HR 5.06pr - Procedures for Implementation of Shared Leave :

This procedure outlines the leave sharing program for Edmonds College. The procedures are developed in accordance with RCW 41.04.672 and will comply with RCW 41.04.650 through 41.04.670. There are a number of conditions set out in statute which must be met before an employee can donate leave to another employee; they are explained below.

II. GOVERNANCE

A. The President or their designee shall determine the amount of leave, if any, an employee may receive under WAC rules and college regulation.

B. For employees requesting shared leave for an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition, the President or their designee shall require the employee to submit, prior to approval or disapproval, a medical certificate from a licensed physician or healthcare practitioner verifying the employee’s required absence, the description of the problem, whether the illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition is of an extraordinary or severe nature, and the expected date of return to work.

C. The President or designee shall consider other methods of accommodating the employee’s needs such as telework, modified duty, etc., in lieu of shared leave usage.

D. Leave will not be transferred to or from an employee in another agency.  Exceptions to this rule may only be approved by the President of the college.

E. Leave transferred under these rules shall be used solely for the purpose stated in RCW 41.04.665.

F. An employee is only considered eligible for leave receipt if they meet the criteria established in RCW 41.04.665, section 1.

G. An employee donating annual leave must meet the following conditions:

1. The President or their designee approves the donation.

2. The employee’s request will not cause his/her annual leave balance to fall below 80 hours.  

3. The employee may not donate excess annual leave beyond the maximum amount an employee can accumulate and would not be able to take due to an approaching anniversary date, unless an employee’s request for vacation leave was denied and the leave was deferred.

H.  An employee donating sick leave must meet the following conditions:

1. The employee is eligible to accrue compensable sick leave and has an accrued sick leave balance of more than 176 hours.

2. There is no restriction on the number of hours that may be donated so long as a transfer would not bring the balance below 176 hours.

3. The employee may only donate compensable sick leave.

I. An employee may donate one personal holiday (8 hours equivalent) per year, provided the employee is eligible to earn a personal holiday.

J. No employee may be intimidated, threatened, or coerced into donating leave for purposes of this program.

K. Unused shared leave may not be cashed out under sick leave buyout rules but shall be returned to the donor(s) in accordance with RCW 41.04.665.

L. Employees using shared leave shall not use more hours of shared leave on a weekly basis than the number of hours they are normally scheduled to work in a week. Employees shall not use more than 40 hours of shared leave on a weekly basis.

M. Shared leave shall be used on a “first in-first out basis” (i.e. the leave shall be credited to and used by the receiving employee in the order in which it was donated to Human Resources).

III.  PROCEDURES FOR DONATING AND RECEIVING SHARED LEAVE

A. Employees who wish to request shared leave should fill out a shared leave request form and submit it to the Human Resources Office. The request form can be found at HR Forms.  

B. Prior to the President or their designee’s approval or denial of the request to donate:

1. The Human Resources Office will verify the recipient meets the criteria set out in statute and consider other factors, such as whether or not the employee is covered under a long-term disability insurance policy, etc.

2. The Business Office shall determine whether or not such transfers can be made in accordance with Office of Financial Management (OFM) policies, regulations, and procedures.

C. Transfers will not be allowed between state operating budget accounts and self-support programs, grants, or contracts.  Exceptions to this rule may only be approved by the President of the college.

D. Employees who have purchased the state’s long-term disability program and have enough paid leave accrued to satisfy the waiting period are not eligible for the shared leave program.

E. If the President or their designee approves a shared leave request, the following occurs:                           

1. Employees wishing to donate leave must complete and return the appropriate form to the Human Resources Office. The form can be found at HR Forms.

2. The Human Resources Office shall request donations from employees and verify that donors are eligible to donate leave.

3. The Human Resources Office shall notify the affected employee and keep the appropriate records for tracking and use of such leave.

4. The Business Office and the Human Resources Office shall report shared leave activity to OFM.

F. Transferred funds under these rules shall not be used to determine a program’s baseline budget for the following year or determine the allocation of full-time equivalent staff positions.

G. The Uniformed Service Shared Leave Pool will be administered in accordance with RCW 41.04.672.

RELATED POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
HR 5.0 Human Resources Management Policy

SOURCE INFORMATION
(was) C 6.3.103 R103 Shared Leave Implementation

RCW 41.04.650 Leave sharing program—Intent.

RCW 41.04.655 Leave sharing program—Definitions.

RCW 41.04.660 Leave sharing program—Created.

RCW 41.04.665 Leave sharing program—When employee may receive leave—When employee may transfer accrued leave—Transfer of leave between employees of different agencies—Return of unused leave—Rules.

RCW 41.04.670 Leave sharing program—Adoption of rules.

RCW 41.04.672 Veterans’ in-state service shared leave pool.

CONTENT OWNER. The primary responsibility for this policy belongs to:
Vice President for Human Resources and Operations

PRIMARY CONTENT CONTRIBUTOR (Director/Dean)
Vice President for Human Resources and Operations

REVIEW PERIOD
Seven years.

REVIEW HISTORY
2021-Oct 19  Amended to update content owner and contributor

2017-Nov 27  Revisions approved by President’s Cabinet

2003-Jul 14  Revised by President’s Cabinet

1996-May 28  Revised by President’s Cabinet

1990-Apr 30  Revised by President’s Cabinet

1990-Jan 22  Revised by President’s Cabinet