Written by: Samantha A. Vajskop, Esq.
The Ohio General Assembly has changed the rules on Juneteenth for boards of education yet again. On Friday, March 11, 2022, Governor DeWine signed Senate Bill 11 into law. Among other things, the Bill amends R.C. 3319.087 to fix an apparent drafting error and now grants the Juneteenth holiday to 11- and 12-month nonteaching employees instead of granting it to nine- and ten-month nonteaching employees.
In our most recent post on this topic, we explained how the Budget Bill (House Bill 110) amended R.C. 3319.087 to make Juneteenth a paid holiday only for employees employed on a nine- or ten-month basis, not for employees employed on an 11- or 12-month basis. In Senate Bill 11, the legislature has amended that statute to accomplish the exact opposite result: now, Juneteenth is listed as a paid holiday for “all regular nonteaching school employees employed on an eleven or twelve month basis,” and it has been removed from the list of holidays to which nine- and ten-month employees are entitled.
This about-face may cause headaches for school districts that already have addressed Juneteenth in their collective bargaining agreements, but it will depend on the language employed in the agreements. However, Senate Bill 11 did not impact the update to R.C. 3313.63, which lists Juneteenth as one of the holidays for which boards of education may dismiss schools. And as we’ve noted in all our Juneteenth updates, there is nothing that prevents a board of education from adopting a policy recognizing Juneteenth as a paid holiday for all employees or from entering a memorandum of understanding to recognize the holiday.
Samantha Vajskop may be reached at SVajskop@pepple-waggoner.com
Follow on Twitter @SVajskopPW