The Office of the Defender General maintains a Sick Leave Bank separate from the rest of State government. The ODG Sick Leave Bank is available for all staff – support staff, attorneys and administration – with the approval of the Defender General. ODG practice is to require staff to use all of their sick, personal, comp, any special leave days, and all but one week of annual leave before using time from the ODG Sick Leave Bank.
Article 23 of the VSEA/ODG Bargaining Agreement addresses the ODG Sick Leave Bank:
- ODG employees may donate up to fifty (50) percent of their annual leave entitlement, up to twenty-five (25) percent of their sick leave annual accrual, and up to all of their personal leave entitlement and compensatory time to the Sick Leave Bank, provided that employees retain at least ten (10) annual leave days after such donation is made. Donation of sick leave shall affect an employee’s accrual of personal leave in the same manner as use of sick leave.
- The Sick Leave Bank is for the benefit of employees who are absent from work for at least ten (10) continuous calendar days due to a non-job related illness, injury or quarantine for themselves or immediate family member and who have used all their sick leave. Upon a showing of extraordinary circumstances, the DG may grant use of leave from the Sick Leave Bank for a period of less than 10 days. Employees are eligible whether or not they have contributed to the Sick Leave Bank. Immediate family member is defined as parent, grandparent, spouse, domestic partner, party to a civil union, brother, sister, parent-in-law, grandchild, foster child, any person regularly and permanently residing with the employee, and any family member for whom an employee is primarily responsible either to arrange for health care or to provide care.
- The Sick Leave Bank shall operate on an on-going basis. Unused donations to the Sick Leave Bank shall carry forward to the following calendar year. Employees wishing to donate leave or request leave from the Sick Leave Bank shall submit an application to the DG. Donations and use of leave from the Sick Leave Bank shall be authorized by the DG. Each request for use of leave from the Sick Leave Bank shall be reviewed by the DG on the basis of need and available days in the bank. When there is sufficient reason, the DG may require an employee to submit a physician’s certificate or other evidence to justify the approval of use of leave from the Sick Leave Bank.
The number of hours that an employee covered by the VSEA/ODG Bargaining Agreement is eligible to donate to the ODG Sick Leave Bank depends on the number of hours earned each year. Staff Attorneys may donate 40 hours of sick leave and 80 hours of annual leave to the ODG Sick Bank per calendar year.
To make a donation or to request time from the ODG Sick Leave Bank, please contact Jessica Martin, HR & Program Manager.