(A) Definitions. As used in this
rule:
(1) "Immediate
family" has the same meaning as set forth in rule 123:1-47-01 of the
Administrative Code.
(2) "New sick
leave" means sick leave an employee has accrued pursuant to section
124.382 of the Revised Code on or after November 15, 1981. "New sick
leave" does not include emergency paid sick leave or expanded family and
medical leave available pursuant to the Families First Coronavirus Response
Act, Pub. L. No. 116-127 (2020).
(3) "Paid
leave" means new sick leave, personal leave or vacation leave. For
purposes of this rule, "paid leave" does not include emergency paid
sick leave or expanded family and medical leave available pursuant to the
Families First Coronavirus Response Act, Pub. L. No. 116-127 (2020). Except as
provided in paragraph (E) of this rule, "paid leave" does not include
compensatory time.
(B) Employees eligible to receive donated
paid leave. An employee is eligible to receive donated paid leave if the
employee:
(1) Is paid by warrant of
the director of budget and management;
(2) Is employed by the
same agency, board, or commission as the employee who is donating the paid
leave;
(3) Is eligible to accrue and use sick
leave when in active pay status;
(4) Has no available accrued
leave;
(5) Has a need for the paid leave due to
the serious illness or injury of the employee or a member of the
employee's immediate family; and
(6) Has applied for and not yet been
approved for any state-paid leave, workers' compensation, or benefits
program which is available to the employee. If the employee is not eligible for
any such program, then this requirement is not applicable and does not impact
the employee's eligibility to receive donated paid leave. An employee who
has applied for these programs may use donated paid leave to satisfy the
waiting period for any such benefits, if applicable. After the waiting period,
donated paid leave may be used up to an amount equal to the benefit for which
the employee has applied (e.g., sixty-seven per cent for disability benefits)
while the employee's application is pending approval. If the
employee's application for any state-paid leave is approved, the employee
shall not use donated leave to supplement the approved state-paid
leave.
(C) Employees eligible to donate paid
leave. An employee is eligible to donate paid leave if the donating
employee:
(1) Is paid by warrant of
the director of budget and management;
(2) Is employed by the
same agency, board, or commission as the employee receiving the donated paid
leave;
(3) Voluntarily elects to donate paid
leave and does so with the understanding that the donated paid leave will not
be returned;
(4) Donates a minimum of eight hours of
paid leave;
(5) Retains a combined leave balance of
at least eighty hours after the donated paid leave is deducted from the
donating employee's leave balances;
(6) Donates new sick leave, if the
employee is donating sick leave; and
(7) Certifies, in writing, the
following:
(a) The name of the eligible employee for whom the donated paid
leave is intended;
(b) The pay period(s) to which the offer to donate leave is
applicable;
(c) The type of paid leave and the number of hours to be donated,
with the minimum number of such hours being eight;
(d) That the donating employee will retain a minimum combined
leave balance of at least eighty hours after the donated paid leave hours have
been deducted from the donating employee's balances; and
(e) That the leave is being donated by the employee voluntarily
and that the employee understands that the donated paid leave will not be
returned.
(D) General principles.
(1) Donated paid leave
shall be administered on a pay period by pay period basis. Appointing
authorities shall only deduct the maximum amount specified by the donating
employee from the donating employee's leave balance, but under no
circumstance shall an appointing authority deduct more from the donating
employee's leave balance than the amount of leave that is necessary to
bring the receiving employee up to the maximum number of hours the receiving
employee is scheduled to work in the pay period. Banking of donated leave is
not allowed. Leave accrued by an employee while using donated paid leave shall
be used, if necessary, as soon as it is available before additional donated
paid leave may be received and used by the employee.
(2) If an appointing
authority receives more than one offer to donate leave to a qualifying employee
for any pay period, the appointing authority shall process the offers in the
order they are received.
(3) An eligible employee shall receive no
more than eight hundred hours of donated leave from all sources combined in any
calendar year period.
(4) Appointing authorities shall ensure
that no employees are forced or coerced into donating paid leave. Leave
donations are to be entirely voluntary on the part of the donating
employee.
(5) Appointing authorities shall respect
an employee's right to privacy. However, appointing authorities may, with
the permission of the employee who is in need of donated paid leave, inform its
employees of an employee's critical need for leave. Appointing authorities
shall not directly solicit donated paid leave from its employees.
(6) Employees using donated paid leave
are in active pay status and shall accrue leave and be entitled to any benefits
to which they would otherwise be entitled. Donated paid leave shall never be
converted to a cash benefit.
(7) Donated paid leave shall not count
toward the probationary period of an employee who receives donated paid leave
during the employee's probationary period.
(E) Statewide paid leave donation
bank.
(1) Structure
(a) The department of administrative services will establish a
statewide paid leave donation bank for participating agencies. For purposes of
the statewide paid leave donation bank, a "participating agency" is
an agency, board or commission under the purview of the governor, that has not
received an exemption as provided in paragraph (E)(2) of this
rule.
(b) The statewide paid leave donation bank will be administered
by the department of administrative services as determined by the director. The
director may establish procedures to administer this rule.
(c) A participating agency with an existing intra-agency leave
donation program established in accordance with paragraphs (A) to (D) of this
rule may continue to administer their existing program.
(2) Exemptions from the
statewide paid leave donation bank. An agency may request an exemption to be
excluded from the statewide paid leave donation bank and to administer an
alternative leave donation system. Such request will be submitted to the
director in writing and contain sufficient information regarding the proposed
alternative leave donation system to enable the director to conduct an
appropriate evaluation.
Agencies that are exempt from participating in
the statewide paid leave donation bank may still utilize any of the standards
established by this rule to administer their alternative leave donation
systems.
An agency may request an exemption from the
statewide paid leave donation bank at any time. Any leave donated by the
agency's employees to the statewide paid leave donation bank prior to the
director's approval of the agency's exemption request will not be
returned to the agency or the donating employee. Such leave will remain in the
statewide paid leave donation bank to be available for use by employees of
participating agencies.
(3) Employees eligible to
receive donated paid leave from the statewide paid leave donation
bank.
An employee is eligible to receive donated paid
leave from the statewide paid leave donation bank if the employee:
(a) Is paid by warrant of the director of budget and
management;
(b) Is employed by a participating agency;
(c) Is eligible to accrue and use sick leave pursuant to section
124.382 of the Revised Code when in active pay status;
(d) Has no available paid leave;
(e) Has exhausted, or is otherwise ineligible for, emergency paid
sick leave or expanded family and medical leave provided in the Families First
Coronavirus Response Act, Pub. L. No. 116-127 (2020);
(f) Has a need for paid leave due to a serious illness, properly
ordered quarantine, or serious injury of the employee or a member of the
employee's immediate family; and
(g) Has applied for and not yet been approved for any state-paid
leave, workers' compensation, or benefits program which is available to
the employee. If the employee is not eligible for any such program, then this
paragraph is not applicable and does not impact the employee's eligibility
to receive donated paid leave. An employee who has applied to these programs
may use donated leave to satisfy the waiting period for any such benefits, if
applicable. After the waiting period, donated paid leave may be used to an
amount equal to the benefit for which the employee has applied (e.g.,
sixty-seven per cent for disability benefits) while the employee's
application is pending approval. An employee ceases to be eligible to use
donated leave during the time period such employee is receiving any state-paid
leave.
(4) Employees eligible to
donate paid leave to the statewide paid leave donation bank.
An employee is eligible to donate leave if the
employee:
(a) Is paid by warrant of the director of budget and
management;
(b) Is employed by a participating agency;
(c) Voluntarily elects to donate paid leave and does so with the
understanding that the donated paid leave will not be returned;
(d) Donates a minimum of eight hours of paid leave;
(e) Retains a combined paid leave balance of at least eighty
hours after the donated paid leave is deducted from the donating
employee's paid leave balances;
(f) Donates new sick leave, if the employee is donating sick
leave; and
(g) Certifies in writing the following:
(i) The type of leave and
the number of hours to be donated, with the minimum number of such hours being
eight;
(ii) That the donating
employee will retain a minimum combined paid leave balance of at least eighty
hours after the donated leave hours have been deducted from the employee's
paid leave balances;
(iii) The understanding
that the donated paid leave will be deducted from the employee's paid
leave balances upon receipt by the department of administrative services of the
paid leave donation form from the donating employee's appointing
authority; and
(iv) The understanding
that once the donated paid leave has been deducted from the employee's
paid leave balances it will not be returned and the leave is being donated by
the employee voluntarily.
(5) How to donate paid
leave to the statewide paid leave donation bank.
(a) An eligible employee desiring to donate paid leave to the
statewide paid leave donation bank will use a paid leave donation form supplied
by their participating agency employer to make such a donation.
(b) Upon receipt of a properly completed paid leave donation
form, the participating agency will take the following actions:
(i) Verify that the
employee is eligible to donate paid leave pursuant to this rule;
and
(ii) For donation
requests that are verified, submit the properly completed paid leave donation
form and confirmation of its verification to the department of administrative
services for processing.
(c) Upon receipt by the department of administrative services of
a properly verified paid leave donation form from a participating agency, the
department of administrative services will take the actions necessary to deduct
the appropriate amount of paid leave time from the donating employee's
leave balances and add that time to the statewide paid leave donation
bank.
(6) How to apply for
donated leave from the statewide paid leave donation bank.
(a) An eligible employee desiring to receive donated paid leave
from the statewide paid leave donation bank will use the paid leave donation
form supplied by their participating agency employer to make such a request for
donated paid leave.
(b) Upon receipt of a properly completed paid leave request form,
the participating agency will take the following actions:
(i) Verify that the
employee is eligible to receive donated paid leave pursuant to this rule;
and
(ii) For paid leave
requests that are verified, submit the properly completed paid leave request
form and confirmation of its verification to the department of administrative
services for processing.
(c) Upon receipt by the department of administrative services of
a properly verified paid leave request form, the department of administrative
services will take actions necessary to add the appropriate amount of paid
leave time to the requesting employee's new sick leave balance and deduct
that time from the statewide paid leave donation bank balance.
(7) General
principals.
(a) Paid leave accrued by an employee while using donated paid
leave from the statewide paid leave donation bank will be used, if necessary,
as soon as it is available to the employee before additional donated paid leave
may be received and used by the employee.
(b) An eligible employee can receive no more than eight hundred
hours of donated leave from the statewide paid leave donation bank in any
calendar year period.
(c) The participating agency will take precautions so that no
employees are forced or coerced into donating paid leave to the statewide paid
leave donation bank. Leave donations are to be entirely voluntary on the part
of the donating employee.
(d) A participating agency may make its employees aware of the
statewide paid leave donation bank and its purposes, but will not directly
solicit its employees to donate. Except as necessary to administer this rule a
participating agency will not disclose the identity of the employee who is in
need of donated leave.
(e) Employees using donated paid leave are in active pay status
and will accrue leaves and be entitled to any benefits to which they would
otherwise be entitled. Donated paid leave has no cash value.
(f) Donated paid leave is not counted towards the completion of
the probationary period of an employee who receives donated paid leave during
the employee's probationary period.
(g) All requests for receipt of donated paid leave from the
statewide paid leave donation bank will be processed by the department of
administrative services on a first-come, first-served basis and are subject to
the limits of the available balance of the statewide paid leave donation
bank.
(h) Emergency paid sick leave and expanded family and medical
leave available pursuant to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, Pub.
L. No. 116-127 (2020), cannot be donated.
(i) Compensatory time is considered "paid leave" only
for purposes of the statewide paid leave donation bank under this rule.
Compensatory time can be donated to the statewide paid leave donation bank only
by overtime exempt employees. Employees who are overtime eligible cannot donate
compensatory time to the statewide paid leave donation bank. Overtime eligible
employees may use compensatory time donated to the statewide paid leave
donation bank.
