Extended Sick Leave/Sick Leave Bank

 

Policy Number:

PERS_0026

Policy Statement:

Employees who have exhausted all paid leave are eligible to apply for extended sick leave.

Procedures:

An employee who has missed three consecutive days of work as a result of a catastrophic or extended illness or injury, and has exhausted all of their accumulated leave days, may apply for extended sick leave. If the request for extended sick leave is approved, the extended sick leave will be retroactive to the first day of illness for which there was no accumulated leave.

For an employee to request extended sick leave, all of the following criteria must be met:

• The applicant must submit the Request for Extended Sick Leave application to the Director of Human Resources.
  • In addition, to the application, a doctor’s written statement should also be included to indicate when the applicant is anticipated to be able to return to work.
  • The applicant must be able to meet the duties of their job description in a reasonable amount of time to qualify for extended sick leave.
  • Benefits under the Extended Sick Leave Plan are conditional upon an employee's intention to return to work at the end of the period of disability.
• The applicant must exhaust all their accumulated sick leave, vacation leave, compensatory time, and personal leave.
• The applicant must be approved/eligible for Family Medical Leave (FMLA).
• The applicant must be willing to sign a HIPPA release form allowing the Benefits Committee to review their medical information. The form will also include a release allowing the applicants annual performance evaluations and attendance records be released to the committee.
• Extended sick leave may not exceed 20 workdays for any one application. In the event the employee’s disability extends beyond 20 workdays, the employee may reapply for additional days. No one applicant may receive more than 60 workdays of extended sick leave.
• Extended sick leave may not be used to cover employees who are receiving pay from or are eligible to receive pay from workers’ compensation.

Sick Leave Bank:

Any full-time staff/faculty employee who wish to participate may contribute up to one to three days (up to 24 hours) per year on or before June 30, to a Sick Leave Bank for any full-time employee who has catastrophic health care needs. Once sick leave has been contributed to the Sick Leave Bank, it cannot be restored to the contributing employee. This does not, however, preclude a contributing employee from applying and receiving approval to withdraw from the bank under the established process.

At no time can the amount of sick leave days held in the Sick Leave Bank be in excess of sixteen hundred (1600) hours, renewable once each year. Contributions from employees, as provided herein, will only be accepted if the balance in the Sick Leave Bank is less than sixteen hundred (1600) hours at the time an employee submits a contribution to the Sick Leave Bank. Employees may not designate a particular employee to receive their donated sick leave time.

1. Definition of Catastrophic Injury or Illness:
   • A catastrophic injury or illness is defined as a severe health condition (illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition) that involves in-patient care in a hospital, hospice, residential medical care facility, or continuing treatment by a health care provider so severe in nature to have caused the employee to exhaust all of their leave (sick leave, personal leave and vacation leave) provided under the applicable leave policy and FMLA. This also applies to care for immediate family members (defined by FMLA) suffering from a catastrophic injury or illness.
2. Administration of Sick Leave Bank:
   • The Human Resources department shall maintain records of a staff employee’s contribution to the Sick Leave Bank and withdrawals from the Sick Leave Bank.
   • Applications for Sick Leave Bank will be reviewed by the Benefits Committee.
     • The Benefits Committee will then determine a recommendation and present the information to Cabinet for final approval.
     • Approval or disapproval of the applicant’s request for sick leave from the Sick Leave Bank shall be at the discretion of the Cabinet members.

Policy History:

June 29, 2026: Revised to include policy number

September 26, 2025: Revised for accessibility