1. Overview

   Eligible administrative staff and faculty may participate in a vacation leave donation program. Vacation leave may be donated to a “Leave Pool” (pool). Donated vacation time will be converted to sick leave and administered as outlined in this policy. This pool will be used to provide leave to individuals in need of sick time for personal use or to care for a family member.

2. Donation guidelines

   1. Donor eligibility

      Administrative staff and faculty eligible for health-related benefits as designated by policy 41.010 may donate vacation time to the sick leave pool.

   2. Donation information
      1. Donors must retain a balance of eighty vacation hours after a donation is made.
      2. Donations are to be made in eight-hour increments. Donations from the pool to a recipient of less than eight hours will be permitted if a full donation of eight hours would result in the recipient exceeding the fiscal year twenty-day (one-hundred and sixty hour) recipient limit, or an equivalent amount pro-rated based upon percent full time equivalent (FTE) for part time employees.
      3. Other than the donation limits listed above or recipient limits in this policy, there is no maximum or cap on donations to the pool.
   3. Donations to the pool
      1. Donations to the pool will be solicited at least one time per fiscal year. Donations to the pool can only be made during an official solicitation period.
      2. Only “University Human Resources” (UHR) should solicit donations to the pool.

3. Recipient guidelines

   1. Recipient eligibility

      Administrative staff and faculty eligible for health-related benefits as designated by policy 41.010 may receive donated time per the following guidelines:

      1. Recipients are eligible to receive donations from the pool upon hire date.
      2. The recipient must have or will exhaust all other paid time off before receiving donated time.
      3. A physician has certified on the recipient request form that the employee has an impairment that is or will be present for more than ten consecutive working days. (Issues that result in the need for intermittent time off are not eligible for donations.)
   2. Time received
      1. Recipients employed for less than one year may receive no more than ten cumulative days (eighty hours) of donated leave time from the pool in a fiscal year. Recipients employed for one year or more may receive no more than twenty cumulative days (one-hundred sixty hours) of donated leave time from the pool in a fiscal year. A recipient will not be eligible to receive subsequent donations until one year elapsed from when the prior donation was received.
      2. Time received will be converted to sick leave time and added to the recipient’s sick leave accrual.
      3. The recipient retains all donated time. A recipient who recovers more quickly than expected, for example, will not have to return any donated time.
      4. Any employee who received a sick leave donation will have the time deducted from their sick leave balance when determining eligibility for a sick leave payout at retirement.

4. Use of time

   Donated time may be used for the employee’s own personal medical need or to care for a family member’s medical need, as defined by the university sick leave policy.

5. Donating time

   1. Soliciting donations

      Individuals and departments may not solicit donations. UHR will solicit donations for the pool at least one time per fiscal year, or as needed.

   2. Making donations

      Time will be donated via use of the vacation leave donation form.

   3. Applying for donated time

      Time will be requested via use of the vacation leave donation recipient request form.

6. Confidentiality

   The university will make every effort to maintain the confidentiality of donors and recipients as allowed by State of Ohio public records rules.

7. General and departmental information

   1. UHR will review and approve all requests to donate and receive time.
   2. UHR will verify eligibility of a donor or recipient and modify accruals appropriately. In instances where a donation to an individual will exceed the fiscal year limit, UHR will process donations up to the limit only.
   3. Generally, departments and/or supervisors should not prevent an employee from using donated time. Departments or supervisors with concerns regarding use/abuse of sick leave should consult with UHR.
   4. Each July first all time in the pool will be eliminated and new donations will be sought. Eliminated time will not be refunded to donors.
   5. Donations from the pool are made on a “first-requested-first-served” basis.
   6. If the pool has inadequate donated time, UHR will solicit donations. If donated time is not available, donations from the pool will not be made. The pool cannot have a negative balance.
   7. Time is donated and, not pay/funding.
   8. The recipient’s department does not receive funding for the donated time.

Reviewers

Proposed revisions of this policy should be reviewed by:

1. Deans
2. CFAOs
3. Administrative Senate
4. Faculty Senate

Forms, References, and History

1. Forms

   The following forms are specific to this policy:

   1. Donation Form
   2. Request Form

2. References

   The following items are relevant to this policy:

   1. 40.029 Sick and Bereavement Leave for Faculty and Administrative Appointees;
   2. 41.001 Vacation and Winter Closure Time for Administrative; and
   3. 41.010 Faculty and Staff Health and Welfare Benefits.

3. History

   Draft versions of this policy that were circulated for review, their cover memos, their forms, and Reviewers' comments on them are available on the password-protected Review site.

   Prior versions of this policy were approved on:

   1. June 21, 2024 (ESPC approved for interim use in accordance with policy 01.001) 
   2. November 9, 2021
   3. April 24, 2020