Current through all regulations passed and filed through September 16, 2024
(A)
Policy statement.
It is the university s policy to permit classified and unclassified
administrative and professional employees to contribute earned sick and
vacation leave to other employees who are without sufficient paid leave to
provide continued income during employees medically-documented serious health
condition. Pursuant to paragraph (B)(4) of
rule 3342-6.11.11 of
the Administration code, a medically documented, serious health condition is
described as a catastrophic injury, life-threatening impairment or physical or
mental injury or illness which totally incapacitates the employee from work for
a long-term duration.
(B)
Definitions. Serious medical hardship or catastrophic
illnesses or injury includes conditions which severely impact the health of the
employee and requires absence from work. These conditions must also meet the
eligibility for the Family and Medical Leave Act. Conditions that are short
term in nature such as colds, flu or minor injuries are not generally
considered catastrophic. Some examples would include:
(1)
Cancer.
(2)
Major
surgery.
(3)
AIDS.
(4)
Serious
accident.
(5)
Heart attack.
(6)
Hospice
care.
(7)
Other serious or life-threatening
illnesses.
(C)
Eligibility. All full- and part-time classified and
unclassified administrative and professional employees with appointment are
eligible to contribute paid leave or receive donated leave, so long as they
meet the specific criteria established
in this
rule.
(D)
Implementation.
(1)
Donation of leave
to another employee. Employees may donate accrued hours of sick or vacation
leave directly to another employee during a calendar year. For the purposes of
this policy, a calendar year shall be from January through December. The
maximum hours of earned sick or vacation an employee can donate to an eligible
employee during a calendar year may not exceed the following amounts:
(a)
Sick leave. In
order to donate earned sick leave to another employee, an employee must have an
accrued balance of greater than
thirty days
(two
hundred forty hours). Employees may contribute a maximum of eighty hours of
their accrued sick leave above
two hundred forty hours
in any
twelve-month period.
(b)
Vacation leave.
An employee may contribute a maximum of eighty hours of earned vacation leave
to another employee per
twelve-month calendar year.
(c)
Employees
separating from the university may only donate the maximum amounts for the
calendar year as noted in paragraphs (D)(1)(a) and (D)(1)(b) of this rule which
is eighty hours.
(2)
Use of leave
donated by another employee. Eligible employees may receive and use continuous
or intermittent leave donation in amounts equivalent to a maximum of sixty days
per calendar year for each approved disability. In order to be eligible to
receive leave donated by another employee, an individual must meet the
following criteria:
(a)
Have no remaining accrued sick, comp or vacation leave
within one full payroll cycle (usually ten business days).
(b)
Have completed
probationary period, where appropriate and at least one year of
service.
(c)
Have no prior record of disciplinary action related to
the abuse of leave time or absenteeism on record prior to the need for donated
leave.
(E)
Procedures.
(1)
Application to
receive donated leave. An employee who is absent from work due to a medically
documented serious health condition as described in paragraph (A) of this rule
and who has exhausted all accrued sick, comp and vacation leave may apply to
receive donated leave using the following procedure:
(a)
The employee must
follow the normal leave reporting procedure of completing a leave of absence
form, including a specific a reason consistent with paragraph (D)(2)(a) of this
rule. The form must be approved by the immediate supervisor and submitted to
the benefits office.
(b)
The employee must voluntarily communicate in writing to
the manager of university benefits their willingness to accept donated leave
time. This acceptance will authorize the benefits office to include the
employee s name on a list of employees in need of donated leave. It is strongly
recommended that the employee provide an estimate of the duration of the period
for which donated leave is needed.
(2)
The benefits
office will maintain a posting accessible to all employees of those individuals
who have requested leave donation.
(a)
The list will contain the employee s name, title,
department and estimated leave needed. Absolutely no medical information will
be shared by any university representative.
(b)
The manager of
university benefits will work with the requesting employees supervisor to
determine an appropriate means of communicating with the employees co-workers
and associates.
(3)
Donation of
leave. Employees who wish to donate leave and meet guidelines established in
paragraph (C) of this rule should complete a paid leave donation form and
submit it to the benefits office.
(4)
Should the
request be denied, employees may appeal in writing such decision within ten
business days to the vice president of human resources. The vice president of
human resources has the authority to review and approve exceptions to the leave
donation policy. The decision of the vice president shall be final.
Replaces: 3342-6- 11.4
