Procedure: Leave Donation

An eligible Department employee may request that other Department employees within the same business unit donate accrued annual, sick or personal leave for use by the recipient as sick leave. The donation of leave is voluntary. Donated leave can only be used by recipients for absences that qualify for sick leave. Donated leave cannot be requested or used by employees who are on contingent leave of absences without pay.

Eligible Recipient
To be eligible to solicit and receive leave donations, a Department employee must:

1. Have been continuously employed by a state agency for at least twelve (12) months in a position entitled to earn and use leave immediately preceding the request to solicit leave donations;
   
   
2. Have used all accrued and forfeited leave and all available compensatory time;
   
   
3. Have been on authorized leave without pay for eighty (80) consecutive hours prior to receiving donated leave;
   
   
4. Use the donated leave while absent ONLY for the sick leave purposes for which the donations were solicited (i.e., due to personal illness or disability of a spouse, child, parent, brother, sister or any other person who resides in the employee’s household and is recognized by law as a dependent of the employee);
   
   
5. Not have been on an attendance plan or illness for which Workers’ Compensation benefits may be received or a disability incurred while committing a felony or assault; and
   
   
6. Work in the same business unit (Technical College or Central Office) as the donor employee.
   
   
7. The Commissioner may waiver any or all of these requirements.

NOTE: Leave donations cannot be solicited after an employee returns to work in order to retroactively cover a period of absence. Due to the nature of intermittent leave, leave donations are also not appropriate to cover intermittent absences from work.

Eligible Donor
To be eligible to donate leave, a donor must:

1. Have been continuously employed for at least twelve (12) months by a state agency in a position entitled to earn and use leave;
   
   
2. Be a Department employee;
   
   
3. Have a balance of at least sixty (60) hours of annual leave after donation, if donating annual leave;
   
   
4. Have a balance of at least sixty (60) hours of sick leave after donation, if donating sick leave; and,
   
   
5. Work in the same business unit (Technical College or Central Office) as the donor employee.

Confidentiality
The identity of donors is confidential and will not be provided by individuals administering the donation process to the recipient or to any other individual unless necessary to administer the donation or required by law.

Request

1. A Department employee may request to solicit leave donations no more than forty (40) calendar days prior to going into an authorized leave without pay status.
   
   
2. A completed Department Request to Solicit Leave Donations form must be submitted to the employee’s immediate supervisor by the employee (or the employee’s designee if the employee is unable to personally submit the request).
   
   a) The request must describe the reason for soliciting donated leave.
   
   b) A medical statement supporting the need for absence must be submitted with the request.
   
   NOTE: The medical information contained in the statement must be considered confidential and is to be shared with individuals only on a “need to know” basis. The statement is to be maintained in a confidential file separate from the employee’s personnel file.
   
   
3. The immediate supervisor is to forward the Department Request to Solicit Leave Donations form to the appropriate approving manager (e.g., Division/Office Director, Facility Superintendent/Administrator, Commissioner, College President) for review and approval.

Determination

1. Approval of a request to solicit leave donations is at the discretion of the approving Commissioner, Assistant Commissioner or President based on the provisions of this policy.
   
   
2. If the request to solicit leave donations is determined inappropriate, the employee will be notified in writing by the approving Commissioner, Assistant Commissioner or President. human resource/personnel representative or designee of the reasons for denial of the request.
   
   
3. If the request is determined appropriate, the approving authority will designate an employee who will develop a Department Solicitation For Leave Donations Notice to post and circulate.

Solicitation Notice

1. The Department Solicitation For Leave Donations Notice must include the following:
   
   a) Posting date,
   
   b) The deadline to receiving leave donations,
   
   c) The employee’s name and work location,
   
   d) The reason leave donations are requested, and
   
   e) The office responsible for receiving leave donations.
   
   
2. The employee, or the employee’s designee, must agree in writing that the solicitation notice is satisfactory prior to circulating the notice.
   
   
3. The approving manager, president, human resource/personnel representative or designee, will circulate the solicitation notice to the extent necessary in order to encourage donations for at least ten (10) work days.

NOTE: If employees do not receive the maximum amount of donated leave, they may request that the solicitation notice be circulated one additional time during the period of absence or within a three (3) month period, whichever is less, to encourage additional donations.

Making a Donation

1. Leave donations must be made in whole eight (8) hour increments. An employee may donate any amount of personal leave and any amount of annual leave, as long as a minimum balance of 60 hours remains. Up to 120 hours of sick leave can be donated by an employee in a calendar year, as long as a minimum balance of 60 hours remains.
   
   
2. A donor must complete a Department Leave Donation Authorization form to:
   
   a) Authorize the deduction of leave from an accrued balance,
   
   b) Identify the recipient, and,
   
   c) Specify the type and amount of leave to be donated.
   
   
3. This completed form must be submitted to Personnel who maintains the leave records for the donor. Personnel will then do the following:
   
   a) Certify the donor’s leave balance(s),
   
   b) Make appropriate adjustments to the donor’s leave balance(s) on Daily Record Of Leave Used, or similar form.
   
   c) Provide the original of the Department Leave Donation Authorization form directly to the recipient’s human resource/personnel office, or other designated individual, by the posted deadline date. The donated leave will be added to the recipient’s sick leave balance.
   
   NOTE: The form may be faxed prior to mailing the original for information purposes.
   
   d) Report to the donor’s human resource/personnel office, or other designated individual, the amount of leave to be deducted from the donor’s leave balance(s) in the system.
   
   
4. The recipient’s human resource/personnel office, or other designated individual, will stamp the date and time of receipt on the Department Leave Donation Authorization form to determine the order of donations.

Crediting Donated Leave

1. All types of leave donations, up to a maximum of 520 hours, will be credited as sick leave to a recipient in the order received, and on an as needed basis.
   
   a) Multiple donations will be permitted for the same recipient; however, no recipient will be credited with more than 1,040 hours of donated leave in any consecutive two (2) calendar year period.
   
   b) If multiple donations are solicited for the same absence, for each solicitation, the following applies:
   
   
2. The recipient must submit a new Department Request to Solicit Leave Donations form, and
   
   a) A new Department Solicitation For Leave Donations Notice must be posted and circulated.
   
   b) The recipient will not be required to be in an additional authorized leave without pay status for a period beyond the eighty (80) hours required for the initial leave donation solicitation.
   
   
3. If multiple donations are solicited for different absences, the recipient must meet all requirements for soliciting leave donations for each solicitation, including the requirement to be on authorized leave without pay for eighty (80) consecutive hours prior to receiving donated leave.
   
   
4. Donations received after the maximum has been reached or after the posted deadline will not be accepted and will be returned to the appropriate donor(s).
   
   
5. While using donated leave, the recipient will accrue annual and sick leave if in pay status for the required number of hours in a pay period. This newly accrued leave must be used prior to continuing to use donated leave.
   
   
6. The recipient will be advised in writing by the appropriate human resource/personnel office, or other designated individual, of the amount of leave donated.
   
   
7. Each individual leave donation will be credited in its entirety. (See exceptions and limitations, below.) Leave donated in excess of what is needed by the recipient will be returned to the donor(s); however, if a portion of a leave donation is needed, the remainder, up to forty (40) hours, will not be returned to the donor.
   
   a) An exception occurs when a leave donation from one donor would result in over 520 hours being received. In this case, the recipient’s sick leave balance is credited up to the maximum, and the excess leave is returned to the donor.
   
   b) Once a recipient has returned to duty, no more than forty (40) hours of previously donated leave may be retained for the recipient’s use.

Placement on Family Leave

1. An eligible employee who is using donated leave must be placed on available family leave, unless or until the twelve (12) work weeks of family leave has been used for the calendar year.
   
   
2. An employee may be placed on family leave without a request from the employee.
   
   
3. If an employee was receiving donated leave due to personal illness or disability, a statement from the attending health care provider releasing the employee to return to work is required.
   
   
4. The statement must show that the employee is able to return to work and perform the essential functions of the job with or without reasonable accommodation.
   
   
5. This statement must be submitted to the employee’s supervisor immediately upon return to work.

Prohibited Activity

1. No employee will threaten, coerce or attempt to threaten or coerce another employee for the purpose of interfering with rights involving the donation, receipt or use of leave. Such prohibited acts will include, but not be limited to, promising to confer or conferring a benefit such as an appointment, promotion or salary increase, or making a threat to engage in, or engaging in an act of retaliation against an employee.
   
   
2. Any employee who violates the Prohibited Activity Section will be subject to disciplinary action up to and including dismissal.

References

Rules of the State Personnel Board – Rule 30

Department Request to Solicit Leave Donations

Department Solicitation For Leave Donations Notice

Department Leave Donation Authorization

III. U. 6. Leave

 

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Created: October 2, 2001; Revised January 13, 2005