasonable and substantial progress towards eliminating wage differentials, including implementing any required remediation plan, between jobs of equivalent value, including the job of the employee making the charge, in accordance with the self-evaluation required in subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph.

(b) In such cases, the court must give the aggrieved party an opportunity to rebut this presumption through evidence that reasonably demonstrates that, notwithstanding the employer’s self-evaluation, the employer has violated this section. In rebutting this presumption, the aggrieved party may provide all relevant information including, but not limited to, evidence that:

(i) The employer's job analysis devalues attributes associated with jobs occupied predominantly by members of one (1) sex and/or over-values attributes associated with jobs occupied predominantly by members of the opposite sex;

(ii) The job the aggrieved party occupies was not adequately evaluated; or

(iii) A job evaluation process has been completed and, if necessary, a remediation process is in progress or has been completed, but the self-evaluation has not been reviewed and updated at reasonable intervals to adjust for changes in the work environment over time.

(c) An employer wishing to be availed of this presumption must produce documentation that describes the self-evaluation process in detail sufficient to show that the employer has met the standards under paragraph (d).

(d) In order to be eligible for the presumption of compliance, the self-evaluation must:

(i) Clearly define the employer's establishment;

(ii) Analyze the employee population to identify differentials in wages, including raises, bonuses, incentive payments and other forms of remuneration, based on sex;

(iii) Establish a job evaluation plan to determine the value of jobs within the establishment. The plan must:

1. Be free of any bias based on a person's sex;

2. Allow for the comparison of all jobs; and

3. Fully and accurately measure the skill, effort, responsibility and working conditions of each job based on the actual work performance requirements of the jobs evaluated;

(iv) Apply the job evaluation plan to all jobs;

(v) Create a salary structure or have an identifying salary group system where jobs of equal value are placed in the same level or grouping;

(vi) Determine for each salary grouping, or for each total job evaluation score, the pay differential between jobs that are predominantly occupied by one (1) sex and other jobs, including those predominantly occupied by the opposite sex, in order to identify any wage rate discrimination; and

(vii) Remedy any pay differential identified in subsection (vi); however, such remediation may not reduce the pay of any employee or class of employees.

The presumption of compliance may be strengthened where, through the self-evaluation, including any needed remediation, the employer maintains communication with and keeps employees apprised of the process. The method and procedure for that communication may vary according to the size and organizational structure of the establishment, but any method or procedure chosen should be adequate to reach all employees at the establishment.

(5) It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to:

(a) Require, as a condition of employment, that an employee refrain from inquiring about, discussing or disclosing his or her wages or the wages of another employee;

(b) Require an employee to sign a waiver or other document which purports to deny an employee the right to disclose or discuss his or her wages;

(c) Discharge, formally discipline, or otherwise discriminate against an employee for inquiring about, discussing, or disclosing his or her wages or the wages of another employee; however, nothing in this subsection (5) creates an obligation for an employer or employee to disclose wages;

(d) Retaliate or in any other manner discriminate against an employee or applicant for employment because that individual has opposed a practice made unlawful by this act or because that individual has made a charge, filed a complaint, or instituted or caused to be instituted any investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action under or related to this act, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or has testified or is planning to testify, or has assisted, or participated in any manner in any such investigation, proceeding, or hearing under this act.

(6) (a) A civil action asserting a violation of this section may be maintained against any employer in any court of competent jurisdiction by any one (1) or more employees for or on behalf of the employee, a group of employees, and other employees similarly situated. Any such action shall commence no later than two (2) years after the discriminatory practice declared unlawful by this section has occurred. A discriminatory practice occurs when a discriminatory compensation decision or other practice is adopted, when an employee is subjected to a discriminatory compensation decision or other practice, or when an employee is affected by the application of a discriminatory compensation decision or other practice, including each time wages, benefits, or other compensation is paid based on the discriminatory compensation decision or other practice.

(b) If an employer is found in violation of this section, the employee may recover in a civil action the amount of their unpaid wages; liquidated damages; compensatory damages; punitive damages as may be appropriate, where the employee demonstrates that the employer acted with malice or reckless indifference; other equitable relief as may be appropriate; and the costs of the action and reasonable attorney's fees.

SECTION 34. Definitions. (1) As used in this section, the following words and terms have the following meanings:

(a) "Department" means the Mississippi Department of Employment Security.

(b) "Domestic partner" means a party to a civil union.

(d) "Employee" means any person suffered or permitted to work by an employer, except that independent contractors or subcontractors shall not be considered employees.

(e) "Employer" means any individual, partnership, association, corporation, business trust, or any person or group of persons acting directly or indirectly in the interest of an employer, in relation to an employee, but does not include the United States government.

(f) "Family member" means:

(i) Regardless of age, a biological, adopted or foster child, stepchild or legal ward, a child of a domestic partner, a child to whom the employee stands in loco parentis, or an individual to whom the employee stood in loco parentis when the individual was a minor;

(ii) A biological, foster, stepparent or adoptive parent or legal guardian of an employee's spouse or domestic partner or a person who stood in loco parentis when the employee or employee's spouse or domestic partner was a minor child;

(iii) A person to whom the employee is legally married under the laws of any state, or a domestic partner of an employee;

(iv) A grandparent, grandchild or sibling (whether of a biological, foster, adoptive or step relationship) of the employee or the employee's spouse or domestic partner; or

(v) Any other individual related by blood or affinity whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship.

(g) "Health care professional" means any person licensed under federal or Mississippi law to provide medical or emergency services, including, but not limited to, doctors, nurses, and emergency room personnel.

(h) "Paid sick leave time" or "paid sick and safe leave time" means time that is compensated at the same hourly rate and with the same benefits, including health care benefits, as the employee normally earns during hours worked and is provided by an employer to an employee.

(i) "Retaliatory personnel action" means denial of any right guaranteed under this chapter and any threat, discharge, suspension, demotion, reduction of hours, reporting or threatening to report an employee's suspected citizenship or immigration status, or the suspected citizenship or immigration status of a family member of the employee to a federal, state or local agency, or any other adverse action against an employee for the exercise of any right guaranteed herein including any sanctions against an employee who is the recipient of public benefits for rights guaranteed under this chapter. Retaliatory personnel action shall also include interference with or punishment for in any manner participating in or assisting an investigation, proceeding, or hearing under this section.

(j) "Sexual assault" means a crime as defined in Mississippi law.

(k) "Stalking" means harassing another person or willfully, maliciously and repeatedly following another person with the intent to place that person in reasonable fear of bodily injury.

(2) All employees in Mississippi shall accrue a minimum of one (1) hour of paid sick and safe leave time for every thirty (30) hours worked up to a maximum of fifty-six (56) hours per year, unless the employer chooses to provide a higher annual limit.

(3) Employees who are exempt from the overtime requirements under 29 USC Section 213(a)(1) of the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 USC Section 201 et seq., will be assumed to work forty (40) hours in each work week for purposes of paid sick and safe leave time accrual unless their normal work week is less than forty (40) hours, in which case paid sick and safe leave time accrues based upon that normal work week.

(4) Paid sick and safe leave time as provided in this chapter shall begin to accrue at the commencement of employment or pursuant to the law's effective date, whichever is later. An employer may provide all paid sick and safe leave time that an employee is expected to accrue in a year at the beginning of the year.

(5) Employees shall be entitled to use accrued paid sick and safe leave time beginning on the ninetieth calendar day following commencement of their employment, unless otherwise permitted by the employer. On and after the ninetieth calendar day of employment, employees may use paid sick and safe leave time as it is accrued.

(6) Paid sick and safe leave time shall be carried over to the following calendar year; however, an employee's use of paid sick and safe leave time provided under this chapter in each calendar year shall not exceed fifty-six (56) hours. Alternatively, in lieu of carryover of unused earned paid sick and safe leave time from one (1) year to the next, an employer may pay an employee for unused earned paid sick and safe leave time at the end of a year and provide the employee with an amount of paid sick and safe leave that meets or exceeds the requirements of this chapter that is available for the employee's immediate use at the beginning of the subsequent year.

(7) Any employer with a paid leave time off policy who makes available an amount of paid leave time off sufficient to meet the accrual requirements of this section that may be used for the same purposes and under the same conditions, including with regards to employee notice and documentation, as paid sick and safe leave time under this chapter is not required to provide additional paid sick and safe leave time.

(8) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as requiring financial or other reimbursement to an employee from an employer upon the employee's termination, resignation, retirement, or other separation from employment for accrued paid sick and safe leave time that has not been used.

(9) If an employee is transferred to a separate division, entity or location, but remains employed by the same employer, the employee is entitled to all paid sick and safe leave time accrued at the prior division, entity or location and is entitled to use all paid sick and safe leave time as provided in this chapter. When there is a separation from employment and the employee is rehired within one (1) year of separation by the same employer, previously accrued paid sick and safe leave time that had not been used shall be reinstated. Further, the employee shall be entitled to use accrued paid sick and safe leave time and accrue additional sick and safe leave time at the re-commencement of employment.

(10) When a different employer succeeds or takes the place of an existing employer, all employees of the original employer who remain employed by the successor employer are entitled to all earned paid sick and safe leave time they accrued when employed by the original employer, and are entitled to use earned paid sick and safe leave time previously accrued.

(11) At its discretion, an employer may loan sick and safe leave time to an employee in advance of accrual by such employee.

(12) Paid sick and safe leave time shall be provided to an employee by an employer for:

(a) An employee's mental or physical illness, injury or health condition; an employee's need for medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of a mental or physical illness, injury or health condition; an employee's need for preventive medical care;

(b) Care of a family member with a mental or physical illness, injury or health condition; care of a family member who needs medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of a mental or physical illness, injury or health condition; care of a family member who needs preventive medical care;

(c) Closure of the employee's place of business by order of a public official due to a public health emergency or an employee's need to care for a child whose school or place of care has been closed by order of a public official due to a public health emergency, or care for oneself or a family member when it has been determined by the health authorities having jurisdiction or by a health care provider that the employee's or family member's presence in the community may jeopardize the health of others because of their exposure to a communicable disease, whether or not the employee or family member has actually contracted the communicable disease; or

(d) Time off needed when the employee or a member of the employee's family is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking.

(13) Paid sick and safe leave time shall be provided upon the request of an employee. Such request may be made orally, in writing, by electronic means or by any other means acceptable to the employer. When possible, the request shall include the expected duration of the absence.

(14) When the use of paid sick and safe leave time is foreseeable, the employee shall make a good faith effort to provide notice of the need for such time to the employer in advance of the use of the sick and safe leave time and shall make a reasonable effort to schedule the use of sick and safe leave time in a manner that does not unduly disrupt the operations of the employer.

(15) An employer that requires notice of the need to use earned paid sick and safe leave time where the need is not foreseeable shall provide a written policy that contains procedures for the employee to provide notice. An employer that has not provided to the employee a copy of its written policy for providing such notice shall not deny earned paid sick and safe leave time to the employee based on noncompliance with such a policy.

(16) Paid sick and safe leave time may be used in the lesser of hourly increments or the smallest increment that the employer's payroll system uses to account for absences or use of other time.

(17) For paid sick and safe leave time of more than three (3) consecutive work days, an employer may require reasonable documentation that the paid sick and safe leave time has been used for a purpose covered by paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subsection if the employer has notified the employee in writing of this requirement in advance of the employee's use of paid sick and safe time. An employer may not require that the documentation explain the nature of the illness or the details of the domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.

(a) Documentation signed by a health care professional indicating that paid sick leave time is necessary shall be considered reasonable documentation under paragraph (a) of this subsection.

(b) One of the following, of the employee's choosing, shall be considered reasonable documentation of an absence under paragraph (b) of this subsection (17) of this section:

(i) An employee's written statement that the employee or the employee's family member is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking;

(ii) A police report indicating that the employee or employee's family member was a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking;

(iii) A court document indicating that the employee or employee's family member is involved in legal action related to domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking; or

(iv) A signed statement from a victim and witness advocate affirming that the employee or employee's family member is receiving services from a victim services organization or is involved in legal action related to domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking.

(18) An employer's requirements for verification may not result in an unreasonable burden or expense on the employee and may not exceed privacy or verification requirements otherwise established by law.

(19) An employer may not require, as a condition of an employee's taking paid sick and safe leave time, that the employee search for or find a replacement worker to cover the hours during which the employee is using paid sick and safe leave time.

(20) It shall be unlawful for an employer or any other person to interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under this section.

(21) An employer shall not take retaliatory personnel action or discriminate against an employee or former employee because the person has exercised rights protected under this chapter. Such rights include, but are not limited to, the right to request or use paid sick and safe leave pursuant to this chapter; the right to file a complaint with the department or the courts or inform any person about any employer's alleged violation of this chapter; the right to participate in an investigation, hearing or proceeding or cooperate with or assist the department in its investigations of alleged violations of this chapter; and the right to inform any person of their potential rights under this chapter.

(22) It shall be unlawful for an employer's absence control policy to count paid sick and safe leave time taken under this chapter as an absence that may lead to or result in discipline, discharge, demotion, suspension, or any other adverse action.

(23) Protections of this section shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations of this chapter.

(24) There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliatory personnel action under this section whenever an employer takes action against a person within ninety (90) days of when that person:

(a) Files a complaint with the department or a court alleging a violation of any provision of this chapter;

(b) Informs any person about an employer's alleged violation of this chapter;

(c) Cooperates with the department or other persons in the investigation or prosecution of any alleged violation of this chapter;

(d) Opposes any policy, practice or act that is unlawful under this chapter; or

(e) Informs any person of their rights under this chapter.

(25) (a) Employers shall give employees written notice of the following at the commencement of employment or by the effective date of this chapter, whichever is later, which shall include the following information:

(i) Employees are entitled to paid sick and safe leave time;

(ii) The amount of paid sick and safe leave time;

(iii) The terms of paid sick and safe leave time use guaranteed under this chapter;

(iv) That retaliatory personnel actions against employees who request or use paid sick and safe leave time is prohibited;

(v) That each employee has the right to file a complaint or bring a civil action if paid sick and safe leave time, as required by this section, is denied by the employer or the employee is subjected to retaliatory personnel action for requesting or taking paid sick and safe leave time; and

(vi) Contact information for the department where questions about rights and responsibilities under this chapter can be answered.

(b) Employers shall comply with this subsection by supplying each of their employees with a notice in English and in any language that is the first language spoken by at least five percent (5%) of the employer's workforce that contains the information required in paragraph (a) of this subsection, provided that the notice has been translated into such language by the department.

(c) The amount of paid sick and safe leave time available to the employee, the amount of paid sick and safe leave time taken by the employee to date in the year and the amount of pay the employee has received as paid sick and safe leave time shall be recorded in, or on an attachment to, the employee's regular paycheck or be made available at the employee's request.

(d) Employers shall display a poster in a conspicuous and accessible place in each establishment where such employees are employed. The poster displayed shall be in English and in any language that is the first language spoken by at least five percent (5%) of the employer's workforce that contains the information required in paragraph (a) of this subsection, provided that the poster has been translated into such language by the department.

(e) The department shall create and make available to employers, in all languages deemed appropriate by the department, posters that contain the information required under paragraph (a) of this subsection.

(f) An employer who willfully violates the notice and posting requirements of this subsection shall be subject to a civil fine in an amount not to exceed One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) for each separate violation.

(26) An employer may not require disclosure of details relating to domestic violence, sexual assault, sexual contact or stalking or the details of an employee's or an employee's family member's health information as a condition of providing paid sick and safe leave time under this section. If an employer possesses health information or information pertaining to domestic violence, sexual assault, sexual contact or stalking about an employee or employee's family member, such information shall be treated as confidential and not disclosed except to the affected employee or with the permission of the affected employee.

(27) The minimum requirements pertaining to paid sick and safe leave time in this section shall not be construed to preempt, limit or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy or standard that provides for greater accrual or use by employees of sick and safe leave time, whether paid or unpaid, or that extends other protections to employees.

(28) Nothing in this section shall be construed to supersede or preempt any provision of any local law that provides greater rights to paid sick and safe leave time than the rights established under this section.

(29) Nothing in this section shall be construed in a manner to discourage or prohibit an employer from the adoption of a paid sick and safe leave time policy that provides greater rights or benefits than the one required in this section.

(30) Nothing in this section shall be construed as diminishing the obligation of an employer to comply with any contract, collective bargaining agreement, employment benefit plan or other agreement that provides greater sick and safe leave time to an employee than required in this chapter.

(31) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as diminishing the rights of public employees regarding paid sick and safe leave or use of sick and safe leave time as provided in the general laws.

(32) Employers shall retain records documenting hours worked by employees and paid sick and safe leave time taken by employees, for a period of three (3) years, and shall allow the department access to such records, with appropriate notice and at a mutually agreeable time, to monitor compliance with the requirements of this section. When an issue arises as to an employee's entitlement to paid sick and safe leave time under this section, if the employer does not maintain or retain adequate records documenting hours worked by the employee and paid sick and safe leave time taken by the employee, or does not allow the department reasonable access to such records, it shall be presumed that the employer has violated the section, absent clear and convincing evidence otherwise.

SECTION 35. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2021.