1. Purpose
The purpose of the Sick Leave Bank is to provide sick leave assistance to those members who experience a major prolonged illness, disability or injury, and who have exhausted their sick leave hours.
2. Eligibility
A full-time regular employee who is eligible for sick leave pursuant to the college’s Sick Leave/Personal Illness Leave is eligible to enroll in the Sick Leave Bank if the employee has a minimum balance of 80 hours of sick leave by August 31st of the year. Participation in the Sick Leave Bank is voluntary. The annual enrollment period for the Sick Leave Bank will be held each September, with membership to be effective October 1. Members may cancel their participation at any time by giving written notice to the Office of Human Resources; however, sick leave hours contributed to the Sick Leave Bank will not be restored to the member upon cancellation.
3. Enrollment and Contributions
Each September, eligible employees wishing to enroll as a new member in the Sick Leave Bank will contribute eight (8) hours of their individual sick leave. For continuing members, the Office of Human Resources will annually determine the amount of sick leave contribution it projects is necessary to maintain the Sick Leave Bank for the coming year, and will assess members a minimum of four (4) hours sick leave to a maximum of sixteen (16) hours of sick leave. This time will be deducted from the member's sick leave accrual. If at any time, this annual contribution to the Sick Leave Bank should total less than 480 hours, each member of the Sick Leave Bank will be assessed an additional four (4) hours of sick leave . Members will be notified should this occur. Once an employee has been a member of, and contributed to, the Sick Leave Bank for seven (7) consecutive years, the annual assessment will be waived for that member as long as the annual sick leave contribution from the remaining members is sufficient to maintain a balance of at least 10,800 hours. Should the Sick Leave Bank balance fall below the minimum of 10,800 hours, all members will be assessed such sick leave contribution, as necessary, to maintain the Sick Leave Bank at 10,800 hours. In no case, will the contributions of any member exceed twenty (20) hours of sick leave in any given year. All sick leave hours contributed are non-refundable unless the Sick Leave Bank is dissolved.
Should a continuing member in the Sick Leave Bank not have the required hours to donate during the annual enrollment period and/or not have the sick leave hours required should an assessment occur, the member may remain a participant provided that the member donates the required sick leave time at the time they accrue additional sick leave time under the college’s Sick Leave/Personal Illness Leave. Alternatively, a continuing Sick Leave Bank member, who does not have adequate sick leave hours available during annual enrollment or at the time of an additional assessment period, may donate personal and/or vacation hours in lieu of sick leave hours. Members of the Sick Leave Bank who are on approved sick leave during annual enrollment or at the time of an additional assessment are not required to make a contribution.
If at any time membership in the Sick Leave Bank drops below 10% of eligible employees, it will be dissolved and its remaining hours distributed equally back to the current members.
4. Requests for Sick Leave Bank Time
A participating Sick Leave Bank member may request sick leave assistance when they experience a major prolonged illness, injury or disability, and have exhausted their personal sick leave time. In order to request sick leave assistance the Sick Leave Bank member must not be eligible to apply for long-term disability benefits. The member's illness, injury or disability must be supported by a physician's statement which certifies the member's inability to work, provides a prognosis for recovery, and provides a projected time for return to work. The member must agree to provide any relevant information deemed necessary by the Office of Human Resources to support the decision making process.
The following Sick Leave Bank Assistance Request Form – PDF is available for a member to use to request withdrawal of sick leave time. A completed request form should be returned to the Office of Human Resources - Benefits Group. A decision to approve or deny the request will be made and communicated to the member within fifteen (15) working days of its receipt.
A member who applies for sick leave assistance may request a maximum of 360 hours (45 working days based on a 40-hour work week) of additional sick leave, during any rolling twelve (12) month period. The rolling twelve-month period is defined as the month the member requests sick leave assistance and the eleven (11) months immediately preceding the member’s request. Subject to the rolling twelve-month period maximum, sick leave assistance time may be requested all at one time or may be requested intermittently, if medically necessary. Intermittent leave requires that a separate request must be made each time sick leave is withdrawn from the Sick Leave Bank and each request must meet the eligibility requirements previously specified.
If a member withdraws sick leave time from the Sick Leave Bank and is certified by their physician to return to work before all the requested sick leave time has been utilized, the remaining balance of the sick leave time will be returned to the Sick Leave Bank. If a member is unable to return to work following utilization of their maximum sick leave assistance time, the member may request an unpaid leave of absence in accordance with requirements set forth for Extraordinary Leave. Any member who requests Extraordinary Leave following the utilization of their Sick Leave Bank maximum leave time, will not have the time off for Extraordinary Leave count toward their new rolling twelve-month period. The member’s new rolling twelve-month period will begin in the month that they actively return to work on a full-time regular basis.
5. Exclusions
The Sick Leave Bank is not intended to be used for short-term leaves due to routine and non-extraordinary illnesses or for time off covered by Worker’s Compensation.
Any employee who is not a member of the Sick Leave Bank is not eligible to request sick leave assistance
A member may only use Sick Leave Bank assistance for their illness, injury or disability, and may not utilize sick leave assistance to care for any other individual.