UNDERSTAND

The shared leave program allows eligible Washington state employees who accrue leave to donate some of their accrued annual leave, sick leave, and/or personal holiday hours to a co-worker or other state employee who will need to take leave without pay or separate from employment for the reasons listed below under "Receiving Shared Leave."

All requests to donate and receive shared leave are subject to the supervisor's or administrator's approval.

Uniformed Services Shared Leave Pool

In addition to donations that one employee may make directly to another employee, eligible employees may request to donate to or receive shared leave hours from the state's Uniformed Services Shared Leave Pool (USSLP). To be eligible to receive shared leave from the pool the following requirements must be met:

• There must be leave available in the pool
• The employee has or will shortly deplete available paid military leave, compensatory time, vacation leave, and personal holiday;
• The employee's monthly military salary [as defined in WAC 357-31-650(4)] is less than the employee's state monthly salary [as defined in WAC 357-31-650(5)]. However, up to eight hours per month may be used from the pool, to continue coverage under the Public Employee's Benefit Board regardless of the employee’s monthly state salary and military salary.

Receiving Shared Leave

An employee is eligible to receive shared leave donations if the employee:

• has a severe, extraordinary, or life-threatening illness or injury and the employee has used, or is about to use all of the employee's eligible annual and sick leave.
• has caregiver responsibilities for a relative or a household member with a severe, extraordinary, or life-threatening illness or injury, and the employee has used, or is about to use all of the employee's eligible annual and sick leave.
• is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking and has used, or is about to use all of the employee's eligible annual and sick leave.
• is called to serve in the uniformed services and has used or is about to use all eligible annual and paid military leave.
• is serving as an approved emergency worker, and has used or is about to use all eligible annual leave.

NOTE: An employee is not eligible to receive shared leave for illness or injury if the employee is approved for time loss compensation (also called workers’ compensation) from the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (L&I).

Shared Leave Maximum

Employees may receive and use a maximum of 261 days of shared leave during their entire state employment.

Donating Shared Leave

Employee donations of shared leave must meet the following requirements specific to the type of leave being donated:

Type of Leave	Leave Donation Requirements
Annual Leave	Employees may donate four (4) or more hours, as long as they retain an annual leave balance of at least ten (10) days after the donation is deducted. Classified employees may not donate any annual leave hours accrued above the 240-hour maximum if they would otherwise not have had sufficient time to use them before their next anniversary date.
Sick Leave	Employees may donate four (4) or more hours, as long as they retain a sick leave balance of at least 176 hours after the donation is deducted
Personal Holiday	Employees may donate four (4) or more hours of the personal holiday. Any personal holiday hours not donated must be used at one time within the current calendar year.

Employees can donate leave to an employee who has been called to duty in one of the uniformed services of the United States, and have the option of donating to a specific individual and/or to a state-managed pool of leave from which eligible employees can request to receive shared leave while on duty.

Leave Use and Accrual while on Shared Leave

An employee continues to accrue sick and annual leave if the employee is not off the payroll for more than ten (10) working days in a month. Timekeepers should apply monthly leave accruals as they are earned before applying shared leave. However, an employee who receives shared leave may retain up to 32 hours of shared leave to use over a four (4) month period, at eight (8) hours per month, specifically for the purpose of retaining insurance benefits.

Returning Unused Shared Leave

Any unused shared leave that is donated to an individual employee must be returned at its original value to the shared leave donor(s) when the leave is no longer needed, or will not be needed in the future. Before unused shared leave for illness or injury is returned, the UW must receive a statement verifying that the illness or injury is resolved from the doctor of the employee who received the shared leave.

Donations of shared leave to the state's uniformed services shared leave pool are permanent and are never returned to a donating employee.

ACT

Request to Receive Shared Leave

Request to Receive Shared Leave Donations

1. Employees who meet the eligibility requirements outlined above, download and complete the shared leave request form that is appropriate for the reason you are requesting shared leave;
   1. For a personal severe, extraordinary, or life-threatening illness or injury (pdf) or to care for a family or household member with one.
      • For leave due to a serious health condition, employees will be required provide a medical statement signed by a licensed health care provider that verifies the condition which requires your absence, and that provides the beginning date of treatment and the date you are expected to return to work.
   2. For victims of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking (pdf)
   3. For active duty service in a uniformed service of the United States or for serving as an approved emergency worker (pdf)
      • For active duty service in a uniformed service, employees will need to provide a copy of their military orders.
      • For service as an emergency worker, the employee may be required provide proof of having volunteered to provide services for governmental agency or a nonprofit organization engaged in humanitarian relief in an area of the United States where a state of emergency has been declared, and proof that a governmental agency or nonprofit organization has accepted the employee's offer of service.
2. Employees submit the completed request form to their supervisor for completion and forwarding to the unit's Human Resources Operations Office.

Human Resources will notify the requesting employee and the supervisor of the request's approval status.

Request Shared Leave From the Uniformed Services Shared Leave Pool

To request shared leave from the state's Uniformed Services Shared Leave Pool, download, complete and submit the special Uniformed Services Shared Leave Pool request form (pdf) according to the form's instructions.

Request to Donate Shared Leave

Donate Shared Leave to an Individual

1. Employees meeting the eligibility requirements outlined above, download and complete the Shared Leave Donation form (pdf), and;
2. Submit the form to their supervisor for completion and forwarding to the Human Resources Operations Office that serves the unit.

Human Resources will notify the donating employee, the supervisor, and the unit's timekeeper of the donation's approval status.

Donate Leave to the Uniformed Services Shared Leave Pool

Download and complete and submit the special Uniformed Services Shared Leave Pool shared leave donation form (pdf) according to the form's instructions.

Returning to Work Following Leave

Shared leave eligibility ends either when an employee returns to work, a medical condition improves to the point where it no longer qualifies for shared leave or the employee is separated from employment.

If an employees health care provider recommends a gradual return to work, additional shared leave use may be approved according to the situation. Contact the Human Resources Operations Office that serves the employing unit to request approval for use of additional shared leave.

When an employee is able to return to work, the employee will need to take the following steps in order to resume regular work status:

1. For leave due to a serious illness, submit a healthcare return to work authorization to the Human Resources Operations Office, including confirmation from the health care provider that the illness or injury is resolved.
2. If there are unused hours of shared leave remaining, Human Resources will calculate any hours that need to be returned to the donors and notify the department timekeeper(s) of the hours to be reinstated to the donor records.
3. The timekeeper will make appropriate adjustments to employee work/leave records and payroll.

Upon completion of the steps above, the shared leave eligibility period has ended. If there is a reason to again request shared leave the employee will have to submit a new request to receive shared leave.

Unused shared leave hours will be returned to the donors on a prorated basis. If personal holiday hours are returned, they may only be used or re-donated in the calendar year accrued.

LEARN MORE

• See Shared Leave Definitions, Questions and Answers.
• Direct questions about shared leave to your unit's Human Resources Consultant.
• Look at the "Life Events" web pages for assistance with leave planning, insurance coverage and other matters.
• Consider insurance benefits during a prolonged absence from work. Insurance benefits continue when employees are in pay status for at least eight (8) hours per month; the employee remains responsible for any premiums or co-payments.
• Donations can be made to and received from other (non-UW) state employees. The Washington State shared leave program page will provide information on how to donate and receive shared leave.
• To read the UW's Shared Leave Policy Statement, visit UW Administrative Policy Statement 45.10.

• uwhr@u.washington.edu |
• HR Contacts

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