Employees are eligible to donate or receive donated leave
hours for catastrophic illnesses of the employee or an immediate family member
Contributions shall be designated as "donated leave" and shall be subject to
the rules, policies and procedures of the department.
(1)
Definitions:
"Catastrophic illness " means a physical or
mental illness or injury of the employee, as certified by a licensed physician,
that will result in the inability of the employee to work for more than 30
workdays on a consecutive or intermittent basis; or that will result in the
inability of the employee to report to work for more than 30 workdays due to
the need to attend to an immediate family member on a consecutive or
intermittent basis.
"Donated leave " means vacation leave
(hours) donated to employees as a monetary benefit only. Recipient employees
will not accrue vacation or sick leave benefits on donated leave hours.
"Employee " means a full-time or part-time
executive branch employee who is eligible to accrue vacation.
"Immediate family member" means the
employee's spouse, parent, son, or daughter, as defined in the federal Family
and Medical Leave Act.
(2)
Program eligibility for employee illness. In order to receive
donated leave for a catastrophic illness, an employee must:
a. Have a catastrophic illness as defined by
subrule 63.19(1); and
b. Have
exhausted all paid leave; and
c.
Not be supplementing workers' compensation to the extent that it exceeds more
than 100 percent of the employee's pay for the employee's regularly scheduled
work hours on a pay-period-by-pay-period basis; and
d. Not be receiving long-term disability
benefits; and
e. Be approved for
and using or have exhausted Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave hours if
eligible; and
f. Be on approved
leave without pay for medical reasons during any hours for which the employee
will receive donated leave.
(3)
Program eligihility for immediate
family member illness. In order to receive donated leave for a
catastrophic illness of an immediate family member, the immediate family member
must have a catastrophic illness as defined in subrule 63.19(1). The employee
must:
a. Have exhausted all paid leave for
which eligible; and
b. Be approved
for and using or have exhausted Family and Medical Leave Act leave hours if
eligible; and
c. Be on approved
leave without pay for the medical reasons of an immediate family member during
any hours for which the employee will receive donated leave.
(4)
Certification
requirements. The employee shall submit an application for donated
leave on forms developed by the department. Appointing authorities may, at
their department's expense, seek second medical opinions or updates from
physicians regarding the status of an employee's or employee's immediate family
member's illness or injury. If the employee is receiving FMLA leave, a second
opinion must be obtained from a physician who is not regularly employed by the
state.
(5)
Program
requirements.
a. Vacation hours
shall be donated in whole-hour increments; however, they may be credited to the
recipient in other than whole-hour increments. All of the recipient's accrued
leave must be used before donations will be credited to the recipient. Hours
will be credited in increments not to exceed the
employee's regularly scheduled work hours on a
pay-period-by-pay-period basis. Recipients will not accrue vacation and sick
leave on donated leave hours.
b. Approval of use of donated leave shall be
for a period not to exceed one year either on an intermittent or continuous
basis for each occurrence.
c.
Donated leave shall be irrevocable after it is credited to the recipient.
Donated hours not credited to the recipient will not be deducted from the
donor's vacation leave balance. Donated leave shall be credited on a
first-in/first-out basis.
d.
Donated leave for catastrophic illness will not restrict the right to terminate
probationary employees. The period of probationary status and the pay increase
eligibility date, if in excess of 30 days, will be extended by the amount of
time the employee received donated leave.
e. Appointing authorities shall post a form
developed by the department indicating that the employee is eligible to receive
donated leave and the name of the person to contact for the donation. The
appointing authority is not responsible for posting outside the employing
department; however, donated leave hours can be received from executive branch
employees outside the employing department.
f. Leave without pay rules and procedures
shall apply to the following benefits: health, dental, life, and long-term
disability insurances; pretax; deferred compensation; holiday pay, sick leave
and vacation leave accrual, shift differential pay, longevity pay and cash
payments. In addition, employees receiving donated leave for catastrophic
illness for themselves or their immediate family member will not be eligible
for leadworker pay, extraordinary duty pay or special duty pay. If FMLA leave
and donated leave for a catastrophic illness are used concurrently, the state
is obligated to pay its share of health and dental insurance premiums. The
state also maintains an employee's basic life and long-term disability
insurances during periods of FMLA leave.
g. Employees may choose to continue or
terminate optional deductions (e.g., miscellaneous insurance, savings bonds,
charitable contributions, or credit union deductions) while using donated
leave. Mandatory deductions are taken from gross pay first, then optional
deductions as funds are available and as authorized by the employee. Union dues
deductions will continue as long as the employee has sufficient earnings to
cover the dollar amount certified to the employer after deductions for social
security, federal taxes, state taxes, retirement, health and dental insurance,
and life insurance.
h.
Contributions to the employee's dependent care account will not be allowed
during a period of leave without pay. Claims will not be paid for dependent
care while an employee is on leave without pay.
i. If an employee applies for and is approved
to receive long-term disability, the employee may continue to receive leave
contributions for up to one year on an intermittent or continuous basis or the
effective date of the employee's long-term disability, whichever comes first.
Donated leave hours not used are not credited to the recipient and are not
deducted from the donor's vacation leave balance.
