State Employees Leave Bank Program
To join the Leave Bank, employees must donate eight hours of sick, annual, or personal leave, or a combination of these leave types. New employees may join within the first 60 days of employment or during open enrollment, which occurs at the same time as the State’s health insurance open enrollment.
All other employees may join or renew Leave Bank membership during open enrollment. Employees who join the Leave Bank for the first time must wait 90 days before using leave. Membership is for a two-year period and may be renewed by donating an additional eight hours of leave. Each employee is responsible for verifying that Leave Bank membership has been received and processed by the Agency Human Resources (HR) Office. Contact your HR Office if you have questions about eligibility or membership.
Eligibility Requirements
To qualify for leave from the Leave Bank, an employee must:
- Be an active member of the Leave Bank.
- Have exhausted all annual, sick, personal, and compensatory leave.
- Qualify for the use of sick leave under the requirements of the employee’s personnel system.
- Have received a satisfactory performance rating.
- Have a serious and prolonged medical condition.
- Provide sufficient medical documentation for the period covered by the Leave Bank request.
- Be able, in all likelihood, to return to work.
- Have received less than 2,080 hours of leave from the Leave Bank and or the Employee-to-Employee Leave Donation Programs.
- Not have a record of sick leave abuse (for example, not have been on a one-day sick slip restriction within the past two years).
- Not have been disciplined within the past year.
- Not have used more than 16 continuous months of Leave Bank leave and all other forms of paid leave.
How to Request Leave
To request leave from the Leave Bank, members must complete the State Employees’ Leave Bank Request Form MS-408 (PDF). Members must also have their physician complete the State Employees’ Leave Bank Medical Request Form MS-402 (PDF) and provide medical records that address the absence.
Leave Bank forms are available from your HR Office or on the DBM Website. Submit completed forms and medical documentation to your HR Office. The HR Office will send the request to DBM for consideration. DBM will issue a determination within 30 days of receipt of the request.
Determinations and Reimbursements
If an employee exhausts accrued leave before DBM makes its determination, the employee shall be granted leave until a decision is rendered. If the request is subsequently denied, the employee shall reimburse the State at a minimum rate of one half of all sick leave earned. At the employee’s discretion, additional sick leave and any accrued annual, personal, or compensatory leave may be applied to the reimbursement. The employee may also elect to make cash payments.
Note: Approval to use leave from the Leave Bank is discretionary. Denial may be based on any reason that is consistently applied and is not illegal or unconstitutional.
Appealing a Denied Request
To appeal a denied request for leave from the State Employees Leave Bank Program, submit a Request to Appeal Packet (see packet in the list below). Complete the Request to Appeal Form and the Authorization for Review of Release Records.
This authorization permits the use or disclosure of confidential protected health information. It is not used to request medical records or information on the employee’s behalf.
Follow the instructions on your denial letter to submit your appeal forms, along with any additional medical documents you want reviewed. The employee is responsible for providing sufficient medical documentation to support the appeal.
