| Memo to: | All UH-Downtown/PS Holders | UH-Downtown/PS 02.A.10 | |
| From: | Max Castillo, President | Issue No. 1 | |
| Subject: | Sick Leave Pool Policy | Effective Date: 4/25/94 | |
| 1. PURPOSE | |
| This PS establishes the guidelines to be followed by all benefits eligible employees regarding the University of Houston sick leave pool. | |
| 2. POLICY/PROCEDURES | |
| 2.1 Benefits eligible employees who have a catastrophic injury or illness affecting them or their immediate family and who have used all earned leave, may withdraw paid sick leave time from the University of Houston sick leave pool. | |
| 2.1.1 Immediate family is defined as those individuals related by kinship, adoption, marriage, or foster children who are living in the same household, or if not in the same household, are totally dependent upon the employee for personal care or services on a continuing basis due to a documented medical condition. | |
| 2.1.2 Minor children of the employee, whether living in the same household or other domicile, will be considered immediate family for purposes of regular sick leave | |
| 2.2 A catastrophic illness or injury is defined as a severe condition or combination of conditions affecting the mental or physical health of an employee or his immediate family that requires the services of a licensed practitioner for a prolonged period of time and that forces the employee to exhaust all leave time earned and to lose compensation from the state. | |
| 2.2.1 A licensed practitioner, as defined by the Texas Insurance Code, is an individual who is practicing within the scope of his/her license. | |
| 2.3 A catastrophic injury or illness must have lasted or be expected to last 90 or more consecutive calendar days for the employee to be eligible to request time from the pool. Pool benefits may begin only after the 90 consecutive days of eligible injury or illness have elapsed. (Days the employee is actively at work may not be counted as illness or injury time.) | |
| 2.4 All regular employees of the University of Houston may voluntarily transfer sick leave time from their accrued balances to the University of Houston System sick leave pool. Excluded from eligibility for participation in the sick leave pool are part-time employees less than one-half (1/2) the standard work load, irregular, seasonal, or temporary employees for a definite period of less than four and one-half (4 1/2) months, student employees (if a condition of their employment is to be enrolled in school), retirees, and employees on leave without pay, until they return to active work and complete a minimum of thirty active work days. | |
| 2.5 Employees may contribute 8 to 24 hours of regular accrued sick leave time per fiscal year to the sick leave pool. The fiscal year begins on September 1 and ends August 31 of the following year. Contributions may be made any time during the year by completing a Sick Leave Pool Contribution Application (Exhibit A) and submitting to the Human Resources Department. | |
| 2.5.1 Upon receipt of a signed contribution form, the systemwide pool administrator will verify the contribution eligibility and will complete and forward to the Payroll Department forms necessary to deduct time from the employee's record and deposit it into the pool. | |
| 2.5.2 The employee's accrued sick leave hour s will be deducted by the amount contributed and the resulting accrued sick leave balance will be reflected in the next statement of earnings on which accrued earned leave is normally reflected. Contributions to the sick leave pool are irrevocable once the contribution form has been submitted. | |
| 2.5.3 Terminating employees may contribute a maximum of 24 hours to the pool prior to their termination date. 2.6 Employees who make contributions to the pool may not stipulate who the recipient may be. | |
| 2.7 Employees are eligible to request use of pool resources if they meet eligibility guidelines and have exhausted all sick leave, compensatory leave, extended leave, vacation leave, and any other paid leave time to which they are entitled. | |
| 2.8 Employees meeting the above criteria may request time from the pool by completing a Sick Leave Pool Withdrawal Request (Exhibit B) and submitting it to the Human Resources Department. Employees requesting withdrawal of time from the pool due to a catastrophic illness or injury must provide, at their own expense, a licensed practitioner's statement of diagnosis. | |
| 2.8.1 The statement must include the expected duration of the illness and the expected return to work date. | |
| 2.8.2 A licensed practitioner's statement must be submitted for each period of thirty days or less of sick leave pool time requested, even if such requests or periods of time are for a continuous catastrophic illness or injury. | |
| 2.8.3 No sick leave pool time will be granted for any days not covered by a licensed practitioner's diagnostic statement | |
| 2.8.4 The University of Houston-Downtown reserves the right to require additional physician's statements from providers of its choice, at any time and for any reason, whenever time from the sick leave pool is requested. | |
| 2.9 The Personnel Services Manager must verify the eligibility of the employee and the request before processing all sick leave pool withdrawal requests. | |
| 2.9.1 If the Personnel Services Manager determines the employee's request does not meet policy requirements, the request will be denied with a written explanation to the employee. | |
| 2.9.2 If the withdrawal request is approved, the Personnel Services Manager is responsible for notifying the employing department of a pending withdrawal or approval, assisting the employing department in processing the time and effort report or other internal documents necessary to pay the employee, and forwarding the withdrawal to the systemwide pool administrator. | |
| 2.10 The systemwide sick leave pool administrator will verify the withdrawal and grant time from the pool based on the number of hours available. All withdrawal requests are processed on a first come, first served basis. | |
| 2.11 With each request, employees may withdraw a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 30 days from the pool, or 1/3 of the balance of hours in the pool, whichever is less. Multiple requests may be made for a continuing illness. However, a maximum of 90 regular working days per each occurrence of catastrophic injury or illness may be granted. Compensation for the time withdrawn is made at the employee Is normal rate of pay. | |
| 2.12 Employees returning to work following an illness for which they were granted pool time must remain at work for six continuous calendar months before being eligible to apply again for sick pool days for another occurrence of qualifying injury or illness. | |
| 2.13 Employees not using all of the sick leave pool time they were granted will forfeit it. The unused time will revert to the pool. The estate of a deceased employee is not entitled to receive compensation for pool time not used by the employee. | |
| 2.14 The number of days in the pool is based on the number of days contributed and the number of days withdrawn. If the pool does not contain at least five days at the time a request is made, the sick leave pool administrator will pend the request and grant time once five or more days become available. | |
| 2.14.1 If at least five days are available at the time the request is processed, the employee will be granted a minimum of five days. | |
| 2.14.2 If the request is for more than five days, the employee will be granted the number of days requested, or 30 days, or 1/3 of the balance in the pool, whichever is less. | |
| 2.14.3 Once the employee has been granted at least five days from the pool, regardless of the number of days requested, the withdrawal is finalized and the systemwide sick leave pool administrator will proceed to the next request. | |
| 2.14.4 Subsequent requests may be made for additional days which will receive regular processing on a first come, first served basis. | |
| 2.15 Sick leave pool benefits are not granted for any days during which the employee received or is eligible to receive short or long-term disability benefits. | |
| 2.16 Employees having contributed to the pool and exhausting all their accrued sick leave at a later date may apply to withdraw sick leave pool time. The maximum that may be withdrawn is the number of days contributed to the pool during the fiscal year in which the withdrawal is requested. In this instance, a catastrophic injury or illness is not mandatory. | |
| 3. REVIEW AND RESPONSIBILITIES | |
| Responsible Party (Reviewer): Vice President for
Administration Review: Biennial Reprint of original policy statement. Signed original on file in the President's Office. |