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24.1 Introduction
In accordance with amended TCA, Section 8-50-925, a Faculty Sick Leave Bank was established August 1, 1984 to provide additional sick leave to members who due to serious illness or injury have exhausted all of their personal sick leave and annual leave, if applicable, in accordance with TBR and University leave policies. The establishment of the sick leave bank required a minimum of 20 eligible employees who agreed to be assessed a specified number of accrued sick leave hours to a common pool and approval by the University President.
24.2 Eligibility
Participation in the sick leave bank is available to regular full-time and regular part-time employees who hold faculty rank. To enroll an employee must have enough accumulated leave for the initial assessment. Employees with pre-existing illnesses are eligible for enrollment, but their participation will be restricted to a maximum number of hours that can be withdrawn due to a reoccurrence or a pre-existing condition.
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 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 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 the additional assessments charged by the Faculty Sick Leave Bank since its establishment, shall lose the right to request bank sick leave, in accordance with Employee Benefits, Section 24.4.7. All records regarding prior usage of bank sick leave will be made available to the Faculty Sick Leave Bank trustees.
24.3 Administration
The President appoints five trustees to administer the sick leave bank plan according to the plan of operation.
24.3.1 Trustees
The five trustees must consist of a minimum of three faculty who devote a majority of their time to classroom instruction. The remaining trustees may be members of the administrative staff.
A. Initial appointments were as follows: two trustees served for one year, two trustees for two years, and one trustee for three years. Thereafter, all appointments are for three years. Current trustees are eligible for reappointment. Any vacancy resulting from expiration of a term, discontinuation of employment, retirement, death, resignation, or removal by the President of a trustee from the trustee role shall be filled immediately by appointment by the President. A chairperson shall be elected by the trustees. Upon expiration of the chairperson's term as trustee, an election will be held to elect a new chairperson. A chairperson may be reelected.
B. The trustees shall approve or reject requests for withdrawal of leave from the bank. They shall adopt reasonable rules for assessment of sick leave hours in order to maintain an adequate reserve of sick leave hours for bank members. The 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 a total membership and projected membership 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.
All action by the trustees requires three (3) affirmative votes for approval.
24.4 Sick Leave Bank Plan
The plan of operation includes the following provisions:
24.4.1 An employee must have been a member of the bank for thirty (30) calendar days prior to applying for withdrawal of bank sick leave. The bank member's supervisor shall be informed of any request for bank leave prior to approval by the trustees. A physician's statement must accompany the request and must include the following information:
A. Nature and cause of the disability
B. The expected duration
C. Prognosis as to ability to return to work
D. When first treated; is this a recurring disability.
Refusal to submit the physician's statement will result in denial of the request for bank sick leave.
24.4.2 A bank member's sick leave and annual leave, if applicable, must be exhausted prior to receiving bank sick leave.
24.4.3 Bank sick leave shall not be used for:
A. Elective surgery
B. Worker's compensation claims
C. Illness or death or any member of the individual's family
D. A period during when the individual is receiving disability benefits from social security or a state-sponsored retirement or disability plan.
Approved bank sick leave will run concurrently with FMLA leave for an eligible employee who has not already exhausted the 12 work week entitlement.
24.4.4 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 of twenty (20) consecutive days for which the applicant would have otherwise lost pay. Subsequent grants of bank sick leave shall not exceed the hourly equivalent 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 which has been donated by other employees if he/she has made application for bank sick leave and the necessity for bank leave is substantiated by the trustees. Should bank leave be denied, the bank member shall be eligible to receive donations from other employees.
24.4.5 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 leave 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.
24.4.6 Grants of bank sick leave shall not be contingent upon repayment of hours used or waiver of other employment benefits or rights.
24.4.7 A bank member shall lose the right to request bank sick leave upon termination of employment, retirement, cancellation of bank membership, refusal to submit a physician's statement, refusal to honor the trustees' assessment, and upon going on a leave of absence in a non-pay status for reasons other than illness, injury or disability. A bank member's inability to honor the trustees' assessment will result in temporary loss of the right to withdraw bank sick leave. This right will be restored upon transfer of the individual's personal sick leave assessment to the sick leave bank.
24.4.8 A bank member may cancel his or her membership at any time during the year upon written notification to the trustees.
24.4.9 Assessed sick leave is non-refundable upon cancellation of membership and non-transferable upon transfer to another TBR institution, technology center, UT institution or state agency.
24.4.10 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.
24.4.11 The trustees shall approve or reject all requests for bank sick leave within ten (10) calendar days of receipt of the request.
24.4.12 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 appealable beyond that body.
24.4.13 All official forms and records pertaining to the sick leave bank and formal minutes of the trustees' meetings will be maintained in the Human Resource Services Office. All records shall be subject to audit by appropriate state officials.
24.4.14 The initial enrollment period began with notification to employees of the bank's establishment. This enrollment period lasted forty-five (45) calendar days. Subsequent annual enrollment periods will be during the month of October. Enrollment forms and guidelines will be made available to eligible employees along with notification of the bank's establishment.
24.4.15 The effective date of the bank was August 1, 1984.
24.4.16 All eligible employees who elect to join the bank shall be assessed a number of sick leave hours equivalent to two (2) days as the initial enrollment assessment. The assessment of sick leave shall be deducted from the individual's personal accumulated sick leave.
24.4.17 Subsequent assessments will be made in order to maintain a minimum balance in the bank's reserves. This minimum balance is set at forty (40) days and is subject to modification by the trustees. The amount of subsequent assessments will depend upon the balance in the bank's reserves and the number of members. However, a maximum of three (3) days will be assessed for any one assessment.
24.4.18 Upon cancellation of membership, a former member must meet the initial assessment in order to rejoin the bank and may rejoin only during the annual enrollment period.
24.4.19 A restriction on pre-existing illnesses limits the number of hours that may be withdrawn for a particular pre-existing condition to the equivalent of thirty (30) days during any fiscal year or forty-five (45) days for any one pre-existing condition.
24.4.20 The following official forms 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
D. Notice to Sick Leave Bank Member of Assessment of Sick Leave Days
24.5 Amendments
Amendments to these guidelines may be made by an affirmative vote of three trustees and approval by the President.
24.6 Dissolution of the Bank
The sick leave bank shall be dissolved if the institution is closed or if the bank membership falls below twenty (20) individuals. Upon dissolution for insufficient membership, the total hours on deposit shall be returned to 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 individually.
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