Sick Leave Bank Enrollment Opportunity
Every January 1 – 31 & July 1 – 31
The Sick Leave Bank serves to provide participating APSU employees additional leave when all other leave options have been exhausted in the event of serious or catastrophic illness of the employee or the employee's immediate family member as defined by 5:020 Leave Policies section III. Family and Medical Leave (i.e. child, spouse or parent). The Sick Leave Bank is administered by Trustees appointed by the university President.
An employee is eligible to become a member of the bank as soon as they accrue enough hours for the initial assessment. Full-time employees must have 22.5 hours (24 hours – if you are an 8 – hour a day employee) and Part-time employees are assessed a corresponding number of pro-rated hours. Eligible employees may enroll during the specified open enrollment periods in either January or July each year.
The employee must complete enrollment forms during the enrollment period for approval by the Human Resource Office. Forms are available at the Human Resources website (link below).
To be eligible to receive sick leave bank hours, an employee must have been a bank member for 30 calendar days from the date of enrollment.
The maximum number of Sick Leave Bank hours that may be awarded per application to an individual is 150 (7.50 hour day x 20 days, pro-rated for part-time). Subsequent grants of leave require additional request submissions and cannot exceed 450 hours (7.50 hour day x 60 days) in any fiscal year, or 675 hours (90 days x 7.50) for any one illness, or recurring diagnosed illness, or accident. As of January 1, 2014, a new guideline has been added for a total maximum lifetime withdrawal a member can request of 330 days (For a 7.5 hour employee the lifetime maximum hours they request is 2,475 hours during their years of employment).
To request Sick Leave from the bank, an eligible member must complete the appropriate Sick Leave Bank Request Form for review and approval by the Sick Leave Bank Trustees. Should sick leave be denied, the bank member may be eligible to receive donations from other employees as provided in APSU Policy 5:020.
Note: Medical documentation from a medical provider must be provided to prove the necessity of the time away from work. The Sick Bank Request and accompanying medical documentation will be reviewed by the Sick Bank Trustees.
One little known benefit of membership is leave donation. As a member of the Sick Leave Bank, you may also qualify for donation of sick leave from other employees of APSU. In order to receive donated leave, you must be a member of the Sick Leave Bank. Employees donating sick leave do not have to be Sick Leave Bank members. To read more on the criteria for giving and/or receiving donated leave please refer to APSU Policy 5:020 section XII. Transfer of Sick Leave between Employees.
If at any time the number of sick leave bank hours falls below the minimum requirement of one day per member, the bank trustees reserve the right to reassess the membership an amount appropriate to replenish the bank balance, but not to exceed (3) days per member for any single assessment (pro-rated for part-time). Since the establishment of the Sick Banks in the early 90’s reassessment has only occurred twice.
ORP retirement participants, upon their retirement, may donate their sick leave balance to the Sick Leave Bank. However, TCRS participants’ Sick Leave balance has a retirement value that is calculated as service credits. It is important to try to save these hours if you are in the TCRS plan.
Faculty Sick Leave Bank Request
Non-Faculty Sick Leave Bank Request
Sick Leave Donation Agreement - ORP Retirees
“I’m MORE than happy to tell anyone about how awesome the sick leave bank is and how, in an instant, you can go from being able to work to being laid up for WEEKS!!!
As you know I used it recently with my surgery. While I was fortunate enough to “schedule” my surgery during a less busy time as far as work load goes it was still a surgery that I HAD to have and couldn’t be put off for long… but several years ago,on a beautiful, sunny, spring, Sunday morning I was going horseback riding and had an accident with my horse and ended up breaking both bones in my right leg/ankle. I was taken to the ER at the hospital and to surgery straight from the ER and was out for 8 weeks!!! I went from a wheel chair, to a walker, to crutches to a cane and walking boot and I don’t know what I would have done with 8 weeks of no pay!!! I had enough stress on me at that time without having to worry about how I was going to pay bills too..
I tell EVERYONE I have the opportunity to tell that if they aren’t in the sick leave bank they need to be… To me it’s as critical, if not more so than my, 401K, medical insurance, life insurance, car insurance etc… I consider it a form of “insurance” that I don’t have a monthly premium on… but just like insurance… you may not need it every day but the day you do need it, nothing will take its place!!"
"I am a fairly healthy late thirties woman who worked out daily and ate right. Most
would think that there would be nothing to worry about as far as health wise. I was
in the middle of training for a half marathon when my heart started skipping beats.
After many doctor’s appointments they had to remove my thyroid. Then 2 months later
I had a 7 pound mass that had to be removed that literally appeared in the matter
of a month. I was out of work for a good 8 weeks between all the Doctor appointments
and surgeries. I would tell anyone, no matter how in shape you think you are you never
know what can happen. I have 3 children and my husband owns his own business so I
carry all the insurance on the family. Without the sick bank we would have probably
ended up in really bad shape. After multiple stays in Vanderbilt the bills for travel,
copays, and food for my husband while he stayed with me, there is no way we would
have made it. So please do not think that you take care of yourself and nothing will
happen to you, it only takes one streak of bad luck to change your financial status
in a short period of time. I hear many people say, I just can’t give up those days,
trust me, do it. It will pay off in the long run and hey if you are a lucky one and
never have to use it, at least it was there just in case.”
“I joined the sick leave bank five years ago for no other reason than “it’s better to be safe than sorry”. Now I am so thankful that I did. After my heart attack, I had complications that keep me from returning to work immediately and naturally, I did not have enough sick leave or personal leave to cover the absence. That is when the sick leave bank came to my rescue! Not only did I receive my regular pay and benefits during my absence but also the staff was always available and made the paperwork submission an easy process. All I had to do was submit my leave request and the doctor submitted his report. I am so thankful that the sick leave bank is an available benefit and that I had an opportunity to join."
“I have found the sick leave bank to be a life saver. I was undergoing chemo therapy after having 2 surgeries and had I not had the sick leave bank I would have been destitute. It gave me peace of mind to know that my finances did not hang in the balance because of my illness. I recommend it to everyone."