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RSCC Policy PA-10-04; Formation and Operation of Faculty Sick Leave Bank

Roane State Community College
Policy Number: PA-10-04
Subject: Formation and Operation of Faculty Sick Leave Bank
  1. Purpose
    The purpose of the Faculty Sick Leave Bank is to provide emergency sick leave to members who have suffered a serious, unplanned illness or injury and who have exhausted all their personal sick leave and annual leave, if applicable, in accordance with the TBR Policy 05.01.01.00 Employee Classification and TBR Guideline P-060 Formation & Operation of Faculty Sick Leave Banks. Access the complete TBR policy and guideline at https://policies.tbr.edu/.
  2. Establishment
    1. A sick leave bank is established when a group of employees agree to be assessed a specified number of accrued sick leave hours to a common pool. Such assessment of sick leave shall be deducted from the individual’s personal accumulated sick leave and shall be nonrefundable.
    2. From this pool, the members may withdraw a number of hours greater than their individual assessments upon request to and approval from the trustees of the sick leave bank.
    3. There can be no more than one faculty sick leave bank per institution.
      1. To form a sick leave bank, a minimum of 20 employees who are eligible to participate in the bank petition the president or designee of the college to authorize and direct the establishment of the bank.
      2. The petition shall include a declaration that each petitioner intends to participate.
  3. Eligibility
    1. Participation in the Faculty Sick Leave Bank (FSLB) will be available to regular full-time employees who hold faculty rank, whether serving in an academic or fiscal year appointment.
    2. Employees previously enrolled in the Staff Sick Leave Bank who are appointed to faculty positions with no breaks in service shall be eligible immediately for membership in the FSLB with no additional assessment or waiting period required. Regarding transfer, no hours will be transferred between the staff and faculty sick leave banks.
    3. Members who are terminated and rehired with a break in service, within a twelve (12) month period, following their enrollment, shall be entitled to membership with no additional assessment. Employees rehired after one enrollment year will incur a new assessment during the annual enrollment period.
    4. A faculty member who transfers with no break in service from another TBR institution, the University of Tennessee, or state agency, and participated in the previous employer’s sick leave bank is immediately eligible for membership in accordance with the receiving institution’s sick leave bank plan. If the institutional sick leave bank plan allows, and if membership is requested at the time of the transfer, the faculty member shall donate the required minimum assessment.
    5. Employees who are unable to meet additional assessments charge by the FSLB shall lose the right to request bank sick leave in accordance with Section V.A.11.
    6. All records regarding prior usage of bank sick leave may be made available to the FSLB trustees.
  4. Trustees
    1. The president or designee of the college will appoint five (5) sick leave bank trustees upon receipt of the petition.
      1. It was determined that at least three (3) of the appointees should be full-time faculty.
      2. The remaining trustees may be members of the administrative staff.
    2. Initial appointments were made as follows: two (2) trustees to serve for one (1) year, two (2) trustees for two (2) years and one (1) trustee for three (3) years.
      1. Trustees shall be eligible for reappointment.
      2. Any vacancy resulting from the expiration of a term, discontinuance of employment, retirement, death, resignation, or removal by the president or designee of a trustee from the trustee role shall be filled immediately by appointment by the president or designee of Roane State.
      3. All actions by the trustees shall require three (3) affirmative votes.
    3. The trustees shall:
      1. Meet and elect a chairperson from the trustees.
      2. In coordination with Human Resources, be responsible for the preparation of the sick leave bank plan of operation. The plan is subject to the president’s or designee’s review to ensure its compliance with this policy, appropriate recordkeeping and accounting principles, and statutory provisions.
      3. In coordination with Human Resources, administer the bank and approve or reject requests for withdrawal of leave from the bank. The request for bank sick leave must be submitted to the trustees. The college sick leave bank plan of operation may allow the bank member’s supervisor be informed of any request for bank leave, prior to approval by the trustees.
      4. Adopt reasonable rules for the assessment and/or reassessment of sick leave hours by participants in order to maintain an adequate reserve of usable days for bank members. This reserve shall only be established through the assessment and/or reassessment of bank membership and shall maintain a positive balance at all times. Any assessment shall be based upon total membership and projected potential need. All members shall be assessed the same amount of sick leave hours upon initial assessment and during any special reassessment. The trustees shall have sole discretion in determining how many assessments and/or reassessments are necessary to maintain the reserve’s positive balance.
      5. Keep all related information confidential.
  5. Sick Leave Bank Plan
    1. The plan of operation prepared by the trustees shall include but not be limited to the following provisions:
      1. An employee must have been a member of the bank for thirty (30) calendar days prior to applying for withdrawal of sick leave bank hours.
      2. An employee must exhaust all accumulated sick leave and annual leave, if applicable, prior to receiving bank sick leave.
      3. Bank sick leave shall not be used for: elective surgery, illness or death of any member of the individual’s family or during any period when the individual is receiving disability benefits from social security, a state-sponsored retirement plan or Board of Claims benefits (e.g., worker’s compensation). Approved bank sick leave will run concurrently with FMLA leave for an eligible employee who has not already exhausted the twelve (12) workweek entitlement.
      4. A restriction may be established on the number of hours that may be withdrawn by an individual bank member on account of an illness known at the time he or she elected to join the bank.
      5. Initial grants of sick leave to individual bank members shall not exceed the hourly equivalent of twenty (20) consecutive days for which the applicant would have otherwise lost pay. Subsequent grants of bank sick leave shall not exceed the hourly equivalents of sixty (60) days in any fiscal year (July to June), or 90 days for any one (1) illness, or recurring diagnosed illness, or accident.
      6. A member is limited up to a maximum of 90 days from the sick leave bank as a result of a personal illness, injury, accident, disability, medical condition, quarantine or a condition related to, resulting from, or recurring from a previously diagnosed condition for which the bank granted sick leave. Grants from the sick leave bank shall not exceed 90 days within a 12 month period. The initial 12 month period starts on the date the member’s sick leave grants first begin and extends 12 months forward from that date. A new 12 month period would begin the first time sick bank grants begin again after completion of the previous 12 month period. Grants from the sick leave bank terminate as of the date the member is released to return to work with or without restrictions.
        1. The college sick leave bank plan of operation may impose a lifetime maximum of sick leave bank grants.
        2. A bank member may be eligible to receive sick leave that has been donated by other employees if s/he has made application for bank sick leave and the necessity for bank leave is substantiated by the trustees. Should bank sick leave be denied, the bank member shall be eligible to receive donations from other employees as provided in RSCC policy PA-10-03 Transfer of Sick Leave Between Employees. Access the complete RSCC policy at https://www.roanestate.edu/policies/.
      7. When a bank member is physically or mentally unable to apply for bank sick leave, the immediate next-of-kin may make the request for bank sick leave on their 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. At any time the trustees may request from a bank member a physician’s statement certifying the illness or condition of the bank member requesting leave. Refusal to submit the certification will result in denial of the request for bank sick leave. The college sick leave bank plan of operation may require all members to submit supporting documentation when requesting bank sick leave.
      9. A bank member shall lose the right to request bank sick leave upon termination of employment, retirement, cancellation of bank membership, refusal or inability to honor the trustees’ assessments, and going on leave of absence in a non-pay status for reasons other than illness, injury, or disability.
      10. A bank member may cancel their membership at any time upon written notification to the trustees. Sick leave bank assessments are non-refundable upon cancellation of membership and nontransferable upon transfer to another TBR institution, UT or State agency.
      11. Employees who are granted bank sick leave shall continue to accrue sick leave and annual leave, and service credit for retirement and longevity purposes, during the time they are on bank sick leave. They will also receive credit for any holidays that may occur during the bank sick leave period.
      12. Grants of bank sick leave shall not be contingent upon repayment of hours used or waiver of other employment benefits or rights.
      13. The trustees will meet either in person, by e-mail, or by conference call, to approve or reject all requests for bank sick leave within ten (10) calendar days of receipt of the request. The number of calendar days to approve or reject sick leave bank requests will be established by Roane State’s sick leave bank plan of operation. The operation of the FSLB shall exist separately from the regular sick leave accrued to individuals’ personal accounts with respect to approvals and appeals; the decisions of the trustees shall not be appealed beyond that body.
      14. All official forms and records pertaining to the sick leave bank and minutes of the trustee meetings will be maintained in the human resources office. All records will be subject to audit by appropriate state officials.
      15. Annual enrollment periods will begin on August 1 and last for 30 days. The trustees or designee shall notify all eligible employees of their eligibility status and the dates of the enrollment period. Enrollment forms and copies of the plan and its regulations shall be made available at this time also.
      16. All eligible persons who elect to participate in the FSLB shall be assessed an hourly equivalent of three (3) days (22.5 hours) as the initial enrollment assessment.
    2. The following official forms will be used to operate the sick leave bank (All forms are located on the Human Resources web page):
      1. Complete a Faculty Sick Leave Bank Request Form.
      2. Have the attending physician complete the Faculty Sick Leave Bank Physician’s Certification Form.
      3. Submit the completed forms to your supervisor for approval and then to the human resource office for verification of hours. Attach a copy of your timesheet verifying your leave balances.
      4. Human Resources will forward the form and all attachments to the chairperson of the sick leave bank.
      5. The chairperson will call a meeting and the trustees will make a decision within ten (10) calendar days from the date the committee receives the request.
      6. An e-mail or letter will be sent as notification of the approval or denial of the time requested.
      7. Formal minutes shall be made of the FSLB’s trustees meeting and shall be maintained as a part of the official bank records.

        The decision of the trustees shall not be appealed beyond that body.
  6. Schedule Requirements
    1. The following time schedule shall be followed in establishing the sick leave bank and address within the college’s sick leave bank plan of operation.
      1. Petition received by the president or designee.
      2. Within thirty (30) calendar days of receipt of the petition, the president shall appoint the trustees.
    2. Trustees Responsibilities
      1. Within ten (10) calendar days of appointment, the trustees shall hold their first meeting and elect a chairperson.
      2. Within sixty (60) calendar days before the effective date of the sick leave bank, the trustees shall notify all eligible employees of the establishment of the bank and its date of effectiveness.
    3. Effective Date
      1. The president or designee, upon approval of the trustee’s plan of operation, shall determine the date on which the sick leave bank becomes effective.
      2. This date shall be no later than 180 calendar days after the date of receipt of the original petition.
  7. Dissolution of the Bank
    1. The sick leave bank shall be dissolved if Roane State Community College is closed or if the bank membership falls below twenty (20) individuals.
    2. The total hours on deposit shall be returned to the participating members at the time of the dissolution and credited to their personal sick leave accumulation in proportion to the number of hours each has been assessed. If a member has withdrawn the equivalent of 22.5 or more hours of bank sick leave, that member will not be credited with a proportion of the sick leave hours.
  8. Amendments
    Amendments to these guidelines may be made by an affirmative vote of three (3) trustees and approval by the president.
Revision History: 06/24/2014
TBR Policy Reference: 5:01:01:07, 5:01:01:15
TBR Guideline Reference: P-060
Revision Date Effective: 02/24/2025
Revision Approval By: Christopher L. Whaley, President
Original Date Effective: 01/13/2014
Original Approval By: Christopher L. Whaley, President
Office Responsible: Vice President for Business & Finance; Vice President Student Learning
Reviewed: 01/03/2025

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