Interchange of Governmental Employees.
§ 126-51. Short title.
This Article shall be known and may be cited as the "North Carolina Interchange of Governmental Employees Act of 1977." (1977, c. 783, s. 1.)
For purposes of this Article:
(1) "Assigned employee" means an employee of a sending agency who is assigned or detailed to a receiving agency as part of the employee's regular duties with the sending agency.
(2) "Employee on leave" means an employee on leave of absence without pay from a sending agency who becomes an employee of a receiving agency while on leave from the sending agency.
(3) "Receiving agency" means any division, department, agency, instrumentality, authority, or political subdivision of the federal government or of a state or local government which, under this Article, receives an employee of another governmental division, department, agency, instrumentality, authority, or political subdivision of the federal government or of a state or local government.
(4) "Sending agency" means any division, department, agency, instrumentality, authority, or political subdivision of the federal government or of a state or local government which, under this Article, sends any employee thereof to another governmental division, department, agency, instrumentality, authority, or political subdivision of the federal government or of a state or local government. (1977, c. 783, s. 1.)
§ 126-53. Authority to interchange employees.
(a) Any division, department, agency, instrumentality, authority, or political subdivision of the State of North Carolina is authorized to participate in a program of interchange of employees with divisions, departments, agencies, instrumentalities, authorities, or political subdivisions of the federal government, of another state, or of this State, as a sending agency or a receiving agency.
(b) The period of individual assignment, detail, or leave of absence under an interchange program shall not exceed two years.
(c) The temporary assignment of the employee may be terminated by mutual agreement between the sending agency and the receiving agency.
(d) Elected officials may not participate in a program of interchange under this Article. (1977, c. 783, s. 1.)
§ 126-54. Status of employees of sending agency.
(a) Employees of a sending agency participating in an exchange of personnel authorized by G.S. 126-53 may be considered during such participation to be either assigned employees or employees on leave.
(b) Assigned employees shall be entitled to the same salary and employment benefits to which they would be entitled as employees of the sending agency and shall remain employees of the sending agency for all purposes unless otherwise provided in this Article or in a written agreement between the sending agency and the receiving agency.
(c) Employees on leave shall have the same rights, benefits and obligations as other State or local employees subject to this Chapter who are granted leaves of absences, unless otherwise provided in this Article, or in a written agreement between the sending agency and the receiving agency.
(d) When a division, department, agency, instrumentality, authority or political subdivision of the State of North Carolina acts as a sending agency, employees participating in an exchange of personnel authorized by G.S. 126-53, whether considered assigned employees or employees on leave, shall have the same rights, benefits and obligations to participate in and receive benefits, including death benefits, from any retirement system of which they are members as employees of the sending agency, whether they are members of the Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System, the North Carolina Local Governmental Employees' Retirement System, the Law Enforcement Officers' Benefit and Retirement Fund, or other Retirement System which has been or may be established by the State for public employees; provided, however, that the receiving agency agrees to and makes the employer contributions and deducts from the salary of the employee the employee contributions for continued membership in such Retirement System. Provided, further, that if no contributions are paid into the appropriate Retirement System during the period that the employee participates in the exchange of personnel authorized by this Article, such employee shall remain entitled to death benefits resulting from his death during the period of the exchange. Provided, that where duplicate benefits would otherwise be payable on account of disability or death, the employee or his estate shall elect, within one year of the date of disability or death, which benefits to receive. (1977, c. 783, s. 1.)
§ 126-55. Travel expenses of employees from this State.
A sending agency in this State shall not pay the travel expenses of its assigned or on leave employees and shall not pay the travel expenses of such employees incurred in the course of performing work for the receiving agency. Such expenses shall be borne by the receiving agency. (1977, c. 783, s. 1.)
§ 126-56. Status of employees of other governments.
(a) When a division, department, agency, instrumentality, authority or political subdivision of the State of North Carolina acts as a receiving agency, assigned employees of the sending agency remain the employees of the sending agency and continue to receive the employment benefits of the sending agency unless otherwise specified in a written agreement between the sending agency and the receiving agency.
(b) When a division, department, agency, instrumentality, authority or political subdivision of this State acts as a receiving agency, employees on leave from the sending agency will receive appointments as employees with the receiving agency and will be entitled to the same employment benefits as other employees of the receiving agency unless otherwise specified in a written agreement between the sending agency and the receiving agency. Such appointments may be made without regard to any rules or regulations of the receiving agency regarding the selection of employees; but all rules of the North Carolina Human Resources Act shall apply to State employees. (1977, c. 783, s. 1; 2013-382, s. 9.1(c).)
§ 126-57. Travel expenses of employees of other governments.
A receiving agency in the State of North Carolina may, in accordance with its travel regulations and travel regulations by law, pay the travel expenses incurred in the course of an assigned employee's duties or incurred in the course of the duties of an employee on leave with the receiving agency on the same basis as the travel expenses of regular employees are paid. (1977, c. 783, s. 1.)
§ 126-58. Administration.
The State Human Resources Commission and any State division, department, agency, instrumentality, authority or political subdivision participating in an interchange of employees program may promulgate rules or regulations necessary for the administration of such program, so long as such rules or regulations do not conflict with the provisions of this Article or any other provision of law. (1977, c. 783, s. 1; 2013-382, s. 9.1(c).)
§§ 126-59 through 126-63. Reserved for future codification purposes.