Donation of Leave 4-45.7

School Board of the City of Virginia Beach
Regulation 4-45.7

PERSONNEL

Donation of Leave

A benefit eligible School Division employee may donate accrued leave to another employee who has a personal serious illness or is caring for a family member with a serious medical condition and who has exhausted their own available accrued leave. The Department of Human Resources is charged with the responsibility of administering this Regulation which will be governed by the following:

1. Eligibility

   Employees who have exhausted all of their available accrued leave and need to be absent for an extended period of time, as certified by a physician, because of: 1) a serious illness, including maternity-related medical incapacity; or 2) a family member’s serious medical condition are eligible to receive additional paid leave through the use of approved leave donations. Family members are defined in School Board Regulation 4-45.1 Sick Leave.

   The receiving employee must have verifying medical documentation on file with the Office of Employee Relations, Department of Human Resources.

2. Use of Donations

   Approved leave donations will only be used after the receiving employee’s sick leave, personal reasons, annual leave, and sick leave bank eligibility (if a member of the sick leave bank) have been exhausted. If a member does not have enough accrued leave to meet the bank eligibility requirement, donations may be used.

   Virginia Retirement System (VRS) Hybrid Plan employees may not utilize donations during short-term disability periods being covered under the Virginia Local Disability Program (VLDP).

   Once employees enter an unpaid long-term illness status, they will no longer be eligible to receive additional leave donations. See Regulation 4-45.6 Leave for Long-term Illness or Injury of an Employee or Family Member.

   Sick leave regulation leave increment requirements apply to this Regulation. Leave increments may be taken one hour initially and in one-half (½) hour increments thereafter.

   Employees may not save unused donated leave for follow-up appointments or subsequent absences once they return to work. However, if the employee is placed out of work intermittently in the same fiscal year and for the same condition, they may access any unused donations.

3. Maximum Donation for Receiving Employees

   The maximum hours a receiving employee can utilize during a fiscal year (July 1 through June 30) will be defined by their daily hours and are as follows:

   1. VRS Plan 1 and Plan 2 employees may utilize a maximum of the hourly equivalent of sixty (60) days for a personal illness and a maximum of the hourly equivalent of twenty (20) days to care for a family member;
   2. VRS Hybrid Plan employees who have not satisfied the VLDP one-year eligibility waiting period may utilize a maximum of the hourly equivalent of sixty (60) days for a personal illness and a maximum of the hourly equivalent of twenty (20) days to care for a family member;
   3. VRS Hybrid Plan employees who have satisfied the one-year eligibility waiting period are covered under the VLDP and may utilize a maximum of the hourly equivalent of twenty-four (24) days for a personal illness. Note: A day is calculated as the number of hours needed to offset the percentage covered by VLDP. For example, an employee receiving VLDP at 60% (or 4.8 hours daily) would need an offset for the 40% not covered (or 3.2 hours daily). Therefore, 3.2 hours would represent a donated leave day.

      Hybrid Plan employees may utilize a maximum of the hourly equivalent of twenty (20) days to care for a family member;

   4. VRS Hybrid Employees with five (5) or more years of service are not eligible for donated days for a personal illness as these employees are provided additional income protection under VLDP, which is governed under Regulation 4-45.4. They may still utilize donations to care for a family member.
4. Maximum Donation for Donating Employee

   Employees may donate a maximum of the hourly equivalent of five (5) work days, as defined by their daily hours, in any given fiscal year. An employee may choose to donate accrued annual leave, personal reasons leave, or sick leave. Donations must be made in hourly increments and submitted on the appropriate donation form to receiving employee’s site administrator.

   Exception: Employees may donate up to the hourly equivalent of sixty (60) workdays of leave in any given fiscal year to family members working in the School Division. Family members are defined in School Board Regulation 4-45.1 Sick Leave.

5. Request for Donation of Leave

   Request for donations must originate from an administrator at the building level or within a central office department. Employees may not directly solicit leave donations from other employees.

   The principal, director, or department head must submit a written request to the Chief Human Resources Officer, or designee, to initiate the collection and use of donations.

   On behalf of the employee, upon approval from the Department of Human Resources, the principal, director, or department head sends an email donation request to the employee’s co-workers at the worksite. Donations from other worksites within the School Division may also be accepted by the supervisor.

   The principal, director, or department head collects the donation forms, then forwards the completed forms to the Department of Human Resources, Office of Employee Relations.

Related Links

School Board Regulation 4-45.1
School Board Regulation 4-45.2
School Board Regulation 4-45.6
School Board Regulation 4-47.1
School Board Regulation 4-50.1

Approved by Superintendent: July 16, 1991
Revised by Superintendent: August 30, 2005
Revised by Superintendent: January 13, 2010
Scrivener’s Amendments: February 9, 2014
Revised by Superintendent: November 29, 2017 effective January 1, 2018
Revised by Superintendent: June 30, 2023