Sick Leave Buyout - Reporting Only Agency Determine Eligibility/Calculate Sick Leave Buyout
Use this procedure to assist in determining if an employee is eligible for Sick Leave Buyout and calculate the Sick Leave Buyout amount if your agency only reports sick leave hours to HRMS.
Because your agency uses an internal leave system, detailed leave activity is not available in HRMS; however, eligible employees still have the option to participate in the annual Sick Leave Buyout program.
The following information will assist reporting-only agencies in preparing their Sick Leave Buyout forms. The maximum payment is 25 percent of 96.0 hours - this is 24.0 hours paid. Refer to SAAM 25.40.30.d for information on calculating the employee’s current hourly rate. HRMS will not provide an automated form for reporting-only agencies. The form should be manually created using the Sick Leave Buyout Form in accordance with your internal agency policy.
Employees are eligible for Sick Leave Buyout if all of the following are true:
- they have at least 480 hours of remaining sick leave balance as of the last day of the calendar year,
- they have accrued more sick leave during the calendar year than they have taken,
- their Employment Status is Active or Inactive.
Employees are not eligible for Sick Leave Buyout if any of the following are true:
- they have at least 480 hours of remaining sick leave balance as of the last day of the calendar year but they have used more sick leave during the calendar year than they have accrued,
- they have less than 480 hours of remaining sick leave balance as of the last day of the calendar year,
- their Employment Status is Withdrawn.
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Step 1
Calculate the following: End of buyout year sick leave balance minus 480 hours.
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Step 2
Calculate the following: Buyout year sick leave earned minus buyout year sick leave taken/used (taken includes donations).
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Step 3
The lesser of the results from Step 1 and Step 2 are the available Sick Leave Buyout hours.
TIPS:Example: Employee A has 547 sick leave balance on 12/31/2018, has earned 96 hours and taken 8.
- 547 – 480 = 67
- 96 – 8 = 88
- 67 is less than 88; eligible buyout hours is 67
Example: Employee B has 800 sick leave balance on 12/31/2018, has earned 96 hours and taken 8.
- 800 – 480 = 320
- 96 – 8 = 88
- 88 is less than 320 so 88 are the eligible buyout hours
There is no rounding. If the result of the eligible hours is not evenly divisible by 4 (25 percent) the calculated result beyond 2 decimal places is truncated.
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Step 4
Once you have identified eligible employees, send notification to those employees about their Sick Leave Buyout eligibility.
TIPS:Follow your internal agency policy when determining how to communicate with employees about their Sick Leave Buyout information.
Include a "Respond no later than" date when contacting your employees. This will ensure you have time to process the buyout before January 31st.