Shared Leave Program
UNDERSTAND
The shared leave program allows Washington state employee to donate part of their accrued annual leave, sick leave, and/or personal holiday hours to co-workers or other state employees whose own, eligible accrued leave has been depleted and who will need to take leave without pay or separate from employment due to extraordinary circumstances. All regular state employees who accrue leave and who meet eligibility requirements may donate and receive shared leave. Employees may receive and use a maximum of 261 days of shared leave during their entire state employment.
Eligibility to Receive Shared Leave
An employee is eligible to receive shared leave if:
- The employee has a severe, extraordinary, or life-threatening illness or injury; or 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; or,
- The employee is called to serve in the uniformed services and
the employee has used or is about to use all of the employee’s eligible annual and paid military leave; or,
- The employee is serving as an approved emergency worker, and
the employee has used or is about to use all of the employee’s 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).
Eligibility to Donate Shared Leave
Employee donations of shared leave must meet the following requirements specific to the type of leave being donated:
Annual leave
- An employee may donate four (4) or more hours as long as the employee retains an annual leave balance of at least ten (10) days after the donation is deducted.
- Classified staff employees may not donate any annual leave hours accrued above the 240-hour maximum they would otherwise not have had sufficient time to use before their next anniversary date.
Sick leave
- An employee may donate four (4) or more hours as long as the employee retains a sick leave balance of at least 176 hours after the donation is deducted.
Personal Holiday
- An employee 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.
Using Shared Leave
Accrual of sick leave and annual leave continues 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.
Return of Unused Shared Leave
Any unused shared leave 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 from the doctor of the employee who received the shared leave a statement verifying that the illness or injury is resolved.
ACT
Shared Leave Forms
Request Shared Leave
- If you meet the eligibility requirements outlined above, download and complete the Shared Leave Request Form; and
- For leave due to a serious health condition, provide a medical statement signed by a licensed health care provider that:
- Verifies and describes the incapacitating condition which requires your absence; and
- Provides the beginning date of treatment and the date you are expected to return to work.
- For leave due to military service, provide a copy of your military orders.
- For Emergency Worker leave - provide proof that you have volunteered your services to a governmental agency or to a nonprofit organization engaged in humanitarian relief in an area of the United states where a state of emergency has been declared, and that a governmental agency or nonprofit organization has accepted your offer of service.
- For leave due to a serious health condition, send the medical statement directly to the Human Resources Operations Office that serves your unit. Medical information is treated confidentially and is kept separate from your personnel file. You do not need to share information about your medical condition or that of your relatives with your supervisor.
- Submit the completed request form to your supervisor for completion and forwarding to your unit's Human Resources Operations Office before or during the period of leave.
- Your unit's Human Resources Operations Office will contact you and your supervisor with the determination of your shared leave request.
Donating Shared Leave
- If you meet the eligibility requirements outlined above and you want to donate leave to a specific employee, download and complete the donation form, and;
- Submit the form to your supervisor for completion and forwarding to the Human Resources Operations Office that serves your unit before or during the period of leave.
- Once the donation has been approved by your unit's Human Resources Operations Office, you, your supervisor, and your unit's timekeeper will receive written approval of the donation.
Returning to Work Following Leave
Shared leave eligibility ends either when you return to work, a medical condition improves to the point where it no longer qualifies for shared leave or you are separated from employment.
If your medical 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 your unit to request approval for use of additional shared leave.
When you are able to return to work, you will need to take the following steps in order for you to resume regular work status:
- For leave due to a serious illness, submit a healthcare return to work authorization to the Human Resources Operations Office, including confirmation from your doctor that the illness or injury is resolved.
- If there are unused hours of shared leave hours 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.
- The timekeeper will make appropriate adjustments to employee work/leave records and payroll.
Upon completion of the steps above, your shared leave eligibility period has ended. If you for any reason you again need to request shared leave you will have to 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.
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