EIU Benefit Services

Per IGP 6.1 Sick Leave Bank: A Sick Leave Bank shall be established to assist employees who have encountered a catastrophic illness or injury and have exhausted their accumulated leave time.
This program provides salary and benefits continuation for eligible employees who have exhausted all paid leave due to a catastrophic illness or injury of the employee or an immediate family member.
This is a voluntary program that allows employees to donate a portion of their unused sick or vacation leave into a sick leave bank that is available to assist employees who are eligible under the program.

• An eligible employee must have a total of 37.5 hours of accumulated leave (sick or vacation) at the time of membership enrollment.
• Membership in the Sick Leave Bank begins upon the employee's original donation of at least 2 days during the Benefits Choice Period.
• To enroll in the Sick Leave Bank, log into your PAWS account and click the Employee Sick Bank under the Employee tab.
• Membership will continue until written notification is received canceling membership during a subsequent Benefits Choice Period.
• Once enrolled, an automatic reduction of one day annually will be taken from the employee's leave balance. Automatic reduction of leave will occur in this order, sick then vacation.
• Once a member receives benefits from the Sick Leave Bank, the member will be required to donate annually for the duration of their employment.
• Members and non-members who are eligible to retire may not donate any of their remaining sick or vacation leave to the Sick Leave Bank.

To receive leave from the Sick Leave Bank, an employee must:

• Be a member, as defined under membership guidelines, and
• Have exhausted all accumulated sick and vacation, and
• Have a documented catastrophic illness or injury by a health care provider for oneself or an immediate family member.

An employee or his/her designee must request sick leave from the Bank by completing an application and submitting it to the Human Resources Benefits Office.

Request for Sick Leave Bank Usage Application

• All applications must be accompanied by a healthcare provider's statement which includes the beginning date of the condition and a description of the illness or injury. All applications must indicate the number of sick leave days being requested.
• A decision will be rendered to the employee within 5 working days after receipt of the completed application.
  

The Human Resources Benefits Office will be responsible for administering and coordinating the annual donation period, processing requests, maintaining appropriate related records, and convening the Sick Leave Bank Committee.

• The Committee will be responsible for reporting usage and reviewing the policies and operations of the Sick Leave Bank on an annual basis.
• The Committee may recommend changes or modifications to the Vice President of Business Affairs as needed.

There is no appeal procedures as the decision of the Sick Leave Bank Committee is final.

• Immediate family includes the employee's spouse or domestic partner, parent, and children (natural, step, adopted, and foster children), or if the employee is the primary custodian and caregiver of grandchildren or siblings.
• A catastrophic illness and or injury are an acute or prolonged illness or injury that is considered life-threatening or with the threat of serious residual disability which results in the employee's inability to work.

Examples of Catastrophic Illness or Injury Include, but Not Limited to:

• Serious, debilitating illness, impairment, or physical/mental condition that involves treatment in connection with an overnight stay in a hospital, hospice, or residential medical facility.
• High intensity/high frequency of treatment encounters necessary for a chronic or long-term condition that is so serious that, if not treated, would likely result in an extended period of incapacity or death.
• Terminal illness, such as cancer, etc.

• Employees may not designate a particular employee to receive their donated time.
• Elective surgery does not qualify as a catastrophic illness or injury. If complications arise resulting in a serious health condition, the situation may qualify as a catastrophic illness or injury.
• Most leave associated with pregnancy is not covered by Catastrophic Sick Leave. If complications arise resulting in a serious health condition for the mother or child, the situation may qualify as a catastrophic illness or injury.
• Employees on Workers' Compensation or disability leave are not eligible for the Sick Leave Bank benefits.
• An employee must not have a written record of disciplinary action for leave abuse or misuse of leave within the past 12 months.

• An employee may not receive more than 25 sick leave days in a 12-month period from the Bank. The 12-month period is defined as a rolling back period as of the date of award approval.
• The hours withdrawn from the Sick Leave Bank will be based on the employee's regular rate of pay. Existing payroll deductions including benefit premiums will continue to occur.
• Any balance of days approved but not required for the illness/injury will remain the property of the Sick Leave Bank.

Sick Leave Bank hours terminate:

• When the employee separates from the University, or
• Upon the death of the employee, or
• When the health care provider releases the employee to return to work, or
• The maximum sick leave benefit has been exhausted.