Donated Leave for Catastrophic Illness
Effective: Moved to Policy Library from UPM 3.5(3)
Updated/Revised: July 8, 2024
Contact: University Human Resources (UHR)
Introduction
This policy provides eligibility requirements for donating vacation and vacation credit accruals and receiving donations for an employee or immediate family member of an employee as the result of a catastrophic illness or injury.
Policy Statement
Definitions
Catastrophic Illness:
- For an employee, a physical or mental illness or injury, as certified by a licensed health care provider, which will result in the inability of the employee to report to work for more than 30 work days on a consecutive basis.
- For an immediate family member (as defined below), a physical or mental illness or injury, as certified by a licensed health care provider, that will result in the inability of the employee to report to work for likely more than 30 work days on a consecutive basis, due to the need to attend to the immediate family member.
Donated leave: Vacation or vacation credit accruals donated to employees. Donated accruals are not considered to be pay the employee earned through the performance of work. This is a salary-only benefit.
Eligible employee: Any member of the faculty or staff (including merit and professional and scientific staff) who meets all of the following:
- Is a regular employee,
- Has an appointment that is 50% or greater, and
- Receives either vacation or sick time off benefits.
Immediate family member: For the purpose of requesting donated leave for catastrophic illness or injury of an immediate family member under this policy, “immediate family member” means the employee’s spouse/partner, parent, or child as defined in the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993.
Emergency Time Off: For the purpose of immediate family member time off, “emergency time off” means time off not to exceed five days per calendar year (up to 40 hours for full time employees) plus prior year carryover hours, for the care of and necessary attention to ill or injured members of the employee’s immediate family.
Program Eligibility
Eligible donors and recipients include all faculty, and staff, who accrue vacation time.
Nine-month faculty members do not accrue vacation and thus are not eligible as donors but are eligible to receive donations.
All faculty and staff who accrue vacation may donate accrued vacation accruals to an eligible employee for use as sick leave during a catastrophic illness or injury.
In order to receive donated accruals for the catastrophic illness of an employee or employee’s immediate family member, the employee or immediate family member must have a catastrophic illness, as defined above.
Further, the employee shall meet all of the following:
- Be eligible to accrue either vacation or sick accruals;
- Have exhausted all vacation accruals, emergency time off, sick leave accruals and Vacation Credit (if enrolled);
- For employees seeking to receive donated accruals for themselves, be currently enrolled in long-term disability insurance coverage, or if denied for LTD, be approved for pregnancy leave;
- For employees seeking to receive donated accruals, not be receiving long-term disability income;
- For employees seeking to receive donated accruals, not be approved for workers' compensation;
- Be approved and using or have exhausted Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave hours, if eligible;
- Be on approved leave without pay for medical reasons during any hours for which the employee or immediate family member will receive donated accruals.
An eligible employee shall not receive contributions for catastrophic illness or injury in excess of the amounts necessary to cover the amount of leave permitted under this policy for the catastrophic illness or injury.