Sick Time Donation Procedure   

 

 

Abstract: 
This procedure defines a donation plan whereby accrued sick leave may be donated and/or received by eligible employees who may or may not be eligible for Family Medical Leave.

Effective Date: 10/9/2019

 

Review/Revised Date: 8/29/2022

 

Category:

 

Document Owner: CHRO

Document Contact: Executive Director Human Resources - Records Administration

 

   
 
 
This procedure defines a donation plan whereby accrued sick leave may be donated and/or received by eligible employees who may or may not be eligible for Family Medical Leave.
This procedure is applicable to employees classified as Workforce Groups A and C and faculty who are eligible to accrue sick time based on their employment category.  The Sick Time Donation Pool applies only to UAB employees and UAB Hospital LLC employees.
 

DONATION PROGRAM

Eligibility

Any employee who accrues sick time is eligible to donate sick time under the Sick Time Leave Donation Policy as long as the donating employee maintains at least twenty days of accrued sick time in their personal account.  
Any employee who accrues sick time and is on a UAB approved leave of absence is eligible to receive sick donations if he or she meets the criteria below.
Eligibility Chart
Qualifying Reasons
Eligibility for Direct Donations
Eligibility for Pool Donations
FMLA
Non FMLA
FMLA
Non FMLA
Employee Illness
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Family Illness
Yes
No
Yes
No
Other Parental Leave
(Adoption/Foster Care/Bond with Child)
Yes
N/A*
Yes
No
* For Other Parental Leave, an employee must be FMLA eligible to be eligible for Parental Leave. Therefore, N/A is shown for Non FMLA Direct Donations.
 
 
Lifetime Maximum Donation Chart
FMLA vs. Non-FMLA Leave
Direct Donations
Pool Donations
FMLA eligible
480 hours lifetime max
240 hours lifetime max
Non FMLA eligible
480 hours lifetime max
240 hours lifetime max
 

Steps for Donating or Receiving Sick Time Donations

1.    An eligible employee may donate or request donated leave by submitting a request through the Sick Time Donations App.
2.    The form must be approved by Human Resources prior to use of the donated sick time.
 

Sick Time Donation Conditions

For a donation of sick time to be approved, the following conditions apply:
 
1)     An employee may donate up to 60 days or 480 hours of sick time as long as the donating employee maintains at least twenty days of accrued sick time in his or her personal account. This calculation may be prorated based on a part-time employee's FTE.  Note, the twenty days requirement does not apply to retiring or terminating employees.
 
2)     Sick time may not be donated to an employee who is in an employment category which does not accrue sick time (for example, Contingent, Temporary, or Fellows).
 
3)     Whether the donated sick time days are used or not, the donated sick time is irrevocable (non-returnable) as of the date the donation is submitted to the Human Resources.
 
4)     Donation considerations must be made in conjunction with application for retirement to ensure accuracy in sick time certification to Teachers Retirement System (TRS).
 
5)     Only the amount of sick time approved by Human Resources will be applied.  Any unused donated sick time will be automatically deposited into the UAB Sick Time Donation Pool.
 

Receiving Donated Sick Time 

The following conditions apply to any employee who requests to receive donated sick time:  
1)     An employee who experiences an illness or injury or who has been approved for a Family Related Leave of Absence that requires a continuous leave of absence is eligible to receive donated sick time provided the employee has no more than 40 hours (five days) of accrued benefit time remaining including sick time, vacation time, compensatory time and personal holidays. Refer to the Eligibility Chart above.  
2)     Donated sick time must be submitted and fully executed (approved) by Human Resources prior to the recipient's release and return to work.  No sick time donations will be transferred to a recipient after the recipient has returned from leave. 
3)     The employee receiving the sick time donation is eligible to receive a (total lifetime) donation of up to a maximum of 60 sick time days (480 hours) or the equivalent for part-time employees. The donation may come from a combination of the Sick Time Donation Pool of no more than 30 days and from one or several different eligible employees, but may not exceed 60 days total. Refer to the Lifetime Maximum Donation Chart above.
 
 

Conditions or Circumstances That Do Not Qualify for Receipt of Donated Sick Time Leave

 
1)    Employees on a military, sabbatical, educational, or personal leave of absence are not eligible to receive direct or pool sick time donations.
 
2)    Employees who have more than 40 hours (five days) of accrued benefit time remaining including sick time, vacation time, compensatory time, and personal holidays may not be eligible to receive direct or pool sick time donations. 
 
3)    Sick time donation is not available to supplement On the Job Injury pay or Workers Compensation.
 
4)    Use of donated sick time ceases upon the employee's eligibility for long-term disability benefits.
 
5)    Intermittent Leave Absence is not eligible for sick time donation.

 

Sick Time Pool Donation Conditions

 
1)    The UAB Sick Time Donation Request Form for this procedure must be completed via the online app and submitted to Human Resources.  The form must be approved by Human Resources prior to use of the donated sick time.  
 
2)    Donations for the pool will be accepted from current and terminating employees (whether retiring, resigning, etc.).
 
3)    The maximum number of days that may be donated by current and terminating employees is 60 days (480 hours).
 
4)    The maximum number of pool days a recipient may receive is 30 days (max lifetime receipt remains 60 days), depending on the current balance in the pool, the number of pending requests, and the expected return date of the recipient.
 
5)    Sick time pool days may be requested for the following reasons with the appropriate documentation on file in Employee Health:
 
a.    Employee's own serious health condition (illness or injury) including serious illness/injury or childbirth.
 
b.    FMLA approved leave for serious health conditions of Spouse, Parent or Child.
 
6)    Donations to the Sick Time Pool from retiring employees also require the Benefits Office and the TRS review at the time of retirement.
 
Related Policies and Procedures

Sick Time - HR Policy 303
Sick Time Donation Policy
Family and Medical Leave of Absence Policy