MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING Sick Leave Bank

MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING

BETWEEN

AMERICAN FEDERATION OF STATE, COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES,

DISTRICT COUNCIL 5, LOCAL NO. 844 (AFSCME)

REGARDING SICK LEAVE BANK

SECTION 1. Eligibility to donate sick leave

To be eligible to donate sick leave under this Bank, the employee must:

1. Be a regular full-time or part-time member of the bargaining unit who is eligible for plan benefits;

2. Have an accumulated sick leave balance sufficient, at the employee’s FTE, to carry the employee through 720 hours; and

3. Not have submitted a resignation or retirement to the District prior to making the donation.

SECTION 2. Eligibility to receive sick leave

1. To be eligible to receive sick leave under this Bank, the employee must:

a. Be a regular full-time or part-time member of the bargaining unit who is eligible for benefits. Employees meeting these criteria who are on a district-approved medical leave of absence are also eligible

b. Have exhausted her/his accumulated sick leave and all other paid leave, such as accrued vacation, if applicable, at the time the recipient requests a donation from the Bank

c. Be eligible for leave under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) prior to the beginning of the need for donated sick leave

d. Not be receiving benefits from Workers Compensation or Social Security

e. Not be receiving long term disability benefits

f. Not be serving a disciplinary suspension

g. Not have submitted a resignation or retirement to the District

h. Must have a serious medical condition or need leave to care for the serious medical condition of the employee’s spouse, parent or member of the employee’s household

i. Due to the serious health condition, need a prolonged absence from duty and suffer a substantial loss of income

2. Definitions:

a. A “serious health condition” has the same meaning as in 29 C.F.R. §825.113(a) of the FMLA regulations, except that elective surgeries and minor illnesses are not covered as serious health conditions

b. A “substantial loss of income” means the employee has exhausted all paid leave available and has been unpaid for five (5) duty days at the employee’s usual FTE

SECTION 3. Process for Donation

1. To donate sick leave to the Bank, an eligible employee must complete a sick leave contribution form and submit the completed form to Human Resources.

2. Contributions must be made in whole hour increments and may not exceed eighty (80) total hours during the time the donor is employed by the District.

3. Donations, once made and processed by Human Resources are irrevocable.

4. Donations are not taxed to the donor and are not tax deductible.

5. Days donated are donated at the donor employee’s regular rate of pay.

SECTION 4. Application for Benefits

To receive sick leave from the Bank, an eligible employee must complete a sick leave donation form and submit the completed form to Human Resources. Employees are required to provide medical documentation of their eligibility. Updated documentation of the serious medical condition must be provided by the employee upon request by Human Resources.

SECTION 5. Sick Leave Bank Benefit

1. Sick leave time received may only be used on a prospective basis beginning with the first day following determination of eligibility. Sick leave time received shall not be used for a back period or for periods of unpaid time.

2. A recipient may not receive more paid time under this Bank than they would otherwise receive if they were working. For example, non-contracted work days shall not be compensated nor shall an employee receive pay for days or hours in excess of their FTE.

3. A recipient’s pay will continue to be taxed in accordance with state and federal tax tables, and all authorized deductions will continue to be deducted from the recipient’s paycheck.

4. Recipients shall not accrue additional sick leave based on hours received from the Bank.

5. Any use of the Bank will run concurrent with leave under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Use of the Bank will not extend the FMLA period.

6. Hours received are paid at the eligible recipient’s regular rate of pay.

7. In no case shall the benefit received through the Bank exceed 480 total hours at the employee’s FTE during the time the recipient is employed by the District.

8. In the case of an employee receiving a donation due to the need to care for the serious medical condition of the employee’s spouse, parent or member of the employee’s household, the maximum benefit received shall not exceed the time permitted in Article 9, pursuant to M.S. §181.9413.

SECTION 6. Administration of the Bank

1. The identities of donors and recipients are private data consistent with the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act. The recipients of sick leave from this Bank shall not be informed of the identities of the donors and donors may not be informed about the identity of recipients nor shall donors be allowed to designate specific recipients for their donation. Employees shall not intimidate, threaten, or coerce any other employee with respect to donating or receiving leave under this Bank.

2. The Bank shall be administered by the District’s Human Resource Department subject to the terms of this Memorandum. The decisions of the District in administering the Bank are final and not subject to the grievance procedure.

3. Donated hours shall be distributed to eligible recipients on a first-come, first-served basis and in no case may the number of distributed hours exceed the number of hours donated. If more than one qualifying request is received on the same day and insufficient donations exist in the Bank, existing Bank donations will be divided equally among the qualified recipients.

4. Any recipient found to have provided fraudulent information shall be immediately removed from the program, subject to disciplinary action, required to repay money received from the program, and criminal prosecution may be pursued.

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