Sick Leave Pool

Value Statement

The Austin Community College District (“ACC” or “the College”) provides a Sick Leave Pool to assist employees who have exhausted their paid leave as a result of a catastrophic illness or injury (their own or within their immediate family).

Administrative Rule

I.  Eligibility

1. After 180 days of employment in a staffing table position, employees are eligible to apply for hours from the Sick Leave Pool when all of their available paid leave (sick, vacation, personal) and compensatory time has been exhausted due to a catastrophic illness or injury for themselves or for someone in their immediate family. Employees who are in positions that are not eligible to accrue sick leave are not eligible to receive hours from the pool.
2. If an employee’s catastrophic illness or injury begins before the 180th day of employment, the employee is not eligible to receive hours from the pool.
3. The maximum hours that can be granted in a 12-month period to an eligible full-time employee is the lesser of 480 hours or one-third of the hours in the Sick Leave Pool. Eligible part-time employees may be granted Sick Leave Pool hours proportional to their employment status.
4. Sick Leave Pool hours may be used for a single period of absence, intermittently or for a combination of the two.
5. Sick Leave Pool hours may be awarded only based on the recommendation of the Sick Leave Pool Committee and with the final approval of the Vice President of Human Resources.

II.  Donations

1. Eligible employees may donate not less than 8 hours and no more than 24 hours of accumulated sick leave to the Sick Leave Pool each fiscal year. Donations may be made at any time during the fiscal year.
2. Terminating and retiring employees may donate all of their accumulated sick leave to the Sick Leave Pool upon separation from the College.
3. Once sick leave hours have been donated to the Sick Leave Pool, they cannot be restored or returned to the donating employee.
4. Employees may not designate a particular employee to receive their donated sick leave hours.
5. Contributing to the Sick Leave Pool is not a prerequisite for applying for hours from the pool.
6. Employees who receive hours from the Sick Leave Pool are not required to pay the hours back into the pool or make future donations.

III. Confidentiality

All information regarding Sick Leave Pool requests and donations shall be treated as confidential and protected health information in accordance with HIPAA and other applicable laws.