How the Catastrophic Sick Leave Bank works!
Thanks for asking!
The CSLB is a group of employees who volunteer to put one of their personal leave days into the bank. The bank then has a number of days. When the bank falls below a certain level, VUSD will take another day from the members of the CSLB. In the past, the bank has required refilling with a day from the members once every three years or so. If there is heavy usage, then the bank will have to be refilled more often. VUSD pulls the day early in the school year.
CSLB is laid out in Article 37 as follows:
The intent of the Catastrophic Sick Leave Bank is to provide additional coverage for bargaining unit members who have suffered a catastrophic illness or injury. Catastrophic illness or injury means an illness or injury that has sudden onset and that is expected to incapacitate the employee for an extended period of time. Non-emergency or elective surgeries, personal necessity leave, and bereavement are not considered catastrophic. Documentation from a physician demonstrating that the request is catastrophic must be provided. Not all extended leaves of absence will meet this criteria.
To join the CSLB, members fill out the form at www.VUEA.net/forms, or you can ask VUSD HR.
To use the days in the bank, you fill out a use request form (also available at www.VUEA.net/forms). To use bank days, you must be on medical leave, and you must use all your personal leave days first.
Example: I have 70 personal leave days. To use the CSLB, I would need to have a doctor’s note that places me on medical leave. I would then use my 70 days. At the end of the 70 days, I would then go on Extended Sick Leave. Extended leave is provided by the district for 100 days, but only pays 50% of your salary. Therefore, on day 71 I would start making 50% of my salary. Here’s where the CSLB comes in to help. On the 21st day of Extended leave, the CSLB will take your pay back to 100%. The CSLB is 50% pay for 80 days, starting the 21st day of Extended leave.
Here’s how it would look for me: If I were to go out September 1st, the first 70 school days would be covered by my own leave days. Then, the next 100 days would be covered by extended leave at half pay. Then on day 21 my pay would return to 100% because CSLB would pay the missing half.
In the end, I would have taken 170 days on medical leave, and would have had full benefits and STRS contributions the whole time. Of those 170 days, I would have 20 days (about a school month) on half pay.
| Sept 1: out on medical leave | Fully paid as I use my 70 personal leave (sick and PNL) |
| About mid-December | Exhausted personal leave, now on Extended Leave for the next 100 days; half pay |
| About mid-January | CSLB kicks in, adding back the missing half of my pay taking me to fully paid |