Employee Benefits
Catastrophic Leave
Under the catastrophic leave program, university employees may voluntarily donate unused vacation, banked sabbatical, leave banked in an Annual Leave Reserve Account, personal holidays or legal holidays to colleagues within their employment group who have been granted unpaid leaves of absence due to a catastrophic need. Leave may not be exchanged between classified and unclassified employees of the University.
Catastrophic need is defined as an illness or injury that incapacitates the employee or his/her immediate family member and that requires the employee to take time off from work for an extended period of time.
For a catastrophic leave summary for your employment group, select one of the following:
CLASSIFIED EMPLOYEES
Wisconsin Statute 203.35(2r) provides authority for the Office of State Employment Relations to establish a catastrophic leave program for classified state and university employees. Administrative policies are contained in s. ER 18.15 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code. Consult your bargaining unit for information specific to your union contract.
The program permits classified employees to donate certain types and amounts of leave credits to other classified employees who have been granted an unpaid leave of absence on account of a catastrophic need for which absence there is no paid leave benefits or replacement income available, and that creates a financial hardship for the employee.
Exchange of leave is allowed between members of different bargaining units, between different employing units within the same agency and between classified represented and non-represented employees. Leave may also be exchanged across agency lines with the approval of each agency.
Limited Term Employees (LTE's) are not eligible for this benefit.
Recipients
To be eligible to receive donations, you must satisfy all of the following conditions:
- Be covered by Catastrophic Leave provisions under a collective bargaining agreement or s. ER 18.15, Wis.Admin.Code.
- Have completed the first six months of original probation period in a permanent position or six months in a project position.
- Be on an approved unpaid leave of absence of at least 160-hours duration due to a catastrophic need (prorated for part-time employees). The unpaid leave may be taken in non-continuous increments.
- Provide medical certification of the catastrophic need if your employer or union requires it.
- Have used all available sick leave credits.
- Have a leave balance of no more than 16 hours of combined accrued leave, including sabbatical/termination leave and personal/legal holiday credits.
- Not be receiving other salary replacement income or benefits such as income continuation insurance or Worker's Compensation
- Obtain your employer's approval by submitting a Catastrophic Leave Application.
- Remain a state employee.
Classified Catastrophic Leave Recipients should complete the application form approved by the Office of State Employment Relations.
Donors
To be eligible to donate leave, you must satisfy all of the following conditions:
- Be covered by Catastrophic Leave provisions under a collective bargaining agreement or s. ER 18.15, Wisconsin Administrative Code.
- Have completed the first six months of an original probationary period in a permanent position or six months in a project position.
- Have been a state employee for at least one year.
- Remain a state employee.
Classified Catastrophic Leave Donors should complete the authorization form approved by the Office of State Employment Relations.
More About Classified Leave Crediting
- An employee may donate not more than 24 hours of leave in any calendar year, prorated for part-time.
- Recipients may not receive more than 640 hours per calendar year, prorated for part-time.
- Leave is donated on an hour-per-hour basis.
- Value of the leave is based on the recipient's hourly salary.
- Sick leave credits or compensatory time off credits cannot be donated
- Leave credits that are not used by the recipient are returned to the donor.
UNCLASSIFIED EMPLOYEES
The Board Regents provides authority for catastrophic leave. The policy is described in Unclassified Personnel Guideline UPG #9.Eligible Unclassified Recipients must satisfy the following conditions:
- Be on an approved unpaid leave of absence due to your own catastrophic illness or medical condition or that of an immediate family member.
- Provide sufficient written proof to the Chancellor or designee that a catastrophic illness or medical condition exists.
- Have exhausted all paid leave available, including sick leave.
- Not be receiving benefits from another state-sponsored income replacement program.
Additional Guidelines for Unclassified Employees
- Unlimited frequency to donate.
- Donations in full-day increments only.
- Leave solicitation is left to the discretion of each institution.
- Once leave is donated it is credited to an account created for the recipient's use, and the recipient retains all future rights to it.
- Donated leave may be used to meet the Income Continuation Insurance waiting period.
This document was last revised on November 10, 2006
