Los Angeles County Municipal Code Ch. 6.21 Leave Donation Program

To provide assistance to nonrepresented employees who have a serious or catastrophic illness or injury, or who are absent due to an emergency specifically declared by the board of supervisors, full pay sick leave, vacation hours, nonelective annual leave, and compensatory time may be transferred from one or more nonrepresented employees and donated to another nonrepresented employee, on an hour-for-hour basis, upon the request of both the receiving employee and the transferring employee(s), and upon approval of the receiving employee's appointing authority or designee under the following conditions:

A.

To qualify for leave donation the receiving employee must be absent from work due to injury or the prolonged illness of the employee, must have exhausted or will foreseeably exhaust all earned leave hours including but not limited to sick leave, vacation (including elective and nonelective annual leave), compensatory time and holiday credits, and is therefore facing the loss of salary and benefits. An employee who is receiving benefits for a work-related illness or injury under Section 6.20.070 of the County Code or Section 4850 of the Labor Code is not eligible for leave donations. However, an employee who is only receiving state-mandated workers' compensation benefits for such illness or injury is eligible.

Employees who are absent from work due to an emergency as declared by the board of supervisors are eligible to participate in this leave donation program to the extent such employees have exhausted, or will foreseeably exhaust all earned leave hours except full and part pay sick leave.

B.

The transfers are voluntary. Transfers are to be a minimum of one hour and in whole hour increments thereafter.

C.

Transfers are made from accrued full pay sick leave, vacation, nonelective annual leave, or compensatory leave balances. All current and deferred vacation hours and nonelective annual leave may be donated. However, only that portion of full pay sick leave in excess of 160 hours may be donated. Transfers for employees who are absent due to an emergency as declared by the board of supervisors are limited to current and deferred vacation hours and nonelective annual leave.

D.

Transfers shall be allowed to cross departmental lines upon approval of the appointing authority of the receiving department or his/her designee in accordance with policies of the receiving departments.

E.

Transfers of full pay sick hours will not count as sick leave used for purposes of applying Section 6.20.030F2 for the donating employee and will not adversely affect such employee' s right to be paid for sick leave hours in lieu of carrying such hours as provided in that section.

F.

Transfers are irrevocable. If any donated hours remain at the end of the employee' s catastrophic or emergency leave, they shall remain for the sole use of the recipient, as otherwise permitted by the County Code, except that if the employee dies, the remaining 100% sick leave must be returned to the donor on a "last in first out basis." However, donated compensatory time that is not used is deemed lost at the end of the calendar year following the year in which it was donated, unless otherwise authorized by the chief administrative officer.

G.

The total transfer credits received by an employee shall not exceed 1040 hours, unless specifically approved by the employee' s appointing authority or his/her designee. Any donated leave used by a recipient who is a salaried-exempt employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act must be taken as provided in Chapter 6.09 of the County Code.

H.

Upon approval of a request for donations, the appointing authority (or his/her designee) shall, at the employee' s request, post a notice of the eligible employee' s need for donations on departmental bulletin boards accessible to employees. Confidential medical information shall not be included in the notice, unless specifically requested by the eligible employee, and the employee waives confidentiality as to using such information in writing.

I.

Donations shall be administered according to procedures established by the auditor-controller and chief administrative officer. Signed approvals of the receiving and donating employees must be provided in accordance with such procedures before a donation is processed.

(Ord. 2004-0073 § 1, 2004; Ord. 2004-0001 § 45, 2004; Ord. 94-0042 § 1, 1994)

In view of the extreme need for charitable relief in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the board of supervisors has adopted this leave-based donation program to aid victims of this hurricane. This program is intended to comply with the terms of Internal Revenue Service Notice 2005-68 and will be interpreted consistent with that notice and any additional, relevant guidance provided by the Internal Revenue Service.

A.

Eligible Participants. Any County employee in active status or on a leave of absence may participate in the Hurricane Katrina Leave Donation Program by completing, signing and returning to the appropriate County department the leave donation

authorization form that is approved for use by the Chief Administrative Office. Participation in the program is voluntary.

B.

Leave-Based Donations. Participants in the Hurricane Katrina Leave Donation Program may elect to assign to the County the following forms of accrued leave, as applicable and subject to the limitations set forth in C: full-pay sick leave, vacation, holiday time, compensatory time accrued as a non-exempt County employee, nonelective annual leave under Megaflex for the current year, and elective annual leave purchased under Megaflex for the current year provided that all nonelective annual leave for the current year has been used. Leave may be assigned to the County in increments of a minimum of one (1) hour and in whole hour increments thereafter. Once an election is made, the assignment of donated leave is irrevocable, except as otherwise provided in Section 6.21.020C.

C.

Limitations on Leave-Based Donations. The County may limit the number of hours, days and/or forms of accrued leave that may be assigned under the Hurricane Katrina Leave Donation Program and communicate such limits to participants in forms or procedures developed to administer the program. Any change in such limitations will be applicable prospectively. In addition, the Hurricane Katrina Leave Donation Program shall be subject to an aggregate limit on the total cash donation by the County under the program of two (2) million dollars, which may be changed by the board of supervisors in its sole discretion. Any participant elections to donate paid leave that have not been processed at the time that the applicable aggregate limit is reached will be void and the hours of paid leave subject to the void election will not be assigned to the County but will be restored to the participant's leave account.

D.

Donations. The leave that is assigned to the County under this program will be converted to cash by the County and one or more cash payments will be made by the County to charitable organizations for the relief of victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Only charitable organizations described in section 170(c) of the Internal Revenue Code and designated by the County will be eligible for participation as an eligible recipient organization. The County will notify participants in the program of the eligible recipient organizations and allow participants to designate which organization they would prefer to benefit. Only one eligible recipient organization may be designated on each authorization form and such direction is irrevocable. Although the County will make every effort to honor each participant's preference, the County reserves the right to change or add to the eligible recipient organizations and redirect the cash payments in its sole discretion to another eligible recipient organization; provided, however, that any new recipient organization shall be described in Internal Revenue Code section 170(c). All cash payments under the Hurricane Katrina Leave Donation Program will be made to eligible recipient organizations no later than December 31, 2006.

E.

Restrictions. The leave that is assigned to the County will not be treated as income to the participant and thus the value of the leave will not be treated as compensation for any of the County-sponsored deferred compensation plans or LACERA. Participants may not claim a charitable contribution deduction under Internal Revenue Code section 170 with respect to the value of the leave that has been assigned to the County. Leave that is assigned to the County will not be restored to the participant's leave account and the value of the leave will not be included in termination pay upon the participant's termination from County service. Megaflex participants who assign elective annual leave under the program will not be eligible to receive the cash value of such leave at the end of the year in which the leave has been assigned.

F.

Duration of Program. The Hurricane Katrina Leave Donation Program will expire on midnight December 31, 2006; provided, however, that the board of supervisors reserves the right to terminate or amend the program at any time prior to this date.

G.

Assignments of full pay sick hours will not count as sick leave used for purposes of applying Section 6.20.030F (2) for the participating employee and will not adversely affect such employee' s right to be paid for sick leave hours in lieu of such hours as provided in that section.

H.

Administration. The Hurricane Katrina Leave Donation Program shall be administered according to procedures established from time to time by the auditor-controller and chief administrative officer.

(Ord. 2005-0083 § 1, 2005.)

In view of the extreme need for charitable relief in the aftermath of certain large-scale disasters, the Board of Supervisors has adopted this leave-based donation program. This program is intended to comply with the terms of applicable Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Notices, and any additional, relevant guidance provided by the IRS regarding leave-based donation programs ("IRS Leave Donation Guidance").

A.

Eligible Disasters. This Disaster Leave Donation Program applies to: (i) Hurricanes and Tropical Storms Harvey, Irma, and Maria in 2017; and (ii) such other disasters that are designated in future IRS Leave Donation Guidance and with regard to which the Board of Supervisors has activated this Disaster Leave Donation Program in accordance with Section 6.21.030.G below.

B.

Eligible Participants. Any County employee in active status or on a leave of absence may participate in the Disaster Leave Donation Program by completing, signing, and returning to the appropriate County department the leave donation form that is approved by the Chief Executive Office (CEO). Participation in the program is voluntary.

C.

Leave-Based Donations. A participant in the Disaster Leave Donation Program may elect to forgo receipt of, and assign to the County, the following forms of his or her accrued leave, as applicable and subject to the limitations set forth in Part D: sick leave, vacation, holiday time, compensatory time accrued as a Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) non-exempt County employee, nonelective annual leave under Megaflex, and, provided that all other leave categories eligible for donation have been exhausted, elective annual leave purchased under Megaflex for the current year. Leave may be assigned to the County in increments of one (1) hour and in whole hour increments thereafter. All leave, including sick leave, will be taken into account at 100 percent of its value. Once an election is made, the assignment of donated leave is irrevocable, except as otherwise provided in Section 6.21.030.D.

D.

Limitations on Leave-Based Donations. The Board of Supervisors, in its discretion, may limit the number of hours, days, and/or forms of accrued leave that may be assigned under the Disaster Leave Donation Program and communicate such limits to participants in forms or procedures developed to administer the program. Any change in such limitations will be applicable prospectively. In addition, the Disaster Leave Donation Program shall be subject to an aggregate limit on the total cash donation by the County, which limit shall be established at the sole discretion of the Board of Supervisors. Any participant elections to donate paid leave that have not been processed at the time the aggregate limit is reached will be void and the hours of paid leave subject to the void election will not be assigned to the County but will be restored to the participant's leave account.

E.

Donations to Charitable Organizations. The leave that is assigned to the County under this program will be converted to cash by the County and one or more cash payments will be made by the County to charitable organizations for the relief of

disaster victims as specified in IRS Leave Donation Guidance. Only charitable organizations described in section 170(c) of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) and designated by the County will be eligible for participation as an eligible recipient organization. The County will notify participants in the program of the eligible recipient organizations and allow participants to designate which organization they would prefer to benefit. If more than one eligible recipient organization is designated by the County, only one eligible recipient organization may be designated by the participant on each authorization form, and such direction is irrevocable. Although the County will make every effort to honor each participant's preference, the County reserves the right to change or add to the eligible recipient organizations and redirect the cash payments in its sole discretion to another eligible recipient organization; provided, however, that any new recipient organization shall be described in IRC section 170(c). All cash payments under the Disaster Leave Donation Program will be made to eligible recipient organizations before the deadline stated in the applicable IRS Leave Donation Guidance.

F.

Restrictions. The leave that a participant elects to forgo and assigns to the County will no longer be available to the participant in kind or in cash. Accordingly, it will not be reported as taxable wages to the participant and will not be treated as compensation, "eligible earnings," "includible compensation," or "415 compensation" to the participant, and the value of the forgone leave will not be taken into account for the purposes of calculating contributions to, or benefits under, any of the County-sponsored deferred compensation plans set forth in Chapters 5.19, 5.25, or 5.26 of the County Code, the County's cafeteria plans set forth in Chapters 5.27, 5.28, 5.33, or 5.37 of the County Code, or any tier of the Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association (LACERA) pension plan. Participants may not claim a charitable contribution deduction under IRC section 170 with respect to the value of the leave that has been assigned to the County. Except as provided in Section 6.21.030.D, leave that a participant elects to forgo and assign to the County will not be restored to the participant's leave account, and the value of the leave will not be included in the termination pay upon the participant's termination from County service. Megaflex participants who elect to forgo and assign to the County elective annual leave under the program will not be eligible to receive the cash value of such leave at the end of the year in which the leave has been assigned.

G.

Duration of the Program. The Board of Supervisors, in accordance with IRS Leave Donation Guidance, has the sole discretion to activate the Disaster Leave Donation Program with regard to an Eligible Disaster (as described in Section 6.21.030.A) and reserves the right to terminate or amend the program at any time.

H.

Assignment of 100 percent of an employee's sick hours under the Disaster Leave Donation Program will not count as sick leave used for purposes of applying Section 6.20.030.F(2) for the participating employee and will not adversely affect such employee's right to be paid for sick leave hours in lieu of such hours as provided in that section.

I.

Administration. The Disaster Leave Donation Program shall be administered according to procedures established by the Auditor-Controller and CEO. Section 2. Pursuant to Government Code Section 25123(f), this ordinance shall take effect immediately upon final passage.

(Ord. 2017-0046 § 1, 2017.)