Sick Leave Bank POLICY NO: 490

Each full-time non-certificated employee of this school district shall be eligible to participate in the District Sick Leave Bank. The purpose of the Sick Leave Bank shall be to provide non-certificated employees who qualify for membership in the bank with additional sick leave days to alleviate hardship resulting from absence from work caused by illness or accident of the employee extending beyond his/her annual and accumulated sick leave. Sick Leave Bank credit shall not be available for coverage of absence from work caused by industrial accidents.

Administration of the Bank: The superintendent of schools and Sick Leave Council shall establish the guidelines and rules necessary to implement this policy which are consistent with its provisions. The guidelines and rules shall be approved by the board of trustees.

The Sick Leave Bank shall be administered by the Non-certificated Sick Leave Council in accordance with the guidelines, rules, and regulations developed by the Council as provided in this agreement. The Council shall consist of five members: one from school lunch, one from custodial staff, one from eligible bus drivers, one from the area of secretaries and teaching assistants, and one at large from the non-certificated central office staff.

The Council shall review applications for Sick Leave Bank benefits and shall have authority to make decisions on disposition of such applications as provided in guidelines and this agreement. The Council may request a doctor's excuse at their discretion.

Eligibility for Membership: Membership in the Sick Leave Bank shall be open to any qualified non-certificated employee of Joint School District No. 391 who wishes to donate to the Bank.

Membership: Employees who donate one (1) day of sick leave to the Sick Leave Bank become members of the bank and eligible for its services.

Donations: Donations to the Sick Leave Bank shall conform to the following rules:

1. Days donated shall be nonreturnable to the donor as accumulated sick leave in the event of loss of Bank membership or separation or transfer from this school district. The Sick Leave Council may request additional contributions from time to time as necessary, in the opinion of the Council, to replenish the bank. "Additional contributions," as used in the previous sentence, refers to assessments which may be made in subsequent years as only two days may be assessed per individual for any one year. Members who leave the district may donate unused sick leave to the Bank.
2. Sick Leave Bank members have the option of voluntarily donating one or more of their remaining sick leave days to the Bank during the school year.
3. Members whose job classification is reduced to part-time will transfer accumulated sick leave to the Sick Leave Bank. Should the employee return to full-time status within one year, the Sick Leave Bank will return the accumulated sick leave days to said employee.
4. Once a person has made a donation and establishes membership, he/she retains membership as long as he/she makes any subsequent assessment which may be levied by the committee. If a person does not make the subsequent donations which are assessed, he/she will lose his/her membership and forfeit donated time.
5. An employee who has drawn from the Bank during the school year shall contribute one of his/her "annual" days at the start of the following year to retain membership.
6. In cases of extended illness or recuperation, the Council may grant days from the bank to the recuperating employee on a monthly basis.
7. Days allowed from the Bank for spouse or child's (under the age of 23) illness are limited to 20. Sick leave Bank credit shall not be available for coverage of absence from work caused by industrial accidents.

Employee Use of Sick Leave Bank: In order for a non-certificated employee to be eligible to apply for sick leave benefits from the Sick Leave Bank, the employee must: 1) be a member of the bank as set forth herein and 2) must have been absent from work due to qualifying illness or accident to the extent that he/she has used up all of his/her accumulated and annual sick leave time plus two (2) additional days when his/her salary has been reduced in full. The days can only be used during times when an employee would ordinarily be working and shall not include vacation days. Applications to the Sick Leave Bank must be timely and coincide with payroll cutoff dates.

The maximum number of days that can be granted to any one Bank member in any one school term will be 120 days if there are then many days in the Bank.

The number of days granted shall not exceed the number of days absent from work due to his/her own illness or accident as set forth in this policy. Bank grants shall end if the employee's job with the district is terminated.

Sick Leave Bank Restrictions:

1. During a member's first year as a member of the Sick Leave Bank, that members may use up to a maximum of thirty (30) sick leave days from the bank.
2. During a member's second year as a member of the Sick Leave Bank, that member may use up to a maximum of sixty (60) sick leave days from the bank.
3. During a member's third year as a member of the Sick Leave Bank, that member may use up to a maximum of ninety (90) sick leave days from the bank.
4. During a member's fourth year as a member of the Sick Leave Bank, that member may use up to a maximum of one hundred twenty (120) sick leave days per school year from the bank.
5. The employee shall be entitled to no Sick Leave Bank for the school year immediately following the school year during which the employee reached the 120 day total.

ADOPTED: June 18, 1996

AMENDED: June 8, 1998

AMENDED:  September 12, 2000

LEGAL REFERENCE: