Catastrophic Leave

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Policy Number:
UW-5062
Old Policy Number:
16.14
Responsible Office:
Office of Human Resources

University Policy

Rationale/​Purpose:

UW–Madison is committed to providing its employees with opportunities to balance their work and personal lives. This policy allows an eligible UW-Madison employee who has a catastrophic need and has exhausted all their earned paid leave, to receive leave donations from other employees and allows eligible employees to donate earned paid leave credits (except for sick leave or compensatory time) to eligible recipients at UW-Madison or at a different UW institution who have a catastrophic need.

Definitions:
Catastrophic Need
A significant financial hardship that is due to an illness, medical condition or injury that incapacitates, or is expected to incapacitate an employee or an employee's immediate family member that requires the employee to take unpaid time off from work for an extended period of time
Donor
Any person meeting the eligibility requirements under Section III of this policy.
Immediate Family Member
As defined in UW-5051 Sick Leave.
Leave Credits
Leave types that employees are able to donate: Vacation, vacation carryover, personal holiday, accrued legal holiday/floating legal holiday and leave in a paid leave bank (Annual Leave Reserve Account (ALRA)/sabbatical). Leave credits do not include sick leave or compensatory time-off credits.
Recipient
Any person meeting the eligibility requirements under Section II of this policy.
Scope:

Faculty, Academic Staff, Limited Appointees, and University Staff.

Policy:

  1. This policy allows eligible UW-Madison employees to:

    1. Donate earned paid leave credits (except for sick leave or compensatory time) to employees at UW-Madison or at a different UW institution who have a catastrophic need; or
    2. Receive donated leave credits for a catastrophic need from employees at UW-Madison or at a different UW institution.

  2. Determining Recipient Eligibility

    An employee must meet all the following criteria to be eligible to receive leave donations:

    1. Be in an active, sick leave earning Faculty, Academic Staff, Limited appointee, or University Staff appointment. Employees in student hourly, graduate assistant, employee-in training, or University Staff Temporary appointments are not eligible for this leave; and
    2. Be on an approved unpaid leave of absence due to a catastrophic need of the employee or an immediate family member. The unpaid leave may be taken in non-continuous increments; and
    3. Have used all earned sick leave hours, and have exhausted all earned vacation, vacation carryover, personal holiday, floating legal holiday and banked vacation (sabbatical/ALRA); and
    4. Not be receiving other salary replacement income; and
    5. Provide sufficient medical documentation, to the Divisional Disability Representative (DDR), to conclude that a catastrophic need exists; and
    6. Complete the Catastrophic Leave Request form (can be completed on employee's behalf when necessary) and submit to Department/Division Human Resources; and
    7. Be approved as an eligible recipient by the Dean, Director or Designee.

  3. Donor Requirements

    1. An employee must meet all the following criteria to be eligible to donate leave:
      1. Be in an active:
        1. A-basis Faculty, Academic Staff, Limited appointment; or
        2. University Staff appointment.
      2. Have earned leave credits available to donate.
      3. Complete the Catastrophic Leave Donor Authorization form.
    2. Donors will not be able to rescind their donations once they have been made.
    3. A donor may donate leave credits to any eligible recipient in an active, sick leave earning Faculty, Academic Staff, Limited appointee, or University Staff appointment. Donors can be in a different employment category than recipients.
    4. Eligible employees may donate as often as they like and may donate to multiple recipients.
    5. Previously donated leave credits will be returned to the donor with an appropriate explanation upon either of the following circumstances:
      1. Leave credits are donated in excess of the maximum number of leave credits required for a recipient; or
      2. Donated leave credits are no longer needed by the recipient (e.g., due to the recipient’s return to work or resolution of the catastrophic need).

  4. Leave Credit

    1. Usage by Recipients
      1. Donated leave credits will be paid at the recipient’s base hourly rate.
      2. A recipient may only use the number of donated leave hours consistent with their regularly scheduled hours per pay period at the time the recipient’s unpaid leave began, unless the employee is working a reduced schedule due solely to the catastrophic need.  “Regularly scheduled hours” does not include overtime hours or hours worked in excess of the employee’s budgeted Full Time Equivalent (FTE).
      3. Recipients may have a leave balance of no more than 16 hours of combined accrued leave, including vacation, vacation carryover, personal holiday, floating legal holiday and banked vacation (sabbatical/ALRA).
      4. Leave time earned by the recipient while using donated leave credits will be used prior to donated leave credits.

    2. Donation

      1. Donated leave credits:
        1. Will be used on a first-in, first-used basis as determined by the date of receipt of the donor authorization form at the appropriate payroll and/or personnel office.
        2. Will not be transferred to the recipient’s account until they are needed, and they will not appear on the recipient’s official leave accounting balance until the pay period in which they are actually used.
        3. Are not subject to the standard leave credit expiration dates.
        4. Will be deducted from a donor’s official leave accounting balance when the leave credits are actually used by the recipient. If a donor uses donated leave credits prior to use by the recipient, the donation is negated.
      2. Donated leave cannot be used intermittently to extend the employer contribution towards benefits.
      3. Leave credits will be donated in whole-hour increments and on an hour-for-hour basis irrespective of the base hourly rates of the donor and recipient. 
      4. If a donor moves to an appointment not eligible to donate leave, moves to another agency, or separates from employment prior to the donated leave credits being used by the recipient, the donated leave credits will be returned to the donor with an appropriate explanation.  If donor movement occurs after donated leave credits have been used by the recipient, the donated leave credits will not be returned to the donor.
      5. Sick leave cannot be donated.
      6. Compensatory time cannot be donated.
      7. Vacation carryover cannot be donated beyond its expiration date.

  5. Records

    The following information must be maintained by the Dean's/Director's office of the recipient in a case file for each occurrence of catastrophic leave for five years.

    1. Recipient's name and Employee ID number
    2. Copy of the Catastrophic Leave Request form
    3. The number of hours that the recipient used in each pay period
    4. Donor name(s) and Employee ID number(s)
    5. The number of hours and type of leave donated
    6. The effective date for the donated leave (when the authorization form is received)
    7. The date that the leave is actually used by recipient (date hours are transferred for payroll)

  6. Responsibilities

    1. Office of Human Resources (OHR)
      1. Maintains the Catastrophic Leave policy
      2. Supports the campus in applying the provisions of this policy
    2. Deans and Directors or their Designees
      1. Supports this policy by ensuring colleges, schools and divisions appropriately administer the provisions of this policy
      2. Approves catastrophic leave requests
      3. Confirms donor eligibility
    3. College/School/Division HR
      1. Supports this policy by overseeing the administration of this policy within their division
      2. Ensures that Supervisors and Employees are appropriately trained on this policy
      3. Supports employees and supervisors in understanding and administering leave in compliance with this policy
      4. Reviews catastrophic leave request forms and donor forms to ensure eligibility
      5. Consults with OHR as needed
    4. Supervisor
      1. Understands the Catastrophic Leave policy
      2. Reviews and signs Request Form only
Related UW-Madison Policies:
Related UW–Madison Documents, Web Pages, or Other Resources:

Policy Administration

Approval Authority:
Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration
Policy Manager:
Associate Vice Chancellor/Chief Human Resources Officer
Contact:
Employment Relations Director -- Megan Dzyuba, wr@ohr.wisc.edu, (608) 890-3663
Date Issued:
06-30-2015
Revised Dates:

04-05-2019, 10-26-2022, 10-07-2024

Retrieved:
07-15-2025 10:10:28