Sick Leave Buy Back

Procedure for Payment of Unused Sick Leave to Employees

In 2008, the West Virginia Department of Administration distributed procedures for eligible state employees to surrender a portion of their unused sick leave for a taxable cash benefit. Series 21 of the Department of Administration’s Procedural Rules is included below. Please read all of these materials carefully if you are considering participating in this program.

Eligibility Rules:

1. To be eligible, the employee must be entitled, upon retirement, to credit his/her accrued sick leave for extended insurance coverage; in most cases, only employees hired prior to 2001 are eligible for this benefit
2. The employee must have at least 65 days (487.5 hours) unused sick leave
3. Payment is at a rate of 25 percent of the usual daily rate of pay (as a general rule, the daily rate of pay is calculated by dividing the employee’s annual base salary by 260 days)
4. The employee must leave a balance of 50 days (375 hours) in his/her sick leave bank at the time of pay out
5. The employee will not be permitted to reacquire any sick days they have surrendered
6. If the employee leaves employment with the state within 5 years from receipt of the funds, he/she must reimburse the State Employee Sick Leave Fund the amount of the funds plus 12 percent interest per year (death and retirement are not considered a separation of employment for purposes of this program)

Application Procedures:

1. Employees must complete the “Application for Payment of Unused Sick Leave and Reimbursement Agreement” form, and federal and state tax forms. The application is below, and the tax forms can be found on the HR Forms page.
2. Employees must submit the Application form and tax forms to the Shepherd University Human Resources Office. Applications received after November 10, 2008 will be reviewed for submission for July 2009, and on an ongoing basis thereafter.
3. Employees can receive sick leave payment only once per fiscal year.
4. Employees must meet with HR to go over their Application, and discuss rules and procedures related to the Sick Leave Buy Back plan.

SERIES 21–PROCEDURE FOR PAYMENT OF UNUSED SICK LEAVE TO EMPLOYEES

APPLICATION FOR PAYMENT OF UNUSED SICK LEAVE & REIMBURSEMENT AGREEMENT