May 7, 2024 — If you know of a state employee with a long-term illness, you may be able to help them out by donating some of your unneeded annual accruals through the Leave Donation Program, which was negotiated as part of your PEF contract.
The program was developed to assist employees dealing with long-term illness who have exhausted their accrued leave credits and need to remain out of work. Over the years, PEF improved on the benefit and now members can donate to fellow State workers in any other agency.
Eligibility
Donations may be made by PEF-represented employees to other employees who meet the following eligibility requirements:
- Being a member of a negotiating unit eligible to participate in the Leave Donation Program, including all Executive Branch employees;
- Subject to the attendance rules of the Department of Civil Service, or agency attendance rules, and eligible to earn leave credits;
- The recipient is absent due to a non-occupational, personal illness or disability for which they have submitted (and continue to submit as requested) medical documentation satisfactory to management;
- The recipient has exhausted all leave credits;
- The recipient is expected to be absent for at least two bi-weekly payroll periods following exhaustion of leave credits or sick leave at half-pay; and
- The recipient must not have any disciplinary actions, or unsatisfactory performance evaluations within their last three years of state employment.
Additionally, recipients do not earn leave credits or accrue eligibility for sick leave at half-pay while they are using donated credits.
Donations
The requirements for donation include:
- Donations can be made from annual leave only;
- Donations must be made in full-day (7.5 or 8 hour) units;
- The employee, coworkers or local union representatives may solicit donations; the employing agency does not solicit donations;
- Donor identity is kept strictly confidential;
- Donors must retain a minimum balance of at least 10 days of annual leave standing to their credit after making a donation. Donors cannot donate vacation that they would otherwise forfeit.
- Donations made across agency lines shall be used prior to donations made within an agency. Donated credits not used by recipients are returned to donors, provided the donor is employed in the same agency as the recipient. Donated credits from employees outside the agency will not be returned;
- The personnel/payroll office of the employing agency or facility is responsible for verifying medical documentation, reviewing eligibility requirements, approving, and processing donations, confirming employee acceptance of donations, and transferring credits; and
- The program will not be subject to the grievance procedure.
PEF maintains a list of members in need of donations here.
Other bargaining units, M/C
The following provisions allow for PEF-represented employees to participate in the voluntary donation or receipt of accrued vacation credits with other bargaining units or M/C employees:
- Vacation credits may only be donated, received, or credited between employees who are deemed eligible to participate in an authorized leave donation program, provided that there are simultaneously in effect a Leave Donation Exchange Memorandum of Agreement between the Office of Employee Relations and the employee organizations representing both the proposed recipient and the proposed donor, or applicable attendance rules for managerial and confidential employees.
- Donations are governed by the provisions of the program applicable to the donor; receipt, crediting and the use of donations are governed by the provisions of the program applicable to the recipient.