Human Resources
CART Studio Arts

Donated Leave

Donated Leave Program for Classified Employees, Faculty, Unclassified Staff and Librarians

Eligibility to Receive Donated Leave

Employee shall be eligible to receive donated sick or vacation leave if the employee:

  1. Has completed at least one year of continuous University service,
  2. Has exhausted all accrued sick, vacation and administrative leave, all sick leave injury benefits, if any, and all compensatory time off,
  3. Has not, in the two-year period immediately preceding the employee’s need for donated leave, been disciplined for chronic or excessive absenteeism, chronic or excessive lateness or abuse of leave; and either
  4. The employee suffers from a catastrophic health condition or injury; or
  5. Is needed to provide care to a member of the employee’s immediate family who is suffering from a catastrophic health condition or injury; or
  6. Requires absence from work due to the donation of an organ, or
  7. The employee or employee’s immediate family member is suffering a disability as a result of mental or physical health which requires the care of a physician who verifies the need for the employee to be absent from work for 60 or more work days.
  8. Must receive a total of at least five (5) days from any one or more leave donors to participate in the program.
  9. Leave recipients may not receive more than 260 sick days or vacation days, and shall not receive any such days on a retroactive basis.
  10. Employees receiving full pay through the donated leave policy are ineligible for Temporary disability benefits.

Catastrophic health condition or injury is either:

  1. a life-threatening condition or combination of conditions affecting the employee or employee’s immediate family member; or
  2. a period of disability of the employee, employee’s fetus, or employee’s immediate family member’s mental or physical health which requires the care of a physician who provides a medical verification of the need for the employee’s absence from work for 60 or more work days.

Certainly, the loss of a limb, an eye or a vital organ will affect the victim the remainder of his or her life. The strongest examples are traumatic brain injuries and damage to the central nervous system, such as a crushed spinal column. The victim very often loses the ability to function, to be employed and to enjoy everyday life because they are left paralyzed, cognitively impaired, unconscious or dependent on life-support systems. Disfiguring injuries also can have catastrophic impact. Similarly, catastrophic illnesses are those with a poor prognosis i.e. hospice care being rendered, reduced ability to function, etc.

Donor Eligibility Guidelines

  1. An employee may donate up to thirty (30) days to any one recipient. Only whole days may be donated. Thirty (30) days of donation to any one recipient is a lifetime maximum to the recipient.
  2. The donor must have remaining to his/her credit at least 20 days of accrued sick leave if donating sick leave and at least 12 days of accrued vacation leave if donating vacation leave.
  3. The donor must not solicit or accept anything of value or accept any benefit in exchange for the donation.

Procedures

  • An employee may initiate participation in this program as a leave recipient or donor by contacting the MSU FMLA/ADA Coordinator.
  • Medical verification from a physician or other licensed health care provider concerning the nature and anticipated duration of the health condition or injury or the need to be absent from work for 60 days or more must be submitted by the employee or family representative. Decisions regarding eligibility will be made on a case-by-case basis by Human Resources and will confirm to State guidelines as provided in NJAC 4A:6-1.22.
  • The donor(s) and the recipient (or family representative) will fill out the required Donated Leave Program forms and return them to the MSU FMLA/ADA Coordinator.

No one shall directly or indirectly intimidate, threaten or coerce, or attempt to intimidate, threaten or coerce any other employee for the purpose of interfering with any right which such employee may have with respect to contributing, receiving or using paid leave under this program. The above shall include promising to confer or conferring any benefit (such as appointment, promotion or compensation) or making a threat to engage in, or engaging in, an act of retaliation against an employee. Any employee who engages in the above prohibited conduct shall be subject to disciplinary action.

Other Conditions

  • Should the recipient employee return to work or otherwise terminate the use of leave with donated time remaining, that time will be immediately returned to the donor(s) on a prorated basis in whole days. Any proration that would amount to less than one whole day per donor will not be returned. The only exception to the immediate return of unused donated days that will be made is if the medical documentation returning the employee to work indicates that further treatment will be required and provides a schedule for such treatment.
  • The recipient employee, while using donated leave, will continue to earn sick and vacation time. All such earned time shall be retained by the recipient employee and credited to the employee’s accrued leave time.
  • A recipient employee who retires will not be granted supplemental compensation on retirement (SCOR) for any unused sick days which he or she had received as a donation.
  • The donor’s leave time will be reduced by the number of days being donated.
  • The lifetime maximum donation that any one recipient may receive is 260 days.
  • Donations may not be used on a retroactive basis.

Forms

To participate in the Donated Leave Program as a recipient, complete the Donated Leave Program Recipient Affidavit Form.

To participate in the Donated Leave Program as a donor, complete the Donated Leave Program Donor Transfer Form.