Texas Administrative Code › Title 34 - PUBLIC FINANCE › Part 4 - EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT SYSTEM OF TEXAS › Chapter 79 - SOCIAL SECURITY › Section 79.13 - Sick Pay Adjustments to Covered Wages

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a)
				Payments made to an employee, on account of sickness, by the state or a
				political subdivision of the state, which has an agreement with the state to
				cover its employees under the Federal Social Security Act as authorized by
				Texas Civil Statutes, Article 695g or Article 695h, may be excluded from wages
				covered by the Social Security Act under certain conditions.
(1) The employing governmental entity must
				have legal authority to pay its employees on account of sickness. Legal
				authority is deemed to exist where there is no legal restriction on the
				entity's ability to pay on account of sickness.
(2) Payment must be made under the entity's
				legal authority and according to an approved sick pay plan.
(A) The plan must make provisions for
				employees generally or for employees generally and their dependents, or a class
				or classes of employees, or a class or classes of employees and their
				dependents.
(B) "Class of
				employees" means a group of employees having one or more common
				characteristics; e.g., salaried, clerical employees in a particular division,
				or employees in a given wage classification.
(C) The plan must have a definite basis for
				determining who is eligible to receive the payments. These standards may
				include length of service, salary, classification, or occupation. The
				eligibility requirements cannot be left to the discretion of the employer.
				Need, efficiency, or loyalty cannot be the only basis for
				eligibility.
(D) The plan must have
				definite standards for determining the minimum duration of payments. A
				provision that payments will be made for the duration of the employee's illness
				or so long as the employment relationship continues is definite. The minimum
				period of payment cannot be left to the discretion of the employer. If the plan
				provides that the employer may, at the employer's discretion, make payments for
				a longer period than that specified in the plan, these discretionary payments
				will be deemed paid under the plan.
(E) The plan must have a definite formula for
				determining the minimum amount to be paid each eligible employee. The minimum
				amount cannot be left to the discretion of the employer. However, if the plan
				provides that the employer may, at the employer's discretion, make payments in
				addition to the minimum specified, these payments will be deemed to be under
				the plan.
(F) The employer must
				communicate the terms and conditions of the plan to all of the employees or the
				class affected. If communication is indirect or not in writing, it must be such
				that it would be reasonable to infer that employees knew of the plan's
				existence. A bulletin board notice or long and established practice, for
				example, would be enough.
(3) Only payments made on account of sickness
				during the calendar years of 1979, 1980, and 1981 are excludable from covered
				wages.