16-2-405. Liquor store employees preference rights and bonus payment. (1) Any liquor store employee or liquor division central office employee who meets the requirements of an eligible state employee who is terminated as a result of the operation of this part is eligible for a work incentive bonus if the employee continues in employment through December 31, 1995. This bonus is in addition to any reduction in force benefits or other benefits that the employee may be entitled to as a result of termination under the provisions of this part.
     (a) The amount of the bonus must be computed by multiplying the eligible state employee's hourly wage by 26.8%. The resulting product must be multiplied by 2,080 and that resulting product must be multiplied by the quotient of the number of hours worked, not to exceed 1,088 hours, as an eligible state employee between July 1, 1994, and January 6, 1995, divided by 1,088, which result is equal to the employee's bonus.
     (b) An employee is entitled to the full amount of the bonus if the employee's employment is terminated by the department of revenue before December 31, 1995, because of the operation of this part.
     (2) (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an employee of a state liquor store who meets the requirements of an eligible state employee must be given the right of first refusal for selection of the agent chosen to operate an agency liquor store.
     (b) The department's selection criteria in order of priority for selecting an agent for employee-operated state liquor stores to be converted to agency liquor stores are as follows:
     (i) The applicant must be either an eligible state employee who is an employee of the store, a partnership with a majority of the partners qualifying as eligible state employees and a majority of the partners working as employees of the state liquor store, or a corporation with at least one shareholder who is an eligible state employee and is an employee of the store.
     (ii) If no applicant meets the requirements of subsection (2)(b)(i), the applicant must be either an eligible state employee and an employee of another state liquor store in the same city or town, a partnership with a majority of the partners qualifying as eligible state employees and employees of another state liquor store in the same city or town, or a corporation with at least one shareholder who is an eligible state employee and is an employee of another state liquor store in the same city or town.
     (iii) If no applicant meets the requirements of subsection (2)(b)(i) or (2)(b)(ii), the state agent must be selected by the methods required by the department of administration.
     (3) All state liquor store employees and liquor division central office employees whose positions are eliminated as a result of this part are entitled to all the benefits accorded by the State Employee Protection Act in Title 2, chapter 18, part 12, as that part reads on the date on which the employee leaves state employment.

     History: En. Sec. 5, Ch. 530, L. 1995.