Benefits > Faculty Sick Leave Bank

PURPOSE

The purpose of the Faculty Sick Leave Bank is to provide emergency sick leave to members of the program who have suffered an unplanned personal illness, injury, disability or quarantine and who have exhausted their personal sick and annual leave.


ADMINISTRATION

The Faculty Sick Leave Bank shall be administered by five (5) Trustees appointed by the president of Middle Tennessee State University. At least three (3) of the appointees shall be faculty who devote a majority of their time to classroom instruction. All appointments shall be for three (3) year terms after an initial appointment of one (1) year for two Trustees, two (2) years for two Trustees and three (3) years for one Trustee. The Trustees will elect a chairman at their first meeting. Trustees shall be eligible for reappointment and any vacancy resulting from expiration of a term, retirement, resignation, discontinuation of employment or death shall be filled immediately by the
president.

GUIDELINES

1. All regular full-time employees of Middle Tennessee State University who hold faculty rank, whether serving in an academic or fiscal year appointment, and all regular part-time instructional staff shall be eligible to participate in the Faculty Sick Leave bank; however, a minimum participation of twenty (20) employees shall be required to establish the Bank.

2. Those electing to participate in the Bank shall initially have the equivalent of two (2) days of sick leave deducted from their accumulated sick leave and transferred to the Bank. Anyone electing to participate shall signup within forty-five (45) days from the date membership materials are initially
made available to the faculty and during the month of October of that and succeeding years. Donations of sick leave days to the Bank are nonrefundable and nontransferable with the following exception. In the event that dissolution of the Bank becomes necessary because the institution or branch is closed, or because membership in the Bank falls below twenty (20) individuals, the total
days on deposit shall be returned to the participating members at the time of dissolution and credited to their personal sick leave accumulation in proportion to the number of days each has contributed individually. Days returned and credited to an individual shall be rounded to the nearest one-half (1/2) day or equivalent.

3. A Bank member may cancel his or her membership at any time upon written notification to the trustees. Assessed sick leave days shall be nonrefundable upon cancellation of membership and nontransferable upon transfer to another Tennessee Board of Regents institution or area school, UT or State agency.

4. Members of the Bank shall be eligible to make application to the Bank for sick leave only after having been a member of the Bank for thirty (30) calendar days.

5. A participant shall not receive any sick leave from the Bank until after having exhausted all accumulated sick and annual leave.

6. Leave grants from the Bank, approved by the Trustees, shall not be more than twenty (20) consecutive days for which the individual applicant would have otherwise lost pay. Applicants may submit requests for extension of such leave grants before or after their prior grants expire. The maximum number of days any participant may receive in any fiscal year is sixty (60). The maximum number of days any participant may receive as a result of any one illness, or recurring
diagnosed illness or accident is ninety (90).

7. In the event a member is physically or mentally unable to apply for bank sick leave, the immediate next-of-kin may make a request for bank sick leave on his or her behalf. If there is no next-of-kin available, this request may be made by the legally appointed guardian or conservator or an individual acting under valid power of attorney.

8. If the Trustees determine it necessary, they may require a certificate of condition from a physician approved by the Board of Trustees from any member requesting leave. Refusal to comply will result in denial of the pending request for use of sick leave days from the Bank.

9. Grants of bank sick leave shall not be contingent upon repayment of hours used or waiver of other employment benefits or rights.

10. Grants of sick leave from the Bank shall not be made to any member on account of any elective surgery, or illness or death of any member of the participant's family, or during any period the member is receiving disability benefits from social security, a state-sponsored retirement plan, or Board of Claims benefits.

11. A member shall lose the right to obtain the benefits of the Bank by:


(a) Termination of employment (including retirement).
(b) Cancellation of participation.
(c) Refusal or inability to honor assessments made by the Trustees.
(d) Being on approved leave of absence in a non-pay status for reasons other than illness, injury or disability.


12. Employees who are granted bank sick leave shall continue to accrue sick leave and annual leave, if applicable, and service credit for retirement and longevity purposes, during the time they are on bank sick leave. Also, they will receive credit for any holidays that may occur during the bank sick leave period.

13. The trustees will approve or reject all requests for bank sick leave within ten (10) calendar days of receipt of the request. The operation of the Faculty Sick Leave Bank shall exist separately from the regular sick leave accrued to individual's personal accounts with respect to approvals and appeals; the decisions of the trustees shall not be appealed beyond that body.

14. All records and official forms of the Bank and minutes of the trustees meetings shall be maintained in the personnel office. All records shall be subject to audit by appropriate state officials.

PROCEDURES

1. Application to participate in the Faculty Sick Leave Bank shall be made on forms prepared and approved by the Trustees, and filed with the Human Resource Services office.

2. All requests to draw upon the Bank must be made upon a Faculty Sick Leave Bank Request Form and submitted to the Trustees within thirty (30) calendar days of the first date bank usage is requested. A physician's statement, verifying the nature of the illness or injury, and the inability of the employee to work, must accompany the application form. In extreme and unusual cases exceptions may be approved.