Catastrophic Leave donation is the process where an employee may voluntarily donate vacation or qualifying paid time off (PTO) leave to another employee under certain circumstances. Refer to the image below for a general overview of the process.
To qualify for Catastrophic Leave, the employee must have exhausted all accumulated paid leave balances and received approval from Campus Human Resources (CHR) or Health Human Resources (HHR).
CHR manages the Catastrophic Leave program for Campus Staff and David Geffen School of Medicine (DGSOM) employees.
HHR manages the Catastrophic Leave program for the Medical Center.
Prior to submitting a catastrophic leave application, the department's HR Initiator should review the Admin - Review Absence Balance page in UCPath and verify:
The donor employee has enough accrued vacation or PTO to donate.
The receiving employee has exhausted all accumulated paid leave benefits.
The receiving employee can receive leave donations from a combination of individual donor(s) and the Central Bank, if applicable. Specific donation information, including the distribution of donated hours, is provided upon approval from CHR/HHR.
The receiving employee must be on a paid leave of absence in UCPath.
UCPath displays the donated hours for the receiving employee the day after receiving final approval. The donor employee will see an additional line for "Donated Vacation" on their current absence balance. This line serves as a notification to the employee that those hours will be deducted from the next payroll cycle. It is important to note that the donor employee will not see the hours deducted from their balance until the next payroll processing and Accrual Post Confirm. Refer to the Payroll Processing Schedule.
The Office of the President has granted a temporary policy exception allowing employees applying for Catastrophic Leave specifically due to the wildfires to become eligible without first exhausting their sick leave; however, they must exhaust their accrued vacation balance.
Additionally, in recognition of the extraordinary circumstances caused by the wildfires, academic personnel who accrue vacation leave may temporarily participate in the program, either by donating or receiving Catastrophic Leave hours. For employees in this group, CHR manages applications and approval.
Individuals receiving Catastrophic Leave donations due to the wildfires can only receive donations from the Wildfire bank and not from specific employee donors.
For additional information, refer to the Resources Available to Employees Impacted by Wildfires page on the CHR website.
View Employee Absence Balance Data UCPath Help Site Topic
Extend Leave of Absence with New Leave Type UCPath Help Site Topic
Enter Catastrophic Leave Donation UCPath Help Site Topic
Enter Catastrophic Leave Takes UCPath Help Site Topic