ANALYSIS:
Leave Donation Bank Program – immediate family definitions:
Employee-Donor: The employee who donates a portion of his/her accrued hours through the Leave Donation Bank Program.
Employee-Recipient: The employee in need of sick time who is a member and authorized to receive donated hours from the Leave Donation Bank Program.
Employee- Immediate family: The employee’s spouse, son or daughter or parents, as those terms are defined in the Family and Medical Leave Act policy, and any other individual related to the employee by blood, adoption or marriage and who lives in the same household as the employee.
Over the past few years, employees have voluntarily donated an average of 3,328 hours to co-workers who have been out for personal illnesses whose leave banks were depleted. There has been an enormous amount of participation in the leave donation bank program citywide. Below is a chart by calendar year that shows who have requested leave donations and employees whom have donated their personal time.
Calendar Year # of Employees Requesting Donations # of Employees Donated Total Number of hours Donated by Employees
2017 to date 13 112 1315.32
2016 27 239 3614.27
2015 27 236 3042.15
The administration surveyed the following municipalities regarding their Leave Donation Program: City of Pompano, City of Doral, Florida Department Management Service, Miami Dade County, City of Miami and City of Opa-Locka.
The Classified (1335) and Unclassified (1613) Leave Ordinances does not have a provision to allow employees to receive leave donations for their immediate family members.
Classified Leave Ordinance, Section 1335, Donation of Annual Leave and Sick Leave.
(a) Generally. In those instances where a permanent full-time employee is affected by a non-job related illness which causes the total depletion of their annual leave and sick leave, other city employees may donate annual and/or sick time on a pro-rata basis to that particular employee's leave balance. In the event the governor declares a state of emergency in an area which includes the City of Miami Beach, and the donated time will be used for a city employee to assist another city employee whose property has been damaged by the emergency, city employees may donate annual and/or sick time on a pro-rata basis, subject to the prior approval of the city manager.
(b) Donation of annual leave and sick leave on the death of a co-worker.
(1) In those instances where a regular full time employee, with at least five years of service with the city and a qualified designated dependant beneficiary, dies while in the employ of the city, other city employees may donate a portion of their annual or sick leave to that particular employee's dependant.
(2) The donating employee must maintain a balance of at least 260 combined hours of annual and sick leave.
(3) The donated time will be computed at the donating employee's current rate of pay at the time of donation.
(4) One check of all donations will be issued to the employee's designated dependant
beneficiary. If no dependant has been specified, the funds will go to the life insurance beneficiary, if that person meets the beneficiary designation.
(5) A designated dependant qualified beneficiary shall mean a spouse, domestic partner, dependant child, or other person that meets that definition of a dependant under Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidelines.
(6) There will be a two-week period, immediately following the city's announcement of the employee's death, when employees may donate time. No donations will be accepted after that date.
(7) The amount of time donated by the donating employee will reduce that employee's final leave settlement.
(8) The donating employee donating time will be required to sign a form indicating the hours donated and that these hours will reduce his/her final leave settlement. This signed form will be retained in the donating employee's personnel file.
(Ord. No. 92-2792, § 1, 9-2-1992; Ord. No. 2005-3471, § 1, 1-12-2005)
Unclassified Leave Ordinance, Section 1613, Donation of Annual Leave and Sick Leave.
(a) Generally. In those instances where a permanent full-time employee is affected by a non-job related illness which causes the total depletion of their annual leave and sick leave, other city employees may donate annual and/or sick time on a pro-rata basis to that particular employee's leave balance.
(b) Donation of annual leave and sick leave on the death of a co-worker.
(1) In those instances where a regular full time employee, with at least five years of service with the city and a qualified designated dependant beneficiary, dies while in the employ of the city, other city employees may donate a portion of their annual or sick leave to that particular employee's dependant.
(2) The donating employee must maintain a balance of at least 260 combined hours of annual and sick leave.
(3)The donated time will be computed at the donating employee's current rate of pay at the time of donation.
(4) One check of all donations will be issued to the employee's designated dependant beneficiary. If no dependant has been specified, the funds will go to the life insurance beneficiary, if that person meets the beneficiary designation.
(5) A qualified designated dependant beneficiary shall mean a spouse, domestic partner, dependant child, or other person that meets that definition of a dependant under Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidelines.
(6) There will be a two-week period, immediately following the city's announcement of the employee's death, when employees may donate time. No donations will be accepted after that date.
(Ord. No. 86-2520, § 1, 10-15-1986; Ord. No. 2005-3472, § 1, 1-12-2005)
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