Faculty Sick Leave Bank

Transcription

1 Chattanooga State Community College Faculty Sick Leave Bank Operating Plan INTRODUCTION In accordance with TBR policy 5:01:01:00 and following TRB guideline P 060, a Faculty Sick Leave Bank was established in January, 1991 to provide additional sick leave to members who due to serious illness or injury have exhausted all of their personal sick leave and annual leave. The establishment of the sick leave bank required a minimum of 20 eligible employees who agreed to be assessed a specified number of accrued sick leave hours to a common pool and approval by the College President. ELIGIBILITY Participation in the sick leave bank is available to regular full time employees who hold faculty rank. To enroll an employee must have enough accumulated leave for the initial assessment. Employees with pre existing illnesses are eligible for enrollment, but their participation will be restricted to a maximum number of hours that can be withdrawn due to a reoccurrence or a pre existing condition (see enrollment 5 and 6). Employees previously enrolled in the Non Faculty Sick Leave Bank who are appointed to faculty positions with no breaks in service shall be eligible immediately for membership in the Faculty Sick Leave Bank with no additional assessment or waiting period required. In addition, members who are terminated and rehired with a break in service shall be entitled to transfer membership in accordance with the provisions for accruing leave and longevity credit. Prior assessments will be transferred to the Faculty Sick Leave Bank when the change in classification becomes effective. All records regarding prior usage of bank sick leave will be made available to the Faculty Sick Leave Bank trustees. Revised 02/10/12/cch Approved by Trustees and President 1

2 ENROLLMENT 1. Open enrollment will be held each year in the fall semester. The dates will approximately September 15 through October 15. An enrollment form may be obtained from the TigerWeb link to Faculty Sick Leave Bank forms or from the Bank Trustees Chairperson. 2. Enrollment will require a two day (15.0 hour) deposit by each member joining. 3. NO further assessment will be required until fifty percent (50%) of the bank sick leave hours have been exhausted (measured by accounting for number of those currently in the bank times 15 hours times 0.50). At that time, one day (7.5 hours) will be assessed from each current member. All current members will be notified of the needed assessment and each will have the opportunity to withdraw from the sick leave bank per T.B.R. Guideline P Upon cancellation of membership by withdrawal, a former member must meet the initial assessment in order to rejoin the bank and may rejoin only during the annual enrollment period. 5. Faculty desiring to join with pre existing conditions caused by accident or diagnosed illness cannot withdraw bank hours for a period of one year after their enrollment. Thereafter, coverage will be possible under the T. B. R. Guideline P A restriction on pre existing illnesses limits the number of hours that may be withdrawn for a particular pre existing condition to the equivalent of thirty (30) days during any fiscal year or forty five (45) days for any one pre existing condition. ADMINISTRATION A. The President appoints five trustees to administer the sick leave bank plan according to the plan of operation. The five trustees must consist of a minimum of three faculty members who devote a majority of their time to classroom instruction. The remaining trustees may be members of the administrative staff. Current trustees are eligible for reappointment. Any vacancy resulting from discontinuation of employment, retirement, death, resignation, or removal by the President of a trustee from the trustee role shall be filled immediately by appointment by the President. A chairperson shall be elected by the trustees. The term is five years. Upon vacancy or expiration of the chairperson's term as trustee, an election will be held to elect a new chairperson. A chairperson may be reelected. Revised 02/10/12/cch Approved by Trustees and President 2

3 B. The trustees shall approve or reject requests for withdrawal of leave from the bank. They shall adopt reasonable rules for assessment of sick leave hours in order to maintain an adequate reserve of sick leave hours for bank members. The reserve shall only be established through the assessment of bank membership and shall maintain a positive balance at all times. All action by the trustees requires three (3) affirmative votes for approval. SICK LEAVE BANK PLAN OPERATION The plan of operation includes the following provisions: 1. An employee must have been a member of the bank for thirty (30) calendar days prior to applying for withdrawal of bank sick leave. Additionally, a bank member must first have his or her supervisor's approval for sick leave before the request for bank leave can be submitted to the trustees. A member requesting to withdraw hours from the sick leave bank must complete the Faculty Sick Leave Bank Request form, and submit to his/her Supervisor with the supporting Physician s Statement for the Supervisor s approval. Upon the Supervisor s approval, the Supervisor will forward the request to Payroll. Payroll will check for available leave and then forward the request to the Bank Chair. 2. A physician's statement* must accompany the request and must include the following information regarding the illness: a) Nature and cause b) Onset c) Expected duration d) Prognosis as to ability to return to work e) Status upon return to work (full or part time) f) Surgical indications Refusal to submit the physician's statement will result in denial of the request for bank sick leave. * The physician s statement will not be required during a period of approved Family Medical Leave if Human Resources has received the required Family Medical Leave Revised 02/10/12/cch Approved by Trustees and President 3

4 request form/appropriate medical documentation and has made a determination that the bank member s situation is a qualifying event under the FMLA, and grants the approval. However, in situations where all available Family Medical Leave has been exhausted or in instances where the member is not eligible for Family Medical Leave, the physician s statement will be required. 3. A surgical procedure must be designated as an immediate medical necessity rather than an elective surgery (see Elective Surgery below). 4. Bank sick leave shall NOT be used for: a) Board of Claims Benefits (e.g. workers compensation). b) Illness or death of any member of the individual's family. c) A period during which the individual is receiving disability benefits from social security or a state sponsored retirement or disability plan. Approved bank sick leave will run concurrently with FMLA leave for an eligible employee who has not already exhausted the 12 work week entitlement. d) Elective surgery (Definition: Surgery that can be scheduled in advance, is not an emergency, and if delayed would neither result in permanent impairment of health nor cause the employee to be unable to meet reasonable performance expectations of his/her job.) 5. A bank member's sick leave and annual leave, if applicable, must be exhausted prior to receiving bank sick leave. 6. Initial grants of bank sick leave to individual bank members shall not exceed the hourly equivalent of twenty (20) consecutive days. Subsequent grants of bank sick leave shall not exceed the hourly equivalent of sixty (60) days in any fiscal year inclusive of the original days granted in an initial request. The maximum number of bank sick leave hours a member may receive for any one illness, recurring diagnosed illness, or accident is the hourly equivalent of ninety (90) days. 7. A bank member may be eligible to receive sick leave which has been donated by other employees if he/she has made application for bank sick leave and the necessity for bank leave is substantiated by the trustees. Should bank leave be denied, the bank member shall be eligible to receive donations from other employees. This process is governed outside of the purview of the Faculty Sick Leave Bank and must be arranged through Payroll. Revised 02/10/12/cch Approved by Trustees and President 4

5 8. A bank member is responsible for initiating any request. When a bank member is physically or mentally unable to apply for bank sick leave, the immediate next of kin may make a request for bank sick leave on his or her behalf. If there is no next ofkin available, this request may be made by the legally appointed guardian or conservator or an individual acting under valid power of attorney. 9. Grants of bank sick leave shall not be contingent upon repayment of hours used or waiver of other employment benefits or rights. 10. A bank member shall lose the right to request bank sick leave upon termination of employment, retirement, cancellation of bank membership, refusal to submit a physician's statement when one is requested, refusal to honor subsequent assessment of hours, falsification of any documentation, and upon going on a leave of absence in a non pay status for reasons other than illness, injury or disability. 11. A bank member's inability to honor the trustees' assessment will result in temporary loss of the right to withdraw bank sick leave. This right will be restored upon transfer of the individual's personal sick leave assessment to the sick leave bank. 12. A bank member may cancel his or her membership at any time during the year upon written notification to the trustees. 13. Assessed sick leave is non refundable upon cancellation of membership and nontransferable upon transfer to another TBR institution or area school. Any faculty bank member who leaves the service of the Institution whether it be through retirement, death, or termination will relinquish all donated hours to the bank. The annual updated membership list will reflect these changes and their hours will remain in the bank for its current members use. 14. Employees who are granted bank sick leave shall continue to accrue sick leave and annual leave, if applicable, and service credit for retirement and longevity purposes, during the time they are on bank sick leave. Also, they will receive credit for any holidays that may occur during the bank sick leave period. 15. The trustees shall approve or reject all requests for bank sick leave within ten (10) calendar days of receipt of the request. 16. The operation of the faculty sick leave bank shall exist separately from the regular sick leave accrued to individuals' personal accounts with respect to approvals and appeals. The decisions of the trustees shall not be appealable beyond the trustees in compliance with TBR guidelines on faculty sick leave bank. Revised 02/10/12/cch Approved by Trustees and President 5

6 17. Amendments to these guidelines may be made by an affirmative vote of three trustees and approval by the President. 18. All other Chattanooga State Faculty Sick Leave Bank Operating Plans will adhere to T. B. R. Guideline P 060, pages One through Five (1 5). APPLICATION PROCEDURE TO RECEIVE BANK HOURS 1. Obtain a Faculty Sick Leave Bank Request form from the Tiger Web link. 2. Submit the completed form to your supervisor, along with the required medical documentation as specified above, for approval of time off from work. 3. If approved, the supervisor shall forward the form and all applicable attachments to Payroll. 4. Payroll will review the employee s leave status notating the amount of accrued leave available. 5. Payroll will then forward the paperwork to the Chairperson of the Sick Leave Bank. 6. A decision will be made by the Trustees within ten (10) days of receipt of request by the Bank Chair, and the employee will be notified of the result within ten work days from the date of receipt of the request by the Chairperson. DISSOLUTION OF THE BANK The sick leave bank shall be dissolved if the institution is closed or if the bank membership falls below twenty (20) individuals. Upon dissolution for insufficient membership, the total hours on deposit shall be returned to participating members at the time of the dissolution and credited to their personal sick leave accumulation in proportion to the number of hours each has been assessed individually. Revised 02/10/12/cch Approved by Trustees and President 6