Compassionate Transfer of Leave

If you are unable to work due to a catastrophic or life-threatening illness or injury to yourself or a member of your established household, you may qualify to receive compassionate transfer of leave hours to continue receiving pay.

To receive compassionate transfer of leave hours, you must meet all of these eligibility requirements:

• You have been employed at the University in a full-benefits-eligible position for at least 12 continuous months immediately prior to the illness or injury. (If you work only during the nine-month academic year and are vacation eligible, the summer months may apply toward the 12 months of continuous employment.)
• You are in a vacation-accruing position at the time you request compassionate transfer of leave hours.
• You have a catastrophic medical condition (see Definition), or are responsible for caring for a member of your immediate household who has a catastrophic medical condition. This condition must be expected to last at least 45 continuous days.
• For your own illness or injury, you are completely unable to perform your regular duties or available light duty work.
• If you are enrolled in one of the short-term disability plans for University employees, you have applied to receive disability payments.
• You have used all of your paid time off (vacation, sick time, compensatory time, or paid parental leave).
• You are not receiving either long-term disability benefits or workers' compensation benefits.

A “Catastrophic” illness or injury means the condition is

1. seriously incapacitating or life-threatening (in the case of the employee, you are unable to perform the duties of the position you held at the time you were injured or became ill, and you are unable to perform available light duty work); and
2. of extended duration (the anticipated length of disability is at least 45 continuous calendar days); and
3. confirmed in writing by a physician of your choice; the University has the right to seek a second opinion by a physician we choose.

The University will use excess accruals of vacation hours that University employees must forfeit at the end of the calendar year to provide compassionate transfer of leave hours. We assume that employees voluntarily donate their forfeited hours unless they specifically request their hours not be available for compassionate transfer of leave.

If you are enrolled in a short-term disability program offered by the University of Arizona or Arizona Department of Administration, you must apply for and, if eligible, receive the short-term disability benefits before you can use compassionate transfer of leave contributions. However, you may use compassionate transfer of leave hours during the initial waiting period before short-term disability payments begin. Once you begin receiving short-term disability payments, you may only use compassionate transfer of leave contributions to supplement those payments up to your regular rate of pay. You cannot use compassionate transfer of leave to receive more than your regular rate of pay.

If you work 40 hours per week (1.0 FTE) you may receive a maximum of 480 compassionate transfer of leave hours within a 12-month rolling period; the 480-hour allotment is prorated by FTE. You can begin receiving compassionate transfer of leave hours, allotted at your normal FTE, once you (a) have submitted a doctor’s written confirmation of a catastrophic condition, (b) have used all of your available paid time off; and (c) if applicable, have applied for short-term disability. If you are caring for a family member with a catastrophic condition, you may use compassionate transfer of leave hours intermittently; to use compassionate transfer of leave hours for your own condition, you must be completely unable to work.

Compassionate transfers of leave shall not continue beyond the period you (or your qualifying family member) are disabled, and shall terminate on the date when either (a) you return to work at your previous FTE or a reduced FTE, or (b) you begin receiving long-term disability benefits. Once you begin receiving long-term disability or workers’ compensation payments, you may not use compassionate transfer of leave hours to subsidize those benefits. If you return to work at a lower FTE, you may not use compassionate transfer of leave hours to supplement your earnings.

The employee’s department shall submit immediate notification when an employee returns to work.