FILE:  GBRIBB

Cf:  GBRIB

 

SICK LEAVE BANK

 

 

The LaSalle Parish School Board recognizes that major illnesses and catastrophic injuries may warrant the need for additional sick leave by an employee.  The Board shall create and maintain a Sick Leave Bank which provides an opportunity for employees to donate sick leave days, which in turn may be used by employees

 

 

A catastrophic illness, disability or injury is defined as a severe condition or combination of conditions that (a) affect the physical or mental health of the employee or members of the employees' immediate family; (b) result in a life-threatening or life function altering condition; and (c) require an extended period of absence from work.  Such life functions include, but are not limited to, loss of physical senses, loss of physiological processes or loss of limb.  Pregnancy is not considered a catastrophic illness. However, complications resulting from pregnancy may be considered catastrophic.

 

Contribution of sick leave days from employees shall be made directly to the Sick Leave Bank and not directly to individual employees.  Three (3) separate accounts shall be established within the Sick Leave Bank: one for teachers and administrators, one for bus operators, and one for other school employees.  Contributions to the Sick Leave Bank shall be credited to the appropriate account depending on the classification of the donor.

 

PARTICIPATION IN THE SICK LEAVE BANK

 

All full-time active employees who are eligible for sick leave and who have completed one (1) year of continuous service with the LaSalle Parish School Board shall be eligible to participate in the Sick Leave Bank.  Eligibility to participation shall be contingent on the following:

 

  1. Annual participation in the Sick Leave Bank shall be voluntary, but requires contributions to the bank.  Contributions shall be made at the Annual Open Enrollment Period in August of each year.  Eligible employees who do not elect to join the Sick Leave Bank within the annual enrollment period shall not be permitted to join until the subsequent Annual Open Enrollment Period.

  2. To become a member of the Sick Leave Bank for FY 2012-13, an employee must complete a Sick Leave Bank Membership Enrollment Form and contribute one (1) day from his/her current or accumulated sick leave for the current school year during the specially designated Annual Open Enrollment Period.  For all subsequent years, the employee shall complete and submit the Enrollment Form during the Annual Open Enrollment Period each year.  No member shall be permitted to contribute more than one (1) sick leave day and no fractional days may be donated.  This day will be subtracted from the member's sick leave record and become the property of the Sick Leave Bank.  Once executed, all contributions are irrevocable.

  3. Continued participation in subsequent fiscal years is required annually.  Eligible employees must complete a Sick Leave Bank Membership Enrollment Form and contribute one (1) day from his/her accumulated sick leave days.  No member shall be required or permitted to contribute more than one (1) sick leave day per fiscal year.  However, if at any time, a Sick Leave Bank account drops below thirty (30) days, a one (1) week window shall be opened for additional deposits of days by members of the Bank, not to exceed five (5) days of donated sick leave per member.  No fractional days may be donated.

  4. Only contributors to the bank shall be eligible to apply for the use of sick leave days from the Sick Leave Bank for payment for qualifying extended illness during regularly scheduled duty days, and beyond all other available leave options (i.e. sick leave, personal leave, annual leave, extended sick leave).

  5. Enrollment in the Sick Leave Bank does not guarantee that an employee shall receive benefits from the Sick Leave Bank.  Each request for withdrawal of sick leave days shall be evaluated and a decision made on a case-by-case basis.

  6. A member of the Sick Leave Bank shall lose the right to apply and be eligible for receipt of sick leave days by:

 

 

ELIGIBILITY FOR WITHDRAWAL OF BENEFITS

 

The Sick Leave Bank is not intended to be used for short-term leaves due to routine and non-extraordinary illnesses, nor for time off covered by or related to Worker's Compensation.  Rather it is intended to be used for prolonged catastrophic illnesses, injury, or disability such as a medically necessary surgery, illness or disability which requires hospitalization and/or convalescence or recuperation in an extended care facility or at home while under the care of a licensed physician.

 

  1. Use of the Sick Leave Bank shall be limited to the number of days in the bank on the established contribution deadlines of each year.

  2. Only current and active employees of the School Board who are members of the Sick Leave Bank are eligible to receive sick leave days from the Bank.

  3. Pre-existing conditions known to exist by the employee on or before the date of joining the Sick Leave Bank shall not be covered until one (1) year from the date of the employee's initial enrollment.

  4. A member requesting use of the sick leave days from the Sick Leave Bank shall be required to sign a statement attesting to the fact that the condition, which necessitated the request for days from the Bank, was unknown to the employee at the time he/she became a member of the Bank.  A doctor's verification shall also be required.  In case a contributor's incapacity is of such a nature that he/she cannot personally apply for the needed sick leave days, his/her application may be submitted to the Committee by his/her agent or member of his/her immediate family member.  Requests may be submitted before the employee runs out of sick leave.

  5. The maximum number days that can be granted to and withdrawn by any one member in each fiscal year shall be thirty (30) sick leave days, if available from the Bank.  Sick Leave Bank days shall be granted only for absences from working days and shall not be granted for holidays, vacation days or other such days for which the member is not paid.  Employees who withdraw sick leave days shall not be required to pay back those days except as a regular contributing member to the Bank.

  6. An illness or injury does not qualify for coverage through the Sick Leave Bank unless it will require the employee to be absent for a minimum of five (5) consecutive working days.

  7. Members must use all available sick leave, personal leave, accrued vacation leave (if applicable), extended sick leave, or any other type of leave for which qualified before receiving days from the Bank.  A member who suffers a qualifying catastrophic illness, which extends at least five (5) consecutive days beyond the available leave, may apply for a grant from the Sick Leave Bank on the appropriate form.

  8. If a Bank member is granted sick leave days from the Sick Leave Bank and does not use all of the days, the unused sick leave days shall be returned to the Bank.

  9. The Sick Leave Bank may only be used for the contributor's own personal catastrophic illness or for illnesses of members of the employee's immediate family (spouse, son, daughter, or parent).

  10. Sick leave days from the Sick Leave Bank may not be used for a disability that qualifies the member for Workmen's Compensation benefits or disability retirement.

  11. A catastrophic illness may require intermittent usage of the Bank. Each separate application for a grant of days from the Sick Leave Bank must include a new physician's statement on the appropriate Sick Leave Bank Request for Days Form.

  12. Normal pregnancy with normal delivery shall not be covered under this Sick Leave Bank policy.  Any absences associated with complicated pregnancies shall only be eligible for Sick Leave Bank consideration according to the following guidelines:

 

    1. Any days absent prior to the birth of the employee’s child, with a doctor's written and signed verification of the complicating condition and the need to be off work shall be eligible for consideration.

    2. Any days beyond six (6) weeks after the birth of the employee’s child with a doctor's written and signed verification of the complicating condition and the need to be off work may be eligible for consideration.

 

  1. Conditions of addictions or the abuse of drugs, alcohol or other prohibited substances shall not be covered under the Sick Leave Bank policy.

  2. All requests to draw upon the Sick Leave Bank must be made on a Sick Leave Bank Request for Days Form and submitted to the Superintendent within thirty (30) calendar days of the date first eligible for a grant.

  3. All requests to draw upon the Sick Leave Bank must be accompanied by the Physician's Statement Form confirming the cause of the catastrophic illness or confinement and certifying the existence of a disability to perform assigned duties.  The employee's physician must personally sign the form.  The Committee shall not honor any physician's statement unless it is on the official Physician's Statement Form or if it is signed with a stamp or facsimile signature.

  4. The Committee reserves the right to ask the applicant to undergo a medical review by a second opinion physician.  This physician's report is to be sent directly to the office of the Superintendent who shall then submit it to members of the Committee for action.

 

SICK LEAVE BANK COMMITTEE

 

The Superintendent, the Director of Business Services, and the supervisor of the employee requesting a grant of sick leave shall serve on the Sick Leave Bank Committee.  The chair of the Committee shall be the Superintendent.  The Committee shall review and determine approval or denial for utilization of Sick Leave Bank days in accordance with the provisions of this policy.

 

A majority vote of the members of the Sick Leave Bank Committee shall be necessary to approve a member's request.  A decision on a member's request may be made by a quorum of the Committee in the event that one or more members are not available to participate in the review.  The Committee shall notify the employee of its decision to approve or to deny the request within fifteen (15) days of the receipt of the request.  The Committee's decision shall be final and binding, and such decisions shall not be subject to review by the School Board or subject to the Board's grievance procedures.

 

FORMS AND RECORD KEEPING

 

  1. The Business Department shall maintain all records regarding operation of the Sick Leave Bank.

  2. All Sick Leave Bank Membership Enrollment Forms. Sick Leave Bank Request for Days Forms, and Physician's Statement Forms shall be kept up-to-date by the Business Department and shall be available on the LaSalle Parish School Board's website.

  3. Copies of all completed forms shall be kept on file by the Business Department. Sick Leave Bank Membership  Enrollment Form(s) shall be checked for full-time employee status and who have been employed continuously for at least one (1) year within the district.

 

EXCLUSIONS AND LIMITATIONS

 

The LaSalle Parish School Board reserves the right to amend the Sick Leave Bank program at any time.

 

Sick Leave Bank days, not to exceed one-hundred (100) days per bank, shall be carried over from one school year to another or from one fiscal year to another, if available.

 

In no case shall the withdrawal of Sick Leave Bank days cause a member to receive more salary than his/her annual salary.

 

New policy:  July, 2012

Revised:  September, 2012

Revised:  October, 2012

 

 

Ref:    La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§17:81, 17:500.2, 17:1202, 17:1205, 17:1206.2

La. Civil Code, Art. 1541, Art. 1542, Art. 1833

Board minutes, 8-6-12, 9-10-12, 10-2-12

 

LaSalle Parish School Board