A Borough employee shall be eligible to receive
donated sick or vacation leave if the employee:
A. Has:
(1) Completed at least one year of continuous municipal
service;
(2) Exhausted all accrued sick, vacation and administrative
leave, all sick leave injury benefits, if any, and all compensatory
time off;
(3) Not, in the two-year period immediately preceding
the employee's need for donated leave, been disciplined for chronic
or excessive absenteeism, chronic or excessive lateness or abuse of
leave; and
B. Either:
(1) Suffers from a catastrophic health condition or injury;
(2) Is needed to provide care to a member of the employee's
immediate family who is suffering from a catastrophic health condition
or injury; or
(3) Requires absence from work due to the donation of
an organ (which shall include, for example, the donation of bone marrow).
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
CATASTROPHIC HEALTH CONDITION OR INJURY
A.
With respect to an employee, a catastrophic
health condition or injury is a life-threatening condition or combination
of conditions or a period of disability required by his or her mental
or physical health or the health of the employee's fetus and requiring
the care of a physician who provides a medical verification of the
need for the employee's absence from work for 60 or more workdays.
B.
With respect to an employee's immediate family
member, a catastrophic health condition or injury is a life-threatening
condition or combination of conditions or a period of disability required
by his or her mental or physical health and requiring the care of
a physician who provides medical verification of the need for the
family member's care by the employee for 60 or more workdays.
The procedure for obtaining approval for the
donated leave program shall be as follows:
A. A Borough employee may request that the governing
body approve his or her participation in the program, as a leave recipient
or leave donor. The employee's supervisor may make such a request,
on behalf of the employee, for his or her participation in the program
as a leave recipient. The employee or supervisor requesting the employee's
acceptance as a leave recipient shall submit medical verification
from a physician or other licensed health care provider concerning
the nature and anticipated duration of the disability resulting from
either the catastrophic health condition or injury, or the donation
of an organ, as the case may be.
B. When the governing body has approved an employee as
a leave recipient, the governing body shall, with the employee's consent,
post or circulate the employee's name, along with those of other eligible
employees, in a conspicuous manner to encourage the donation of leave
time, and shall provide notice to all negotiations representatives.
If the employee is unable to consent to this posting or circulation,
the employee's family may consent on his or her behalf.
Employees are prohibited from threatening or
coercing or attempting to threaten or coerce another employee for
the purpose of interfering with rights involving donating, receiving
or using donated leave time. Such prohibited acts shall include, but
not be limited to, promising to confer or conferring a benefit such
as an appointment or promotion or making a threat to engage in or
engaging in an act of retaliation against an employee. Violation of
this prohibition may subject the violating employee to disciplinary
action.