Catastrophic Sick Leave Bank

September 14, 2023 | All Posts, Announcements, Benefits

Catastrophic Sick Leave Bank

HR Services proudly offers eligible* Round Rock ISD employees access to participate in a Catastrophic Sick Leave Bank (CSLB).

The CSLB is a benefit to assist employees with a prolonged, severe, or life-threatening condition that forces them to exhaust all paid leave resulting in a loss of income. The CSLB is a collective deposit of local sick leave days donated by enrolling employees.

CSLB enrollment is open NOW through Thursday, Sept. 21. To participate, you must enroll and donate the equivalent of two days of your local sick leave to the CSLB. Employees who donate to the CSLB are lifetime members and are not required to donate every year, unless they choose to do so.

INSTRUCTIONS TO ENROLL in the CSLB

  1. After signing into your ESS account, review your Time Off chart and confirm that you have enough time available to participate in the CSLB. If you have a minimum of the equivalent of seven (7) days of earned state and/or local leave in your “Currently Available” Time Off balance, proceed to the next step.
  2. If you are using a desktop or laptop, select “Benefits” from the left column of the page. If you are using a mobile device, Expand Menu.
  3. After you click “Benefits,” find “You must complete your open enrollment before 9/21/2023.” at the top of the webpage.
  4. Click or tap “open enrollment.”
  5. Open Enrollment – Make Elections. Review the provided information. Please disregard the message “Estimated total cost per pay period” below, as there is no cost to participate in the CSLB.
  6. Choose SELECT.
  7. Click or tap the button Catastrophic Sick Leave Bank. Then, choose CONTINUE to advance your selection.
  8. Click or tap on the V to expand the accordion folder and view your new Catastrophic Sick Leave Bank election. Click or tap the CONTINUE button to advance your selection.
  9. Click or tap SUBMIT to complete your enrollment. Or cancel, or modify your selection.
  10. If you SUBMIT your election, you will receive the confirmation message, “Your enrollment was submitted successfully.” You can make changes until your choice is approved.

CSLB ELIGIBILITY AND CONDITIONS

To donate sick leave days to the CSLB, the employee MUST:

  • be eligible to earn and use sick leave in the District.
  • be employed by the District for at least one (1) consecutive year. Employees hired after Sept. 30, 2022, become eligible to enroll in September 2024.
  • contribute the equivalent of two (2) days or 16 hours of earned local sick leave to the CSLB. The required contribution applies to both full and part-time employees. State leave does not qualify for contribution to the CSLB.
  • after contributing the required amount of local sick leave, have five (5) full days of earned state and/or local leave remaining in their accrual account. “Five days” is defined as “40 hours” for full-time employees, “20 hours” for part-time employees, and the like.
  • once sick leave days are donated, they become the property of the CSLB and are no longer available for use by the donating employee as accrued leave.

 

Employees must meet the following conditions to withdraw sick leave days from the CSLB.

  • exhausts all earned and advanced state personal, state sick leave, local sick leave, non-duty leave, and, if applicable, extended leave (EL) days in their accrual account.
  • leave is used only for an employee, an employee’s spouse, child(ren), or parent(s) for catastrophic illness or injury as defined in Board Policy – DECA(LEGAL).
  • submit a completed application WITH an Attending Physician Statement from the employee’s or their family member’s health care provider to the HR Services/Benefits department to request to withdraw sick leave from the CSLB. Withdraw applications are not reviewed until all requested documents are received.
  • may withdraw a maximum of 60 days of leave from the CSLB per school year, subject to approval by the HR Services/Benefits department.

For additional information about the CSLB, please email Benefits.

 

  1. A catastrophic mental or physical illness or injury, defined as a severe condition or combination of conditions affecting the mental or physical health of the employee or a member of the employee’s immediate family that requires the services of a licensed practitioner for a prolonged period of time and that forces the employee to exhaust all paid leave earned and to lose compensation from the District. Such conditions typically require prolonged hospitalization or recovery or are expected to result in disability or death. Conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth shall be considered catastrophic if they meet the requirements mentioned in this paragraph.
  2. The DECA(LEGAL) policy summarizes the FMLA and implements regulations for an employee seeking leave. Leave withdrawn from the CSLB may be used for an employee, employee’s child, spouse, or parent’s illness or injury as defined in DECA(LEGAL). Please refer to Round Rock ISD Board Policy.