Request By:
Mr. Bobby McKee
Operations Manager
Kentucky Retirement Systems
226 West Second Street
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601
Opinion
Opinion By: Steven L. Beshear, Attorney General; Patrick B. Kimberlin, III, Assistant Attorney General
This is in response to your recent letter wherein you ask our opinion as to the manner in which you interpret KRS 61.546(2) which, in pertinent part, reads as follows:
"The member's sick leave balance, expressed in days, shall be divided by the average number of working days per month in the state service and rounded to the nearest number of whole months." (Emphasis ours).
You indicate that you interpret the foregoing provision to mean that any accumulation of sick days less than 21 would entitle the member to one full month of service credit due to your interpretation of the above provision. For example, if a member has at least one sick day 1 to his credit at the time of his retirement, you will credit him with an entire month for sick leave for service credit under KRS 61.546(2) when you round off his accumulated sick days. You also list in your letter the tables under which various state employes are receiving credit under this interpretation: 7 1/2 Hour EmployeesMonths Sick LeaveNo. of DaysNo. of HoursService Credit1 - 217 1/2 - 157 1/2122 - 42165 -315243 - 63322 1/2 - 472 1/2364 - 84480- 630485 - 105637 1/2 - 787 1/25106 - 126795- 94568 Hour Employees1 - 218 - 168122 - 42176 - 336243 - 63344 - 504364 - 84512 - 672485 - 105680 - 8405106 - 126848 -10086
It is our opinion that your interpretation of KRS 61.546(2) is incorrect. We believe that this statutory provision is clear as to its meaning, not ambiguous, and therefore should be construed literally.
Barrett v. Stephany, Ky., 510 S.W.2d 524 (1974). This brings us to the term "rounded" as it is used in KRS 61.546(2). Generally speaking, an amount is "rounded" upward to the next highest unit when at least half that unit exists. Conversely, an amount is "rounded" downward when less than half of that unit exists. Webster's Third New International Dictionary, page 1979.
Here, we believe that a member can receive credit for an entire month (21 days) of service credit under KRS 61.546(2) if he has accumulated at least 11 days or more of sick leave. Such an amount, "rounded to the nearest number of whole months," as required by the statute, would necessitate crediting him with service credit for an entire month. An accumulation of ten sick days or fewer would be "rounded" downward and he would not get any service credit for those days under KRS 61.546(2).
Footnotes
Footnotes
1 Twenty one such sick days would ordinarily constitute one full month of work days.