Sick leave days may be donated from one District employee to another within the following guidelines:

1. Permission to receive donations will be granted only for a District employee who is pregnant or recovering from childbirth or who is suffering from or has a relative or household member suffering from an extraordinary or severe illness, injury, impairment or physical or mental condition that has caused or will cause the employee to exhaust all accumulated sick leave earned pursuant to Title 70, Section 6-104 of the Oklahoma Statutes and that has caused or is likely to cause the employee to take leave without pay or to terminate employment, as determined by the Board of Education.

2. For purposes of this policy, the following definitions apply: "Relative of the employee" means a spouse, parent/guardians, children, grandparents/guardians, siblings, and like relations established through the marriage of the current spouse as well as legal dependents, and household members.

• "Household members" means those persons who reside in the same home, who have reciprocal duties to and do provide financial support for one another, including foster children and legal wards, even if they do not live in the household. This term does not include persons sharing the same general house, when the living style is primarily that of a dormitory or commune.

• "Severe" or "extraordinary" means serious, extreme or life-threatening, including temporary disability resulting from pregnancy, miscarriage, childbirth and recovery there from.

• "District employee" means a teacher or any full-time employee of the District. Whether an employee is a "full-time employee of the District" will be determined by the standard period of labor which is customarily understood to constitute full-time employment for the type of services performed by the employee and who is employed a minimum of one hundred seventy-two (172) days.

3. The request for permission to receive donations must be in writing and may be presented to the Superintendent or designee by the District employee or another employee (acting with the affected employee's permission) in his or her behalf. The Superintendent or designee will place the request on the agenda of the Board of Education with a recommendation to approve or disapprove the request, in whole or in part. A District employee may be eligible to receive donations if the Board determines that the employee meets the criteria described in this policy and the employee has followed District policies regarding the use of sick leave. To allow the Superintendent, designee or the Board to determine whether the employee meets the criteria described in this policy, the employee must first submit a medical certificate from a licensed physician or health care practitioner verifying the severe or extraordinary nature and expected duration of the condition. The Superintendent or designee or the Board of Education may request such additional information about the employee’s condition and may withhold action until it is provided.

4. A donee may not use any donated sick leave until his or her own sick leave earned pursuant to OS Title 70, Section 6-104 has been exhausted. The donee may use donated sick leave only for the purposes specified in this policy.

5. Donated sick leave will be paid at the daily rate of the donee, not the donor. The sick leave received by the donee will be designated as donated sick leave and will be maintained separately from all other sick leave balances. Donated sick leave will be used as needed.

6. Donated sick leave not used by the donee during an occurrence as determined by the Board shall be returned to the donating employee. The donated sick leave remaining will be returned at its original donor value and reinstated to the annual leave balance of each donor.

7. The maximum total number of days that may be received as donations by any employee is one hundred fifty (150) during his/her total District employment. An employee shall not be determined to be eligible for donations more than twice during his or her term of employment by the District. Donations may be made only during the academic year (July 1-June 30) in which the employee is determined to be eligible to receive donations.

8. An employee may donate only days that are earned and accumulated. The donor may donate any amount of sick leave provided the donation does not cause his or her sick leave balance to fall below ten (10) day (certified) or eighty (80) hours (classified).

   
   

9. Any contribution of sick leave by one employee to another is strictly voluntary. No employee shall be coerced, threatened, intimidated or financially induced into donating sick leave under this policy. Each contribution of sick leave must be confirmed in writing by the donor to the Payroll Department.

10. Donated sick leave cannot be transferred to another District or purchased by the Jenks District upon termination of employment.

Revised by the Board of Education September 2005

Revised September 2008

Revised September 2014

Revised June 2015