The leave donation program was established to reduce financial hardship that might be endured by an employee who has exhausted all leave accruals during a personal extended medical leave of absence. Vacation accruals are the only leave credits that may be used for this purpose. The program is not intended to provide supplemental income that would result in wages greater than the employee’s regular pay.
The program is open to all College employees. Any eligible employee at the College may donate accruals to a coworker in a different bargaining unit at Buffalo State or another SUNY campus.
In order to donate vacation credits, an employee must meet the following criteria: must have a minimum balance of ten (10) days after making the donation AND must be employed at a SUNY campus.
The 10-day minimum is based on the donor’s work schedule. For example, a 40 hour a week employee must have 80 hours of vacation remaining after a donation, a 50% 37½ hour a week part-time employee must have 37½ hours remaining, and so forth.
Regardless of the donor’s work schedule, donations must be made in full day (7.5 or 8 hour) units. Where the donor and recipient’s workweeks are different (37½ vs. 40), donated days will be converted.
Excess vacation credits that would otherwise be lost by rule, law, or regulation may not be donated. The identity of donors will be kept confidential by the College.
In order to receive donated leave credits, a classified employee must meet the following criteria:
- Be subject to the Attendance Rules or otherwise eligible to earn leave credit.
- Have completed at least one cumulative year of State service.
- Be absent due to a non-occupational personal illness or disability for which satisfactory medical documentation has been submitted to management.
- Have exhausted all leave credits which is achieved when an employee has a balance less than the number of hours in the employee’s workday.
- The absence is expected to last at least two payroll periods following exhaust leave accruals or sick leave at half pay.
- Must not have had any disciplinary action or unsatisfactory performance evaluations within the employee’s last three years of State service.*
- Be employed at a SUNY campus.*
The asterisked (*) items above also apply to UUP represented employees.
There is no maximum number of days that a recipient employee may accept, however, donated credits cannot be used to extend employment beyond the point it would otherwise end by operation of law, rule, or regulation. A recipient’s continuing eligibility to participate in this program will be reviewed at least every 30 days.
At the recipient’s request, donated credits may be used upon exhaustion of leave accruals and/or sick leave at half pay. Donated credits applied after leave accruals have been exhausted but before sick leave at half pay, must be used after exhaustion of sick leave at half pay, they may be used in full or half day increments at the employee’s option based on their work schedule. (Using donated credits in half-day units has the effect of extending one’s half pay eligibility.)
An employee using donated credits is considered to be in a leave without pay status. However, deductions for health insurance premiums, retirement contributions, etc., will continue to be withheld as long as the amount of the paycheck is large enough. Also, employees continue to accrue retirement service credit while using donated leave.
Donations may be solicited by the recipient employee, coworkers of the recipient, or by local union representatives where applicable. Neither managers nor Human Resource Management staff may solicit donations on an employee’s behalf.
Employees who wish to donate vacation accruals to a recipient must complete a Leave Donation Form. Human Resource Management will determine whether the employee to whom credits have been donated is eligible, provided the recipient is employed at Buffalo State. If the recipient is employed at another SUNY campus, the College’s Payroll Office will verify the recipient’s status with their facility’s payroll office
