Retiring state employees can now assist other state employees in need by donating to a new leave-sharing bank. Last year, Senate Bill 1581 was signed in to law modifying the state’s leave sharing program for state employees. The new program, effective November 1, 2018, changes how state agencies handle shared leave, making the process more consistent among state agencies.
The program’s purpose remains the same as it provides a way for state employees to donate leave to fellow state employees who have exhausted, or will soon exhaust, all types of leave. The law created a “Leave of Last Resort” bank that is administered by the Office of Management and Enterprise Services and is funded by voluntary donations of annual or sick leave from employees who are retiring or leaving state service.
This bank is an opportunity for retiring employees to put their sick leave to good use rather than lose it. Often, a retiring employee’s sick leave balance is more than the amount they can apply toward their retirement date and the remaining leave balance virtually disappears when they retire. Now, the Leave of Last Resort Bank provides a place for them to donate that leave to their fellow state employees by completing the donation form HCM-33C.
Active employees, or those leaving state employment, may also donate to the bank as long as their leave balances do not fall below 80 hours. They may donate by completing their donation form HCM-33B.
Donors still have the option to donate leave to a specific employee as long as the employee receiving the leaves meets the eligibility criteria. Sometimes though, the employee has extra leave to donate but does not know someone who could benefit from it. The new leave bank provides an opportunity to help someone who needs leave that the employee is not aware of.
Leave recipients must still request shared leave and be determined eligible to receive leave through the bank. The recipient’s chief administrative officer determines the amount of donated leave the employee may receive.
If you’re approaching retirement and would rather help someone rather than see your unused sick leave go away, please speak with your workplace’s human resource staff about donating to the Leave of Last Resort Bank.
Sick Leave Can Be Donated To State Agency Leave Bank
