| 4.27 Voluntary Shared Leave |
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I. Rule |
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The Board of Trustees
intends that the employees of Central Piedmont Community College engage
in voluntary shared leave as specified by
North Carolina General Statutes 115D-25.3.
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| II. Policy |
| In cases of a prolonged medical condition, eligible employees may apply for or be nominated to become a recipient of leave transferred from the sick, vacation, or bonus leave of other employees within Central Piedmont Community College. Community college workers may voluntarily share leave with a co-worker; an immediate family member who is an employee of a community college, public school, or state agency; or with a co-worker's immediate family member who is an employee of a community college, public school, or state agency. |
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III. Definitions
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| For purposes of this policy: |
| A. A medical condition means a medical condition of an employee or an employee's immediate family member that is likely to require an employee's absence from duty for a prolonged period of at least twenty consecutive workdays. If the employee has had previous random absences for the same or a different condition within the previous twelve months, an exception to the twenty-day period may be made. Human Resources will review each case and make a decision based on conformity to policy intent. | |
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| B. Non-qualifying conditions apply to short-term or sporadic conditions or illnesses. Examples would include, but are not limited to such things as sporadic, short-term recurrences of chronic allergies or conditions; short-term absences due to contagious diseases; or short-term medical or therapeutic treatments. |
| C. Immediate family member means a spouse, parent, child, brother, sister, grandparent, or grandchild, including step, half, and in-law relationships. |
| D. Co-worker means that the employee donating the leave is employed by the same agency, department, institution, university, local school administrative unit, or community college as the employee whose co-worker or immediate family member is receiving the leave. |
| IV. Leave Guidelines |
| A. Leave must be voluntarily "donated" to a specifically-named individual from a fellow employee's sick, vacation, or bonus leave account. |
| B. Any coercion of an employee to contribute time to or receive time from this account is expressly forbidden, and any such action by an employee upon another employee shall be grounds for disciplinary action up to and including dismissal on the basis of personal conduct. |
| C. The employee donating leave cannot receive remuneration for the leave donated. |
| D. Individual leave records are confidential and only individual employees may reveal their donation or receipt of leave time. An employee may choose to have his/her identity disclosed in the request to the College community. |
| V. Recipient Guidelines |
| A. A prospective recipient may make application or be nominated for voluntary shared leave at such time as medical evidence is available to support the need for leave beyond the employee's available accumulated leave. |
| B. The maximum number of hours an employee may receive in any consecutive twelve-month period is 174. This benefit shall be granted to all employees on a month-by-month basis by management either continuously, or if for the same condition, on a recurring basis if management would have otherwise granted leave without pay. |
| C. An employee may begin using voluntary shared leave after all available sick, vacation, and bonus leave has been exhausted. While using voluntary shared leave, the employee continues to earn leave; when accounting for leave, this vacation and sick leave should be used first. |
| D. An employee who has a medical condition and who receives benefits from the Disability Income Plan of North Carolina (DIPNC) or the CPCC Short-Term Disability Plan held for its employees is not eligible to participate in the voluntary shared leave program. However, voluntary shared leave may be used during the required waiting period for short-term disability. |
| E. An employee on Workers' Compensation leave who is drawing temporary total disability compensation may be eligible to participate in this program, but would be limited to use according to the supplemental leave schedule issued by the North Carolina Office of State Personnel. |
| F. This shared leave shall be counted toward the recipient employee's Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) benefit. |
| G. At the expiration of the medical condition, as determined by the College, any unused donated leave in the recipient's donated leave account in excess of 40 hours shall be returned to the donor(s) on a pro rata basis and credited to the leave account from which it was donated. Fractions of an hour shall not be returned to an individual donor. |
| H. If a recipient separates from the College or provides notice of intent to separate due to resignation or retirement, participation in the program ends. Donated leave shall be returned to donor(s) on a pro rata basis. |
| VI. Donor Guidelines |
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A. A prospective donor must complete an
application to
donate voluntary shared leave. The minimum amount of time that may
be donated is four hours.
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| B. Donors under this program may donate up to a maximum of 56 hours each during a given fiscal year but may not reduce their own sick leave accounts below 40 hours. |
| VII. Leave Accounting Procedures |
| A. Leave may be donated to a specific individual for the duration of the extended leave so as to allow the recipient's leave account to be periodically "refreshed" up to the maximum 174 hours as previously stated. |
| B. All leave donated shall be credited to the recipient's sick leave account. Voluntary shared leave available in the recipient's sick leave account will be charged according to Policy 4.17 Sick Leave. |
| C. Leave transferred under this program will be available for use on a current basis. |
| D. Each approved medical condition shall stand alone, and donated leave not used for each approved incident shall be returned to the donor(s). | |