Northland Pioneer College has established a catastrophic sick leave bank from which contracted employees may draw leave under the conditions and restrictions outlined below.
Contributions to Catastrophic Sick Leave Bank.
Employees who wish to contribute to the catastrophic sick leave bank program may contribute one (1) day per fiscal year of their accumulated sick leave to the bank. This contribution must be made prior to October 1 by submitting an authorization letter/email to the Human Resource Office. Except as described below employees may not request reimbursement of donated sick leave days. Contributed sick leave days which are unused at the time an employee terminates his/her employment with the college will be removed from the catastrophic sick leave bank. Additionally, the college President may petition college employees for additional contributions as needed.
Eligibility.
Only employees with at least one full year of employment, who have contributed to the bank as outlined and who have depleted their sick leave, vacation, and personal leave balances shall be eligible to receive consideration for sick leave from the bank. To be eligible to receive consideration for sick leave from the bank, an employee must either:
- Contribute to the bank during the year in which they make a request for consideration.
- Contribute at least three days to the bank during any years prior to the year in which they make a request for consideration.
Contributing three or more days to the bank does not guarantee that days will be available in the bank at the time the employee makes a request for consideration.
Requests for Use.
All requests for sick leave from the bank must be in writing and must be addressed to the Chief Human Resource Officer. Requests may be submitted and approved anytime. The requests must include the reasons for the request, written verification from the employee’s physician indicating the nature and severity of the illness or health problem along with the projected recovery date, and the number of sick leave days requested.
Criteria for Consideration.
Severe, extended illnesses and catastrophic medical problems of an employee will be considered for leave withdrawals from the bank. Illnesses or medical problems of a short-term nature shall not be considered. Life-threatening illnesses or severe accidents requiring extended recovery periods will be given first priority. Withdrawals from the bank shall be considered for purposes related to the employee's own illness or medical problem and may be extended to care for immediate family members or dependents, when such family members or dependents are ill, injured or require the employee's assistance in traveling to doctor's appointments. Immediate family members are defined as husband, wife, son, daughter, mother, father, mother-in-law, father-in-law, grandparent, grandparent-in-law, grandchild, sister, sister-in-law, brother, brother-in-law, or other individual who is claimed by the employee as a dependent on his/her federal income tax form as defined in Procedure 2738 and Procedure 2742. The decision to award sick leave from the bank will be made by the college President or his/her designee.
Maximum Use.
Withdrawals from the bank shall not exceed 100 leave days per employee during any consecutive 12-month period. In addition, bank withdrawals shall not exceed 100 days cumulatively for the same illness, medical condition or recovery. The college President reserves the right to approve requests, deny requests, or to approve only a portion of the leave days requested.
Restrictions and Exclusions.
The catastrophic sick leave bank shall not be overdrawn. If insufficient leave days are available in the bank to cover withdrawal requests, the requests shall be denied regardless of severity or need. Employees who receive leave days from the bank based on falsified, untrue, or misleading requests and/or physicians verifications shall be required to reimburse the college for leave days granted and used.
