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Palm Beach State College Board Procedure
Title: Sick Leave Pool Procedure
Policy Number: 6Hx-18-5.031P
Legal Authority: 1012.865 FS
Date Adopted/Amended:
Purpose
The Sick Leave Pool is intended to be used by eligible employees to assist in covering the gap between the exhaustion of all accumulated paid leave and the ninety (90) calendar day waiting period until disability insurance benefits may become effective.
Eligibility Requirements
Eligible full-time employees may submit a Sick Leave Pool Enrollment Form during the sick pool open enrollment which typically occurs in the month of October each year. As deemed appropriate, the Chief Human Resource Officer may authorize open enrollment periods at any time for all eligible employees. The initial contribution required from an employee’s accumulated sick leave to join the Pool is as follows:
- Sixteen (16) hours for employees who work forty (40) hours per week;
- 14 hours for non-bargaining unit employees who work 35 hours per week; and
- 10.5 hours for bargaining unit members who work a 168-day contract.
All employees who join the Pool must have a balance of 40 hours of unused sick leave after the initial donation to the Pool.
All members shall place hours contributed to the Pool in a single account for use. No contribution for the benefit of a specific individual, illness or position will be accepted. Sick leave may not be advanced for the purpose of contributing to the Pool. No individual may join the Pool while on sick leave.
Executive Committee
A Sick Leave Executive Committee, shall consist of four sick pool participants ideally from different campuses, and a representative from the Office of Human Resources to assist with administration of the Pool. The representative from the Office of Human Resources, may request pool participants to serve as executive committee members. Members of the executive committee will be required to sign a confidentiality agreement to keep all employee medical information confidential and successfully complete the College’s privacy training. A Pool member who is not satisfied with the decision of the Executive Committee regarding the granting of leave from the Pool may appeal the decision to the Chief Human Resources Officer. The decision of the Chief Human Resources Officer regarding the granting of leave from the Pool is final. The Executive Committee may request Human Resources investigate alleged abuse of the Pool. If there is a finding of wrongdoing, the offending member will be required to repay all sick leave days drawn from the Pool and will be subject to removal from the Pool by the Executive Committee and may be subject to further college disciplinary action.
Use of the Sick Pool
A member of the Pool can request time from the Pool in full day increments if they cannot return to work because of a serious health condition, as defined under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and the employee has exhausted all accrued leave.
A member of the Pool may withdraw a maximum of sixty (60) days during any twelve (12) month period in increments of twenty (20) days or less and may withdraw from the pool a maximum of ninety (90) days within any three consecutive years of employment. The twelve-month period will commence on the day an employee first draws from the Pool.
A contractual employee is limited to drawing time from the Pool in accordance with their contract. For example, a 168 day faculty member cannot use the Pool during the summer terms.
Sick leave requested from the Pool can only be used for the member’s own personal illness, accident, or injury that renders them unable to work. Members are expected to return to work if accommodations can be made by the College. Sick leave may not be withdrawn for the purpose of childcare, the care of other family members, elective procedures, or recovery from childbirth.
Members who would like to withdraw sick leave from the Pool must complete the Sick Leave Pool Request Form and provide medical documentation to the Office of Human Resources. Upon receipt of the information, the Human Resource Committee Representative will convene the Executive Committee to review the request. If necessary, the Executive Committee may require further medical documentation. The employee will be informed of the decision within 5 working days of the meeting. If an employee requests additional increments, the Executive Committee may also request further medical documentation.
An employee who is absent while using leave time withdrawn from the Pool is treated for all purposes the same as an absent employee on earned sick or vacation leave and will continue to accrue sick and annual leave. Sick leave and vacation leave will be used as earned before additional days from the pool are used. Participants who are eligible for payment under worker’s compensation or disability are not eligible to receive sick leave from the Pool. Employees with disability coverage must apply for disability benefits before requesting time form the pool. In no event shall Pool days be provided for absences beyond the 90th calendar day of disability.
Replenishment of the Pool
The pool will be assessed each January to ensure that the balance in the Pool does not fall below 240 hours. If a replenishment is necessary to bring the pool above 239 hours, all participants in the pool are required to contribute one sick day for replenishment of the Pool. Replenishment will be processed within 10 working days of written notification to the participants. If a member’s individual sick leave balance is below 8 hours at the time of assessment, the participant shall contribute the balance of their share of the replenishment upon accrual of additional sick leave.
At separation, sick pool members may make a request to donate a portion of their eligible payable sick hours to the pool in lieu payment.
Termination of Membership
Participating employees may resign from the Pool at any time upon a written request to the benefits department. Withdrawal will be effective within 10 working days from the time the request is received.
Termination of membership will also occur upon termination of employment from the College.
All contributions to the Pool and rights to receive sick leave from the Pool shall be forfeited with termination of membership.
In the event the Pool is disbanded, all hours remaining at the time of said action shall be distributed to the members of the Pool equally, without regard to length of membership or previous use of the Pool.