SVFT Sick Leave Bank Committee



Shall function as defined in the collective bargaining agreement. Article 4, Section 4, paragraph (i)

Sick Leave Bank. The Emergency Sick Leave Bank is to be used by bargaining unit employees who have completed the three (3) years of fulltime service in the Vocational Technical Schools. The enrollment period will be from September 1 to November 1 of each contract year. Employees wishing to enroll will notify the SVFT during this time period. The SVFT will forward to Education Personnel a list of eligible employees on or before November 15. No new enrollees will be accepted after that date. An eligible employee requesting use of emergency sick leave may make application on the prescribed form to a Labor Management subcommittee established to administer the program. All committee meetings will be scheduled after 3:00 p.m. at a location agreeable to the members. Said committee shall be comprised of three (3) designees, one (1) from the Employer and two (2) from the Union, and shall determine eligibility for benefits in accordance with the following: (1) Each eligible employee who elects to participate shall contribute one (1) day from accrued sick leave to the sick leave bank. Each eligible employee may also elect a one-time donation of up to five (5) days within five (5) years of enrollment. Days contributed shall not revert to employees if not used. (2) Days contributed to the bank shall thereafter be allocated to bargaining unit employees with catastrophic or extended long-term illness. (3) To be eligible for allocations of sick days from the bank, an employee must meet the following conditions: 1. Exhaustion of all sick leave and personal leave. 2. The illness or injury is not covered by Workers' Compensation and/or such benefits have been exhausted. 3. An acceptable medical certificate supporting the absence is on file. 4. Completion of the service requirement. 5. The bank is not depleted. (4) Benefits under this Article shall accrue at the rate of one (1) day for each day of illness or injury provided that the employee has been disabled for a minimum of ten (10) working days. No employee shall be eligible to draw from the bank if the fund is depleted. Employees receiving benefits under this Article shall not accrue sick leave during the period of eligibility or be eligible for holidays or other paid leave benefits. The subcommittee shall consider as a factor the extent and circumstances of the applicant's usage of sick leave prior to the illness in question. (5) Unused days in the sick leave bank shall be carried over from year to year and shall not lapse. (6) If at any time the balance in the bank should drop to ten (10) days, each eligible employee shall be assessed one (1) additional day from his/her accrued sick leave. (7) An employee who has been granted some portion of the sick leave bank, and who returns to work, shall repay the bank at the rate of twenty-five percent (25%) of his/her unused accrued sick leave each December 31 and June 30 thereafter. In the event that the employee leaves employment, any unused accrued sick leave shall be used to repay the balance owed to the sick leave bank. (8) The actions or non-actions of this subcommittee shall in no way be subject to collateral attack or the grievance/arbitration machinery. The subcommittee shall not be considered a State agency, board or any other subdivision of the Employer. No requests shall be conducted as contested cases or otherwise be subject to the Administrative Procedure Act. (9) An employee who has chosen to participate in the Sick Leave bank may decline to continue to participate by withdrawing from same, by notice filed upon the form developed by the parties. Removal from participation shall be declared not later than the last student contact day of the school year, and shall be deemed effective at midnight on June 30th of that year. There shall be no refund of contributions, and said election, once made, shall be considered irrevocable during that school year. The withdrawing employee will be responsible for all contributions authorized through June 30th of that year. Cutoff of Claims: An employee who has submitted the appropriate form to withdraw may not make any claim for benefits that either begin after or continue past the June 30th cutoff. Return to Bank Status: An employee who seeks to return to Sick Leave Bank status shall be treated like a new employee, except that the three-year waiting period shall be waived. Return with Infirmity: An employee who has withdrawn may return to the Sick Leave Bank during the designated enrollment period, but in the case in which the employee is already acknowledged to be incapacitated, there shall be a waiting period of not fewer than fifteen (15) nor more than sixty (60) working days. Said deductible shall be determined by the subcommittee, based upon years of participation and duration of separation from the Bank.