By Larry McGee
We have all heard it before, that old adage “You can’t take it with you when you go!” Whether it is the million dollars you have stashed under your mattress, the coin / stamp collection, spoons, thimbles, antiques, or whatever it may be. This is about not being able to take it “ALL” with you because you can take some of something if you have enough to cash it in or you can give it all away, IT’S YOUR CHOICE.
This article is discussing the SHARED LEAVE PROGRAM. A lot of what I am going to tell you is from the K-State Policy and Procedures Manual, PPM Chapter 4860. Most of you know that the Shared Leave Program is an optional medical leave program for those who are out of leave, but there are some misnomers out there about the details of the program. This is an attempt to explain the program as clearly as possible.
For those who are eligible employees and who are experiencing a physical or mental health condition that is serious, extreme, or life threatening and who have exhausted their leave balances, the Shared Leave Program at K-State can help. What I want everyone to understand is how that program is managed, how the leave donations are managed, and how those leave hours are applied.
First, let’s discuss the program management. An employee who feels they meet the criteria to be in the Shared Leave Program fills out an application (a form PER-64) and submits it to the department. The department then indicates whether the employee has used leave responsibly, and, if so, signs and submits the PER-64 to Human Capital Services. If there has been a record of leave abuse, the department will indicate the employee has not used leave responsibly. It may come down to whether you have been under leave restrictions in recent history. In Facilities, Jim Chacon, Facilities Employee Services (2-1716), is the department contact for questions on the program and for assistance with completing the form. In addition to the Shared Leave Request form, a physician must complete a medical documentation form and submit it to Human Capital Services to provide documentation that the medical condition is serious, extreme or life threatening.
Human Capital Services has a Shared Leave Review Committee that reviews the applications and makes a recommendation to a higher authority for approval / disapproval. Approval of shared leave requests does not come from the department or anywhere within the Division of Facilities. Facilities’ only role is to indicate whether leave has been used responsibly by the employee.
An approved shared leave application then must have shared leave donations to “fund” the program. It all comes down to donors filling out the Shared Leave Donation form (PER-64D). Donations can be made to a specific individual or to any employee who is approved for shared leave. All donations are anonymous. Below are some requirements for shared leave donations:
- Donations can be made by current employees or employees separating from the University.
- Unclassified employees may donate sick leave only. The donor’s balance must be 480 hours or more after the donation unless the donor is terminating employment with the University.
- University Support Staff may donate sick leave and/or vacation leave. The donor’s vacation leave balance must be 80 hours or more after donation of vacation leave; the donor’s sick leave balance must be 480 hours or more after a donation of sick leave. These balances are not required when the donor is terminating employment with the university.
- Shared leave awarded but not used by a recipient will be returned to the donor(s) on a pro-rated basis if the donor(s) is still employed in an eligible position at the University.
This is where one of the misnomers comes into play. When an employee terminates employment, let’s say by either resignation or retirement, they can donate a significant unused balance of their leave to an individual or anyone currently approved in the Shared Leave Program. By “significant” we will say 400 hours. There has to be enough approved Shared Leave employees in need to use up all of the 400 hours donated in a two week pay period or the hours disappear. Once an employee has separated from the University and has received his or her final paycheck, the hours are not available in the system to donate. I believe this is what most folks thought and referred to as donating to the “pool”. The hours donated by departing employees to the pool disappear every two weeks unless refilled by new donations. It is a common misunderstanding that this donation of hours at the end of K-State employment will remain indefinitely. Employees donating leave at the time of separation are donating to a good program, but their donations are only going to those in need during that specific period of time.
There is a way to help out your fellow employees while still employed here at the University. Employees can donate sick leave to the shared leave program at any point in time, as long as their sick leave balance is at least 480 hours after the donation. By making this donation, you are able to give to a program when it is needed, as opposed to just when you are leaving.
An important factor is employees are paid out a portion of their sick leave when retiring from the University. Payment for unused sick leave occurs only at an employee’s retirement and is based on years of service and amount accrued as indicated below.
| Minimum Sick | ||
| Years of Service |
Leave Balance (in hours) |
Hours Paid |
| 8 or more | 800 | 240 |
| 15 or more | 1000 | 360 |
| 25 or more | 1200 | 480 |
In Recap
- There is NO POOL of hours that Human Capital collects to be given out to those in need in the Shared Leave Program.
- Employees do not know who or how many are in the Shared Leave Program at the time of donation. No advertising is done to let the general population know that there is a co-worker in need.
Leave balances are only available to be awarded for the two weeks after separation. If leave is donated to a specific individual it is able to be awarded at that time. There are employees in the workforce in need. There are numerous employees in the workplace that have balances of sick leave over 2,000 hours, or even 3,000 hours, that could use their balances to help others in need. I believe in the adage “What goes around comes around” and that a good deed today will be repaid a thousand times over by others. I hope this article stimulates some discussion amongst yourselves in the workforce.
A final note. The Division of Facilities currently has a fellow employee that has been approved for the Shared Leave Program. That means their situation met the criteria of being serious, extreme, or life threatening. This individual has no balance of sick or vacation leave to get them through to the next pay check and needs help from those who are better off. The co-worker needs help from those who have the leave balances to assist in a time of need. What goes around comes around.