Non-Faculty Sick Leave Bank

PURPOSE

The purpose of the non-faculty sick leave bank is to provide emergency sick leave to members of the program who have suffered an unplanned personal illness, injury, disability or quarantine and who have exhausted their personal sick and annual leave.

ADMINISTRATION

Five (5) trustees appointed by the president of Middle Tennessee State University shall administer the non-faculty sick leave bank. At least three (3) of the appointees shall be clerical and support. All appointments shall be for three (3) year terms after an initial appointment of one (1) year for two (2) trustees, two (2) years for two (2) trustees, and three (3) years for one (1) trustee. The trustees will elect a chairman at their first meeting. Trustees shall be eligible for reappointment, and any vacancy resulting from expiration of a term, discontinuation of employment, retirement, resignation, death, or removal by the president of a trustee from the trustee role shall be filled immediately by appointment by the president.

GUIDELINES

1. Participation in the non-faculty sick leave bank will be available to regular full-time and regular part-time, non-faculty, exempt and non-exempt employees whether serving in an academic, fiscal or modified fiscal year appointment (modify). However, a minimum participation of twenty (20) employees shall be required to establish the bank.
   
2. All eligible persons electing to participate in the bank shall initially have the equivalent of two (2) days of sick leave deducted from their personal accumulated sick leave and transferred to the bank. Eligible employees electing to participate shall sign up within forty-five (45) days from the date membership material are initially made available to employees and during the month of October of succeeding years. Donations of sick leave days to the bank are nonrefundable and nontransferable with the following exception. In the event that dissolution of the non-faculty sick leave bank becomes necessary because the institution is closed or because membership in the bank falls below twenty (20) individuals, the total days 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 days each has contributed individually. Days returned and credited to an individual shall be rounded to the nearest on-half (1/2) day or equivalent.
   
3. 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 Tennessee Board of Regents institution or area school, UT or State agency.
   
4. Members of the non-faculty sick leave bank shall be eligible to make application to the bank for sick leave only after having been a member of the bank for thirty (30) calendar days.
   
5. A participant shall not receive any sick leave from the Bank until after having exhausted all accumulated sick and annual leave.
   
6. Leave grants from the Bank, approved by the Trustees, shall not be more than twenty (20) consecutive days for which the individual applicant would have otherwise lost pay. Applicants may submit requests for extension of such leave grants before or after their prior grants expire. The maximum number of days any participant may receive in any fiscal year is sixty (60). The maximum number of days any participant may receive as a result of any one illness, or recurring diagnosed illness or accident is ninety (90).
   
7. In the event a member is physically or mentally unable to make a request to the non-faculty sick leave bank for use of sick leave days, a family member or agent may file the request.
   
8. If the trustees determine it necessary, they may require a certificate of condition from a physician approved by the Board of Trustees from any member requesting leave. Refusal to comply will result in denial of the pending request for use of sick leave days from the bank.
   
9. Grants of bank sick leave shall not be contingent upon repayment of hours used or waiver of other employment benefits or rights.
   
10. Grants of sick leave from the non-faculty sick leave bank shall not be made to any member on account of any elective surgery, illness or death of any member of the participant's family, or during any period the member is receiving disability benefits from social security, a state-sponsored retirement plan, or Board of Claims benefits.
    
11. A member shall lose the right to obtain the benefits of the non-faculty sick leave bank by:
    1. Termination of employment (including retirement)
    2. Cancellation of bank membership
    3. Refusal or inability to honor assessments made by the trustees
    4. Being on approved leave of absence in a non-pay status for reasons other than illness, injury, or disability
       
12. 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.
    
13. 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 non-faculty sick leave bank shall exist separately from the regular sick leave accrued to individual's personal accounts with respect to approvals and appeals; the decisions of the trustees shall not be appealed beyond that body.
    
14. All records and official forms of the Bank and minutes of the trustees meetings shall be maintained in the personnel office. All records shall be subject to audit by appropriate state officials.
    

PROCEDURES

1. Applications to participate in the non-faculty sick leave bank shall be made on official forms prepared and by approved by the Tennessee Board of Regents and filed with the Human Resource Services Office.
   
2. All requests to draw upon the bank must be made upon a Sick Leave Bank Request form and submitted to the trustees within thirty- (30) calendar day of the first date bank usage is requested. A physician's statement, verifying the nature of the illness or injury, and inability of the employee to work, must accompany the application form. In extreme and unusual case, exceptions may be approved.