Vacation Leave Donation Program

Under the Vacation Leave Donation policy eligible administrative staff and faculty may participate in a vacation leave donation program. Vacation leave may be donated to a “Paid Leave Pool”. Donated vacation time will be converted to sick leave and administered as outlined in policy #40.035. This pool will be used to provide leave to individuals in need of sick time for personal use or to care for a family member.

Generally, eligible employees must be facing exhaustion of all paid time off, and have an illness or injury (or a family member with an illness or injury) that will be incapacitating for at least 10 consecutive working days.

Recipients must complete the Request to Receive Donated Leave [PDF] which requires certification from a physician. Human Resources will review, and if appropriate, approve the request.  Once approved, Human Resources will transfer leave from the Paid Leave Pool to the individual. Recipients may receive up to 160 hours (20 days) of donated leave time from the pool each fiscal year if they have greater than one year of service, or up to 80 hours (10 days) from the pool if they have under one year of service. A recipient will not be eligible to receive subsequent donations until one year elapsed from when the prior donation was received.

Recipients and departments should not solicit donations directly.  Human Resources will solicit all donations.

Donors can donate to the Leave Pool by completing the Request to Donate Vacation Leave [PDF].  There is no maximum or cap on donations to the pool provided that the donor retains a minimum of 80 hours (10 days) of sick leave after a donation. 

Drive for donations underway

Human Resources will conduct annual donation drives for the pool, and more frequent drives will be conducted as necessary. The official drive for donations to the Paid Leave Pool is now underway.

Eligible employees interested in donating time should complete the Request to Donate Vacation Leave [PDF] and submit it to Human Resources.  Once approved, the vacation leave accrued by the donor will be reduced accordingly and transferred to the Paid Leave Pool. Donations to the Paid Leave Pool are irrevocable and can only be made during an official solicitation period.

Frequently Asked Questions

• When can I donate to the Paid Leave Pool?
  Human Resources will conduct annual donation drives for the Paid Leave Pool.  Additional donation drives will be conducted as necessary.
   
• When can I donate to an individual?
  Donations are made to the Paid Leave Pool, you may not donate to a specific individual.
• How much can I donate?
  There is no maximum or cap on donations to the pool provided that the donor retains a minimum of 80 hours (10 days) of sick leave after a donation. 
   
• How do I request time?
  If you are in need of time, complete the Request to Receive Donated Leave [PDF] and submit the form to Human Resources.  Human Resources will review your request and contact you.
   
• Are there any tax or other implications for donating or receiving time?
  Donors are not taxed for donating time.  There are no additional taxes for recipients.  They will receive their pay with appropriate taxes and payroll deductions just like any other sick leave or regular pay. However, any employee who receives a paid leave donation will have the time deducted from their sick leave balance when determining eligibility for a sick leave payout at retirement.

For questions or more details, please contact Human Resources at 740-593-1636 or uhr@ohio.edu.