Lewisburg Area School District Policies	Printable version
334.1 Sick Leave Bank 334.1. SICK LEAVE BANK 1. Purpose The Board supports the concept of a sick leave bank for all employees of the district. The Sick Leave Bank shall be administered according to the guidelines that have been developed to operate the bank. The Sick Leave Bank provides protection for the eligible participants in the event of a serious illness or accident by accumulating sick leave days for the use of members who have exhausted their own sick leave and personal days. 2. Guidelines Board Of Directors 1. Composition - The Sick Leave Bank Board of Directors shall consist of five (5) members, all of whom shall be members of the Sick Leave Bank. Three (3) shall be elected from and by the teaching staff and two (2) from and by the nonteaching staff members. A business office official shall serve as a nonvoting ex officio member of the Sick Leave Bank Board. 2. Elections - a. An election will be held by members of the Sick Leave Bank in October of each school year. The election will be for a two-year term. b. Two (2) teaching staff members and one (1) nonteaching staff member will be elected in even numbered years and one (1) teaching staff member and (1) nonteaching staff member will be elected in odd numbered years. 3. Vacancies - A vacancy occurring on the Sick Leave Bank Board prior to the termination of that director's term of office shall be filled by appointment of the Bank Board. 4. Officers - The Sick Leave Bank Board of Directors shall choose a chairperson and a secretary from its membership. 5. Meetings - The Bank Board shall meet during October and May, and at such other times during the year as needed. Responsibilities Of Sick Leave Bank Board Members The Sick Leave Bank Board of Directors shall administer the program with the assistance of the school district business office. 1. The Bank Board shall oversee the preparation and distribution of forms and the determination of membership in the Bank. 2. The Bank Board shall receive and process each member’s application for Sick Leave Bank days giving due consideration to the applicant’s past/current attendance records, nature of the illness or accident, service record, as well as other options open to the applicant. 3. The Bank Board shall send an annual report to the School Board by October 15th of each school year. The report shall include number of members, days accrued, days used, record of approval/rejection of requests for the prior year, and recommendations for the upcoming year. 4. The Bank Board shall administer the election procedures. 5. The Bank Board may review these guidelines with recommendations for changes forwarded to the School Board Policy Committee for consideration. 6. The Bank Board members shall take all necessary steps to ensure the confidentiality of the personal information submitted by the applicants. Membership 1. Limitations of Membership - All employees of the district who qualify for sick leave shall be eligible. 2. Acquisition of Membership - Initial membership shall be acquired through the submission of the Application for Membership (Form A) on or before September 20 of each year, authorizing the transfer of one (1) day of accrued sick leave to the Lewisburg Area School District Sick Leave Bank. Membership application forms (Form A) will be distributed at the beginning of the school year and will be available at the district business office. Employees beginning employment in the district after September 20 will be allowed ten (10) working days after the commencement of employment in the district to accept or reject membership in the Sick Leave Bank. 3. Renewal of Membership - Membership will be automatically renewed each year unless the employee notifies the business office official in writing of his/her desire to withdraw from the Bank. The business office must receive withdrawal notification by September 20. Automatic renewal will authorize the transfer of one (1) day of accrued sick leave. 4. Exception to Renewal of Membership - Since unused days are accumulated by the district Sick Leave Bank, if in any school year the balance of days as of August 31 is four hundred (400) or more, members of the previous year’s Sick Leave Bank will not be assessed a sick leave day to acquire membership for the new year. New members will be required to relinquish one (1) sick leave day as required for original membership. 5. Withdrawal from Membership - If an individual withdraws from the Sick Leave Bank program, any days contributed to the program remain with the program. Procedures 1. Terms of Application - The long-term serious illness or injury must be of such a nature that it is unavoidable during the school year and absence from staff duties is necessitated and mandated by the illness or accident. a. The member must have used all accrued sick leave days, personal days, and vacation days, before application for days from the Sick Leave Bank or before a renewal of the application or request for additional sick bank days will be considered b. Sick Leave Bank days will apply only to working days as defined by each individual’s employment agreement with the district. 2. Eligibility - In the initial year of membership, applicants with illness or injury acquired prior to the date of the applicant’s membership in the Sick Leave Bank will not be eligible for Sick Leave Bank benefits for said illness or injury. 3. Waiting Period - For each request by members who have accumulated fewer than forty-six (46) sick days, a waiting period will be required before benefits begin, based on the total number of sick days accrued and used consecutively and continually, as follows: Total # Sick Leave Days Waiting Period 18 or fewer sick days 15 working days 19 to 33 sick days 10 working days 34 to 45 sick days 5 working days 46 or more sick days No waiting period a. Prior to the end of the waiting period, the member requesting Sick Leave Bank days must submit Form C together with a physician’s certification of illness to the Sick Leave Bank Board. The mailing address of the Bank Board will be the district business office. b. If requested by the Sick Leave Bank Board of Directors, the applicant must report for an examination by a physician designated by the Bank Board. The examination will be at the expense of the applicant. 4. Distribution of Days - The Sick Leave Bank Board of Directors shall distribute days on a first come, first serve basis throughout the year. a. Each case shall be dealt with on an individual basis and either approved or disapproved by a majority vote of all of the Sick Leave Bank Board of Directors. The Bank Board will maintain a record book of all applications and decisions to be used as a reference by the Bank Board in order to promote consistency in the application and disbursement of benefits as Bank Board membership changes. The record book shall be kept by the business office official who is an ex-officio member of the Bank Board. b. The Bank Board shall not grant waivers to this policy. c. The number of available days to be allocated to the applicant shall be twenty percent (20%) of the days held in balance in the bank to a maximum of ninety (90) days. The draw of the remaining Sick Leave Bank days may be extended from the termination of one (1) year to the commencement of the next. d. Members who are granted more than twenty (20) Sick Leave Bank days will be required to submit a dated physician’s certification of illness to the district business office on or before the 27th and 57th Sick Leave Bank day in order to be granted the next installment of up to thirty (30) Sick Leave Bank days. e. Upon returning to work, a period of ninety (90) working days on the job will be required of the applicant before the member is eligible for additional bank days. f. No applicant shall be granted days beyond the last day of the current fiscal year. 5. Regulation of Procedures - The forms referenced by these guidelines shall be used by the Sick Leave Bank Board of Directors until such time revisions of the forms are deemed necessary by a majority vote of the Bank Board. All forms will be available in the district business office. 6. Appeals - In the event the Bank Board denies benefits, members may appeal the decision of the Bank Board by requesting an appeal hearing. The request shall be submitted in writing to the business office within fifteen (15) working days of the receipt of the denial notice. Upon receipt of the request for an appeal hearing, the business office official shall notify the Bank Board Chair and the Superintendent. A hearing panel shall be convened consisting of two (2) School Board members appointed by the School Board President, an administrator (not the immediate supervisor of the applicant) appointed by the Superintendent, and a professional staff member and a support staff member who are Sick Leave Bank members (not Sick Leave Bank Board members) selected by the business office official. The hearing will allow for the applicant to present his/her reasons for reconsideration of the denial, and a Sick Leave Bank Board representative shall present the reasoning of the Bank Board’s denial. The hearing panel shall then meet in private to discuss their findings. The hearing panel will then draft a recommendation to be submitted to the School Board. The School Board shall then review the recommendation, render a decision, and shall comply with the applicable provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Termination Of Lewisburg Area School District’s Sick Leave Bank 1. The School Board may terminate this policy after giving ninety (90) days written notice to the Sick Leave Bank Board of Directors to discuss reasons for the decision to terminate. 2. If for any reason this program is terminated, all days left in the bank will be lost and there will be no pro rating of days to the membership.