Staff

Sick Time Donation Program

The college has a leave donation program that is meant to provide assistance to employees who are unable to work their regular scheduled time and are in a need for additional time off in excess of their available sick leave or other paid time off. The program allows eligible employees to voluntarily donate time from their available sick leave to their co-workers in accordance with the policy.

This policy is strictly voluntary. The policy does not guarantee any employee the right to extended leave beyond what is required for by the college’s stated policy and its legal operations. Final approval of receipt of any sick leave donation and of the ability to donate accrued leave rests with Human Resources.

An employee can donate accumulated sick leave hours up to a maximum of 5 days (37.5 hours) to the bank a semester. Donations will be reflected as a day for day (or hour for hour) deduction from the balance of the donating employee and a day for day (or hour for hour) credit to the recipient employee, regardless of the respective job classification or rates of pay of the two employees. All donations are irrevocable.

For purposes of eligibility for donation and receipt of granted time, the employee must be otherwise eligible to accrue and receive vacation and sick leave. Temporary, non-benefit eligible employees are not eligible to participate in this plan.

Eligibility to Donate

In order for you to donate sick leave to another employee, you must:

• Be employed by the college for one year
• Maintain a minimum of 20 hours in your current leave balance after donation
• Not be currently on an approved leave of absence
• Not have given notice and voluntarily separating from the college

Employees may not solicit sick leave donations. Donations under this program are voluntary and no employee will be subject to intimidation or disparate treatment for participating in or declining to participate in the leave donation program. Employees may not make “designated/directed” donations; all donations become part of the bank, to be distributed per the procedures outlined below.

Guidelines for Receipt of Leave Donation

Employees who are sick and unable to work a regular schedule due to a physician’s documented illness, injury or on a FMLA, CFRA or disability leave, and have exhausted their own accrued paid sick leave and have less than 37.5 accrued vacation hours, may access the Sick Leave Donation Bank. Human Resources will evaluate the eligibility of the applicant for donated time off based on college leave criteria. These include time away from work due to an employee’s own documented illness or off-the-job injury, or to care for a family member as outlined in the Sick Leave Policy with a documented illness or off-the-job injury. The reason may also include reproductive loss.

Based on the request, donated time off will be provided to the applicant on a week to week basis for a maximum of 2 weeks or as such time as the applicant’s physician allows return to work.

In the case that an employee is incapacitated and unable to personally make an application to the bank, the employee’s supervisor (or co-worker, through the supervisor) may make such an application on their behalf.

In the event that multiple requests for donations are received, the VP of Human Resources will consider them in the order they are received. Additionally, the VP of Human Resources reserves the right to decline applications if, in their judgment, an individual is abusing the policy or has exceeded a reasonable amount of requests and thus depriving others of the benefit. Misrepresenting or falsifying the need to receive donated leave under this program is grounds for discipline, up to and including termination.

Out of consideration for the college, it is expected that employees will first pursue other legally available sources of income replacement such as State Disability Insurance (SDI). For those employees receiving state benefits, CCA will allow donated time to be used on a “coordination of benefits” basis.

Any donated sick time that is in excess of the time used by the recipient for the approved crisis event will be returned to the donor. There is no “cash” value to the recipient of the donated sick time.

Please note that donated sick leave may be considered taxable income to the recipient employee per IRS rulings.

The applicant must submit a request in Workday for a specified number of hours. Human Resources will evaluate the eligibility of the applicant for donated time off based on company leave criteria. These include time away from work due to an employee’s own documented illness or injury, or to care for a spouse, domestic partner, child, parent or designated person with a documented illness or injury.