Catastrophic Leave Donation Program

The CSU Catastrophic Leave Donation Program allows employees to voluntarily donate sick and/or vacation leave credits to employees that are totally incapacitated due to a catastrophic illness or injury, and have exhausted all leave credits, including any sick, vacation, personal holiday or CTO credits. Family illnesses that are deemed catastrophic, requiring an employee to be absent to care for an immediate family member, are also eligible for the CSU Catastrophic Leave Donation Program.

Depending on the employee category, an employee who accrues vacation or sick leave credits, may voluntarily donate a certain number of accrued hours to another employee deemed eligible for catastrophic leave. The amount of hours that can be donated during a fiscal year vary per employee category.  To donate Catastrophic Leave Credits, complete the Catastrophic Leave Donor Form and submit to the Department of Human Resources. 

Catastrophic leave donations are not transferable between campuses. An employee can donate to or receive credits from employees at his/her respective campus only.

The total amount of leave credits donated and used may not exceed an amount sufficient to ensure the continuance of the employee's regular monthly rate of compensation, for a period of up to three months. Donated leave credits may also be used to supplement Industrial Disability Leave (IDL), Nonindustrial Disability Insurance (NDI) or Temporary Disability (TD) payments upon the application for these benefits(s) by an eligible employee. An employee cannot receive Catastrophic Leave in lieu of benefits through a disability program.

Who is Eligible to Receive Catastrophic Leave Donations? 

To be eligible for Catastrophic Leave, the following requirements must be met:

• Staff/faculty must be eligible to earn vacation and/or sick leave. 
• The staff/faculty member must be on an approved Leave of Absence. 
• The illness or injury must totally incapacitate you from work. Verification will be based certification from a health care provider.  Conditions which are short-term by nature, including cold, flu, or minor injuries, are not generally deemed catastrophic.  
• If eligible, the applicant must be approved for Non-industrial Disability Insurance (NDI), Industrial Disability Leave (IDL) or Temporary Disability (TD) benefits.
• The applicant must have exhausted all accrued sick, vacation, personal holiday, and CTO credits.  Please refer to the appropriate Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Under what circumstances may I use Catastrophic Leave donations to care for a family member?

• The term "immediate family member" is defined in the sick leave provisions of the appropriate Collective Bargaining Agreement.
•  The staff/faculty member must be on an approved Leave of Absence.
• The employee must have exhausted all his/her accrued vacation, personal holiday, CTO, and sick leave credits, which may be used for family care in accordance with the appropriate Collective Bargaining Agreement.
• Medical certification from the family member's physician must be submitted to Kristen Bautista in the Department of Human Resources.