Welcome to the University of Iowa's Catastrophic Leave Program webpage. This program is designed to support eligible faculty and staff members who have exhausted their paid leave due to a catastrophic illness or injury affecting themselves or an immediate family member. By allowing colleagues to donate their accrued vacation time, the program ensures that employees can maintain income during challenging times. Explore this page to learn more about eligibility, application procedures, and how you can contribute to helping your fellow employees in need.
Eligibility Guidelines
Employees who can receive donations or donate their vacation time to employees in need are regular faculty and staff members who hold a 50% or greater appointment and accrue vacation and sick leave.
Eligible employees may donate time as long as they accrue vacation leave. Sick leave cannot be donated in place of vacation. All donations are a one-to-one ratio.
Receiving Donations
When leave is medically necessary due to an employee's catastrophic illness or injury, contributions are applied as sick leave. The contributions are used when the employee has exhausted all paid sick leave, vacation, and compensatory time to which they are entitled and has not yet satisfied the 90-day waiting period for long-term disability benefits. This is reviewed monthly.
When leave is necessary for a catastrophic illness or injury in an employee’s family (spouse, domestic partner, child, or parent), contributions to that employee are deposited into their vacation leave. The contributions are used when the employee has exhausted all the Family Caregiving (sick) Leave, vacation, and compensatory time to which they are entitled.
Catastrophic Leave FAQ's and Information
Is the Catastrophic Leave process confidential?
- Yes, the catastrophic leave Application and Healthcare Provider Certification form are confidential medical documents that are maintained in the UI Benefits office only.
- Applicants can also choose to keep their name removed from the "Faculty & Staff in need of donations list" by selecting this option on the Catastrophic Leave application form.
Information for Departments
The department will receive a copy of the response from University Benefits when the faculty or staff member is deemed eligible for catastrophic leave.
- University Benefits will process the paperwork to apply the hours in the employee's accruals and will contact the department monthly to determine the number of donated hours needed.
- The department or the employee will complete the Monthly Time Record.
- University Benefits will communicate with the department monthly to verify the records. Once the employee’s accruals are used, code donated time as sick leave for personal use and vacation for family catastrophic leave. This may be regular sick or vacation time or FMLA sick or vacation time, depending on the situation.
- Upon exhaustion of FMLA, the use of catastrophic leave hours is at the discretion of the department. Catastrophic leave provides payment for approved unpaid leave.
Definitions
Definition of an employee's Catastrophic Illness or Injury means an illness or injury resulting in a health condition for which a treating healthcare provider has certified is likely to result in a loss of 30 or more work days (6 weeks) during a 12 month period.
Includes maternity leave if the faculty or staff member does not have sufficient sick or vacation accruals to cover the medical period following the birth (generally six weeks/eight weeks for cesarean section). Catastrophic leave can not be used for non medically-related bonding time.
Definition of a family member's Catastrophic Illness or Injury means an illness or injury resulting in a health condition for which a treating healthcare provider has certified is likely to result in the inability of the employee to report to work for more than 30 or more work days in a 12 month period to care for an ill or injured immediate family member on a consecutive or intermittent basis.
Immediate family member means the employee's spouse, domestic partner, child, or parent as defined by the Family & Medical Leave Act (FMLA):
- a spouse recognized by Iowa law for purposes of marriage including common law and domestic partners of the same and opposite gender registered with University Benefits;
- a parent, including biological, step, adoptive, foster, or an individual that functions as a parent;
- a son or daughter under the age of 18, including biological, step, adoptive or foster child, or legal ward.
- children over 18 with a disability may also be eligible.
ABOUT OUR SITE:
The information on this webpage describes only the highlights of the leave programs here at the University of Iowa. Additional terms and conditions may apply. If there are any discrepancies between the information contained herein and the official policies, the policy manual will govern.