Alexander County, NC

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Shared Pool Leave

The purpose of this policy is to allow employees to donate sick leave/vacation to the Shared Leave Pool to benefit other
employees who are unable to work due to a prolonged catastrophic illness or injury or the prolonged catastrophic illness
or injury of an immediate family member whose condition requires the presence of an employee to meet their needs.

Guidelines

The following guidelines are established to govern the donation and receipt of sick leave/vacation to/from the Shared Leave Pool:

  1. Employees who wish to donate sick leave/vacation or to be eligible to receive sick leave from the Shared Leave Pool must be a member of the Shared Leave Pool.
  2. Employees must have completed one (1) full year of employment with Alexander County to be eligible for membership in the Shared Leave Pool. Membership is limited to full time employees or part time employees eligible for benefits.
  3. Membership in the Shared Leave Pool requires that each member donate a minimum of four (4) hours of accumulated sick leave/vacation to the Shared Leave Pool each year. Further, no employee may donate more than ninety-six (96) hours of accumulated sick leave/vacation per year to the Shared Leave Pool.
  4. Donation of more than the obligatory four (4) hours per year of sick leave/vacation must be approved by the Department Head of the donating employee.
  5. Donation of accumulated sick leave/vacation to the Shared Leave Pool over-and-above the obligatory four (4) hours per year is strictly voluntary. No employee may directly solicit a donation of accumulated sick leave/vacation from another employee.
  6. Employees making a donation, including the obligatory four (4) hours of sick leave/vacation per year, must sign a release form. Release forms will be maintained in the employee’s personnel file.
  7. Sick leave/vacation donated to the Shared Leave Pool is irrevocable.
  8. Sick leave/vacation donated to the Alexander County Shared Leave Pool by any employee may not be returned to the employee in the event of termination of employment whether the termination is voluntary, involuntary, or due to retirement.
  9. No other compensable benefits may be available to any employee receiving a donation of sick leave from the Shared Leave Pool. Compensable benefits include, but are not limited to holiday pay, workers compensation , vacation, or accumulated sick leave.
  10. After donation of sick leave/vacation to the Shared Leave Pool, any donating employee MUST maintain a minimum balance of sick leave hours of two hundred forty (240) hours for their personal use. The minimum balance requirement shall not apply to the obligatory annual donation of the four (4) hours required to become a member or maintain membership in the Alexander County Shared Leave Pool.
  11. Recipients of donated sick leave from the Shared Leave Pool may NOT bank the donated sick leave for use other than the case of a prolonged catastrophic illness or injury. Upon the employee’s return to work, the unused portion of the donated sick leave from the Shared Leave Pool will be returned to the Shared Leave Pool for the benefit of other eligible employees with the need for donated sick leave due to a prolonged catastrophic illness or injury.
  12. Medical certification of the prolonged catastrophic illness or injury from the primary attending physician is required prior to receiving donated sick leave from the Shared Leave Pool. Certification must include diagnosis and estimated length of time the recipient employee is expected to be unable to work.
  13. The salary of any employee receiving donated sick leave from the Shared Leave Pool shall be unaffected by the salary or salaries of employees who donated accumulated sick leave to the Shared Leave Pool.
  14. Maximum benefit eligible to be received by any eligible employee from the Shared Leave Pool is ninety (90) days. This ninety (90) days will be in conjunction with the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). All Alexander County provided benefits will be paid and uninterrupted during this ninety (90) day period.
  15. Birth of a child does not qualify as a prolonged catastrophic illness or injury unless there a complications requiring more than the normal six (6) weeks of maternity leave. Medical certification of the complications, including diagnosis and estimated time out of work, must be provided by the primary attending physician before Shared Leave Pool time can be approved.
  16. Abuse of sick leave over the past two (2) years shall be cause for rejection of Shared Leave Pool request by any employee. The use of twelve (12) days of sick leave in one calendar year without the presence of a prolonged catastrophic illness or injury will be reviewed to determine if there has been abuse of sick leave. However, sick leave designated as Family Medical Leave Act leave will not be considered as abuse of sick leave.
  17. Employees who have completed one (1) full year of employment with Alexander County prior to July 1 of any year may become a member of the Shared Leave Pool during the month of July by completing the required form and donation of the membership obligatory four (4) hours of accumulated sick leave/vacation. The month of July each year is the only enrollment period for the Shared Leave Pool.
  18. Any employee who is a member of the Shared Leave Pool may donate vacation (annual leave) to the Shared Leave Pool at the end of the calendar year under the same guidelines as established above for donation as sick leave to the Shared Leave Pool.

If the Shared Leave Pool is low or without hours to be donated to an employee with a prolonged catastrophic illness or injury, a notice will be posted in every Alexander County department indicating that a need exists. The need and the name of the employee in need will remain confidential.

It shall be the responsibility of the Human Resource Director to review the facts of each request for Shared Leave Pool use and to make a fair and impartial determination regarding approval or denial of the request. If an employee or department head feels that the decision is inappropriate or biased, either may appeal the decision to the County Manager for a final determination. The County Manager’s decision shall be final.