Emergency Leave Bank Procedure - 63.08.16

College Policy Number/Title:

• 63.08  Employee Leave

The Howard Community College emergency leave bank provides the possibility of paid leave to employees in the event of a serious illness or disability or other situation related to employee or employee’s immediate family members health, as described in this procedure. The definition of immediate family members is defined in procedure 63.08.14, Sick and Disability Leave or Absence.

All full- and part-time budgeted and temporary with benefits employees who are employed in budgeted or temporary with benefits status by the college for one year may elect to participate in the emergency leave bank by contributing four non-refundable sick leave hours each year; the contribution is prorated for part-time employees. Employees are initially eligible to join the emergency leave bank during a 30-calendar-days window immediately after reaching one year of service in a budgeted or temporary with benefits status with the college. Thereafter, eligible employees may only join during yearly open enrollment. An eligible employee who wants to enroll must complete an Emergency Leave Bank Enrollment Form, which is available on the office of human resources portal page.

Employees who join during an open enrollment must retroactively contribute four hours of leave for each year during which they would have been eligible for membership and continue to contribute in subsequent years. The college does require more than four hours be donated per year but may reduce or eliminate ongoing required donations by members if the bank’s balance is deemed sufficient to meet needs. Once enrolled, an employee remains a member of the emergency leave bank until they use all allowable leave from the bank or formally request to separate from it. An employee who requests to separate from the leave bank does not recoup any donated leave.

Employees have no vested ownership in their sick leave since the actual expense of the absent employee is borne by the department, not by contributing employees. An overriding guideline is that the procedure is administered in an equitable and consistent manner for all employees. The college retains the right to limit the number of emergency leave days that can be withdrawn from the emergency leave bank in any fiscal year and may also suspend or terminate the emergency leave bank's operation in whole or in part. If the board of trustees terminates the operation of the emergency leave bank, all accumulated leave balances will be distributed to current members on a prorated basis taking into consideration the amount left in the balance, if any, and the amount each employee contributed.

Membership in the emergency leave bank does not guarantee that each request for emergency leave will be granted. Decisions concerning the use of leave from the emergency leave bank are determined by a team of human resources employees, including the vice president of talent, inclusion and workplace culture and chief human resources officer, after consultation with an employee’s supervisor. Requests are considered upon application by the employee. Applicants must be a contributing member of the emergency leave bank. All requests are considered in a confidential manner. An employee may appeal the decision made by the office of human resources to their area vice president, or to the president for the areas that report directly to the president.

Criteria for consideration include the following:

• • • The employee must have depleted all personal, sick, and annual leave prior to withdrawing any leave from the leave bank.
    • Use of leave from the leave bank is limited to situations that fall under the Family and Medical Leave Act, such as serious health conditions of the employee or an immediate family member or bonding with a new child in the first year after birth, adoption, or foster care placement. The emergency leave bank is not designed to cover routine family illnesses or circumstances. Leave without pay may be an option in a situation of a non-emergency nature. More information can be found in procedure 63.08.15, Family and Medical Leave Act.
    • In the case of employee injury or illness, the emergency leave bank may be used to cover the five-day unpaid period prior to the start of short-term disability (STD) leave. If the employee is still unable to work after using the full allotment of STD leave, additional allowable hours from the leave bank, up to the maximum described in this procedure, is used prior to a request for long-term disability (LTD) leave.
    • The employee must provide a physician's certification or other appropriate documentation for the employee or immediate family member.
    • The procedure must be administered in an equitable and consistent manner for all employees.
    • The employee must demonstrate a responsible use of leave over their tenure at the college, in the judgment of the emergency leave bank team.

Members of the emergency leave bank must request use of the emergency leave bank on a college request for leave form, which can be found on the human resources portal page. The request is submitted to the office of human resources for consideration. If request for leave is foreseeable, the employee must request leave as soon as is practicable prior to the leave being used. If the request for leave is not foreseeable then the request should be made as soon as possible.

The maximum amount of leave that can be awarded from the emergency leave bank to any one employee during their tenure with the college is 20 working days, prorated for part-time budgeted or temporary with benefits employees. In extraordinary circumstances, an appeal for an additional 20 working days may be requested in writing, for a maximum of 40 working days during an employee’s tenure. Appeals outlining the extraordinary circumstances should be sent to the office of human resources, which will consult with the employee’s supervisor and area vice president, or the president for the areas that report directly to the president, prior to making a decision.

When an employee leaves employment with the college, membership in the emergency leave bank ceases and any contributions remain with the emergency leave bank.

The compensation amount for days of emergency leave bank leave is equal to the compensation benefit under the college's short-term disability policy and procedures in effect at the time leave is taken. College-provided benefits continue during use of the emergency leave bank.

As with any other leaves granted under the Family and Medical Leave Act, such leave runs concurrently with any emergency leave granted.

There is no leave sequence or accrual of leave while an employee uses leave from the emergency leave bank.

Effective Date: 08/26/22

President's Office Use: CHRO