Guideline P-060
Subject: Formation and Operation of Faculty Sick Leave Banks
A. AUTHORIZATION:
Pursuant to T.C.A. § 8-50-925, the following guideline shall be followed in the formation and operation of sick leave banks at all institutions and Tennessee Technology Centers within the Tennessee Board of Regents System. This guideline will be implemented in accordance with TBR Policy 5:01:01:00.
B. ESTABLISHMENT:
A sick leave bank is established when a group of employees agree to be assessed a specified number of accrued sick leave hours for a common pool. Such assessment of sick leave shall be deducted from the individual’s personal accumulated sick leave and shall be nonrefundable. From this pool, the members may withdraw an amount of hours greater than their individual assessments upon request to and approval from the trustees of the sick leave bank. There can be no more than one faculty sick leave bank per institution or technology center. To form a sick leave bank, a minimum of 20 employees who are eligible to participate in the bank must petition the president of the institution or technology center director to authorize and direct the establishment of the bank. The petition shall include a declaration that each petitioner intends to participate.
C. ELIGIBILITY:
Participation in the sick leave bank will be available to regular full-time employees who hold faculty rank, whether serving in an academic or fiscal year appointment and to regular part-time instructional staff.
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 and waiting period required. In addition, members who are terminated and rehired with a break in service shall also be entitled to transfer membership in accordance with the provisions for accruing leave and longevity credit. A faculty member who transfers with no break in service from another TBR, University of Tennessee institution or state agency and participated in the previous employer’s sick leave bank is immediately eligible for membership in accordance with the receiving institution’s sick leave bank by-laws. If membership is requested at the time of the transfer, the faculty member shall designate the required minimum assessment.
Prior assessments will be transferred to the Faculty Sick Leave Bank when the change in classification becomes effective. Employees who are unable to meet additional assessments charged by the Faculty Sick Leave Bank since its establishment, shall lose the right to request bank sick leave, in accordance with Section E, 7. All records regarding prior usage of bank sick leave will be made available to the Faculty Sick Leave Bank trustees.
D. TRUSTEES:
The president of the institution or director of the technology center will appoint five (5) sick leave bank trustees upon receipt of the petition. At least three (3) of the appointees shall be faculty who devote a majority of their time to classroom instruction. The remaining trustees may be members of the institution’s or technology center’s administrative staff.
Initially, two (2) of the trustees will be appointed for one (1) year, two (2) trustees for two (2) years, and one (1) trustee for three (3) years. Trustees shall be eligible for reappointment. Any vacancy resulting from expiration of a term, discontinuation of employment, retirement, death, resignation, or removal by the president/director of a trustee from the trustee role shall be filled immediately by appointment by the president or technology center director. All actions by the trustees shall require three (3) affirmative notes.
The trustees shall:
1. Meet and elect a chairperson from the trustees.
2. Be responsible for preparation of the sick leave bank plan for operation. The plan is subject to the president’s or director’s review to ensure its compliance with these guidelines, Board policy, institution of technology center policy, appropriate recordkeeping and accounting principles, and statutory provisions.
3. Administer the bank and approve or reject requests for withdrawal of leave from the bank. The request for bank must be submitted to the trustees. The bank member’s supervisor shall be informed of any request for bank leave, prior to approval by the trustees.
4. Adopt reasonable rules for the assessment of sick leave hours by participants in order to maintain an adequate reserve of usable days for bank members. This reserve shall only be established through the assessment of bank membership and shall maintain a positive balance at all times. The assessment shall be based upon total membership and projected potential need. All members shall be assessed the same amount of sick leave hours. The trustees shall have sole discretion in determining how many assessments are necessary to maintain the reserve’s positive balance.
E. SICK LEAVE BANK PLAN:
The plan of operation prepared by the trustees shall include but not be limited to 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 sick leave bank hours.
2. An employee must exhaust all accumulated sick leave and annual leave, if applicable, prior to receiving bank sick leave.
3. Bank sick leave shall not be used for: elective surgery, illness or death of any member of the individual’s family or during any period when the individual is receiving disability benefits from social security, a state-sponsored retirement plan or Board of Claims benefits. Approved bank sick leave will run concurrently with FMLA leave for an eligible employee who has not already exhausted the twelve (12) workweek entitlement.
4. A restriction will be established on the number of hours that may be withdrawn by an individual bank member on account of one (1) illness, particularly an illness known at the time he or she elected to join the bank. Initial grants of bank sick leave to individual bank members shall not exceed the hourly equivalent or twenty (20) consecutive days for which the applicant would have otherwise lost pay. Subsequent grants of bank sick leave shall not exceed the hourly equivalents of sixty (60) days in any fiscal year, or ninety (90) days for any one illness, or recurring diagnosed illness, or accident.
A bank member may be eligible to receive sick leave that has been donated by other employees if s/he has made application for bank sick leave and the necessity for bank leave is substantiated by the trustees. Should bank sick leave be denied, the bank member shall be eligible to receive donations from other employees as provided in TBR Policy 5:01:01:15.
5. 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 on his or her behalf. If there is no next-of-kin available, this request may be made by the legally appointed guardian or conservator or an individual acting under valid power of attorney.
6. At any time the trustees may request from a bank member a physician’s statement certifying the illness or condition of the bank member requesting leave. Refusal to submit the certification will result in denial of the request for bank sick leave.
7. A bank member shall lose the right to request bank sick leave upon termination of employment, retirement, cancellation of bank membership, refusal or inability to honor the trustee's assessments, and going on leave of absence (in a non-pay status) for reasons other than illness, injury, or disability.
8. A bank member may cancel his or her membership at any time upon written notification to the trustees. Assessed sick leave days shall be nonrefundable upon cancellation of membership and nontransferable upon transfer to another TBR institution or technology center, UT or State agency.
9. 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.
10. Grants of bank sick leave shall not be contingent upon repayment of hours used or waiver of other employment benefits or rights.
11. The trustees will approve or reject all requests for bank sick leave within ten (10) calendar days of receipt of the request. 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 appealed beyond that body.
12. All records and official forms of the sick leave bank and minutes of the trustee meetings shall be maintained in the institution’s human resources office, and in the appropriate office as determined by the director of the technology center. All records shall be subject to audit by appropriate state officials.
13. An annual enrollment period shall be established by the trustees. The initial enrollment period shall last for a minimum of forty-five (45) calendar days from the date that eligible employees are notified of the bank’s establishment. Subsequent annual enrollment periods shall not exceed one (1) calendar month. The trustees shall notify all eligible employees of their eligibility status and the dates of the enrollment period. Enrollment forms and copies of the plan and its regulations shall be made available at this time also.
14. All eligible persons who elect to participate in the bank shall be assessed a number of sick leave hours by the trustees—up to maximum hourly equivalent of three (3) days (22.5)—as the initial enrollment assessment.
15. The following official forms, as attached, will be used to operate the sick leave bank: (a) Official Sick Leave Bank Election Form (Petition), (b) Enrollment Form, (c) Request for Bank Sick Leave, and (d) Notice to Sick Leave Bank Member of Assessment of Sick Leave Days. Formal minutes shall be made of the sick leave bank trustees meetings and shall be maintained as a part of the official bank records.
F. SCHEDULE REQUIREMENTS:
The following time schedule shall be followed in establishing the sick leave bank, and addressed within the bank plan:
1. Petition Received by the President/Director
Within thirty (30) calendar days of receipt of the petition, the president or director shall appoint the trustees.
2. Trustees Responsibilities
Within ten (10) calendar days of appointment, the trustees shall hold their first meeting and elect a chairperson.
Within sixty (60) calendar days before the effective date of the sick leave bank, the trustees shall notify all eligible employees of the establishment of the bank and its date of effectiveness.
3. Effective Date
The president of director, upon approval of the trustees plan of operation, shall determine the date on which the sick leave bank becomes effective. This date shall be no later than 180 calendar days after the date of receipt of the original petition.
G. DISSOLUTION OF THE BANK:
The sick leave bank shall be dissolved if the institution or technology center is closed or if the bank membership falls below twenty (20) individuals. The total hours on deposit shall be returned to the 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.
Source: November 1, 1988, Presidents meeting, August 15, 1989, Presidents Meeting; November 12, 1996, Presidents Meeting; November 6, 2002, Presidents Meeting
OFFICIAL FACULTY SICK LEAVE BANK ELECTION FORM
(PETITION)
We, the undersigned, do hereby indicate an interest in the establishment of a sick leave bank at (institution/technology center) and further, we hereby declare our intention of participating as members in said sick leave bank upon its establishment.
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EACH PETITIONER MUST MEET THE CRITERIA FOR MEMBERSHIP: BE A REGULAR FULL-TIME EMPLOYEE HOLDING FACULTY RANK AND SERVING IN EITHER AN ACADEMIC YEAR OR FISCAL YEAR APPOINTMENT, OR A REGULAR PART-TIME INSTRUCTIONAL STAFF MEMBER.
FACULTY SICK LEAVE BANK ENROLLMENT FORM
(NAME OF INSTITUTION OR TECHNOLOGY CENTER)
NAME _________________________________ SSN or Banner ID __________________
RANK __________________________________________________________
TITLE __________________________________________________________
( ) REGULAR FULL-TIME EMPLOYEE WITH FACULTY RANK
( ) REGULAR PART-TIME INSTRUCTIONAL STAFF MEMBER
A copy of the sick leave bank plan, and regulations have been made available to me. I am aware of the contents and that any assessments made of my accrued sick leave by the trustees of the bank shall be nonrefundable and nontransferable.
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Signature
_____________________________
Date
FACULTY SICK LEAVE BANK
NOTICE OF ASSESSMENT
As a member of the (name of institution or technology center) Sick
Leave Bank, you are hereby notified of an assessment of (number) hours
from your accrued personal sick leave bank balance effective (date). This assessment is made in accordance with the statutory provisions and institutional or technology center regulations governing the sick leave bank and is based upon projected potential need of the bank’s membership. Since authorized by you, this assessment of hours is nonrefundable and nontransferable.
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Trustee Chairperson Signature
____________________________________
Date
____________________________________
Member Authorization (Signature)
____________________________________
Date
ONCE AUTHORIZED BY MEMBER, THIS NOTICE OF ASSESSMENT MUST BE FORWAREDED TO THE HUMAN RESOURCES OFFICE IMMEDIATELY.
FACULTY SICK LEAVE BANK REQUEST
Member Name: _________________________________________________
Department: _________________________________________________
No. of Hours Requested Effective Dates of Leave
(1 day = 7.5 Hours) From To
______________________ ________________________
Reason for Request: ________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________ _____________________________
Member Signature Date
__________________________________ _____________________________
Notice to Supervisor Date
To Be Completed by Human Resources Office:
Accrued Sick Leave Hrs. *________ Accrued Annual Leave Hrs. *______
Human Resources Officer: ______________________
Signature
___________________________
Date
*Must be equal to zero as of effective date bank leave would begin.
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Trustees’ Action:
Approved: _______________________ _________________________
Chairperson Signature Date
Disapproved: _______________________ _________________________
Chairperson Signature Date
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