Utah state employees would have had more flexibility in how they take time off, but would have received fewer hours each paycheck under a controversial legislative proposal. But after pushback, lawmakers are allowing current state workers to choose how their leave is structured.

Sponsors of the bill said the effort to change state employees’ compensation packages was meant to help Utah compete with other employers, but their colleagues rejected that effort Wednesday evening after some workers said paid time off modifications were a backslide.

The Utah House of Representatives revived and passed the bill less than 24 hours later after a new version made a new paid time off system optional to current employees.

Both the House and the Senate voted Thursday morning to send Sen. Lincoln Fillmore’s, R-South Jordan, SB229 to the governor’s desk.

“There are some employees who really, really like what they currently have,” said House sponsor Rep. Norm Thurston, R-Provo, “and don’t feel like they should be forced to change.”

Rep. Ryan Wilcox, R-Ogden, initially voted against the bill, but said he agreed to bring it back because a revision to the bill no longer mandated that people currently working for the state make the adjustment.

“It is hard to reconcile something with someone who’s already been hired, and then to change the rules while they’re there,” Wilcox said on the House floor.

State employees now accrue four hours of sick leave and a minimum of four hours of vacation time each pay period.

The program created under the bill allows employees more flexibility with their time off by not categorizing leave, but they would only accrue a minimum of six hours per pay period. That means employees would receive two fewer hours.

The Utah Public Employees Association opposed the original version of the bill because of that measure.

Thursday’s substitute, however, would only apply the changes to new employees and allow current ones to choose how they accrue leave.

The bill also makes adjustments to the state’s 401(k) plans.

Utah currently contributes $26 per pay period to all eligible employees’ accounts, no matter their salary.

Under the bill, about two-thirds of state employees would see Utah’s contribution scale up as they make more money. It would set the $26 contribution as a minimum, and past that, the state would give half of what the employee elects to set aside.

Gov. Spencer Cox included the increased retirement match alongside an ask that employees get cost-of-living raises in his budget proposal to the Legislature published in December.

Lawmakers, also on Thursday, approved another of the governor’s requests to improve employee compensation — extended parental leave.

Starting in July, Rep. Ariel Defay’s, R-Kaysville, HB329 provides employees who give birth six weeks off instead of three to recover, and extends some leave time to employees who adopt children.