DEANS, DIRECTORS, DEPARTMENT CHAIRS and ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICERS
Re: Hurricane Katrina Emergency Vacation Leave Sharing Program and Temporary Vacation Leave Conversion Program
The University of California is implementing two programs, the Emergency Vacation Leave Sharing Program and the Temporary Vacation Leave Conversion Program, for employees who wish to assist with Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.
The Emergency Vacation Leave Sharing Program (EVLSP) is an emergency program for temporary implementation in response to Hurricane Katrina. The EVLSP allows an employee to donate accrued vacation credits to another employee when the recipient employee:
- is needed to assist family or friends who have been directly affected by Hurricane Katrina, or
- is participating in disaster relief work but is not eligible for administrative leave with pay or leave of absence with pay (APM – 758), and
- does not have sufficient vacation balances or other paid leave credits to cover his or her absence
The UCLA campus guidelines for the Catastrophic Leave Sharing Program will be applied in determining the methods for donating and tracking vacation credits. Employees and supervisors need to submit requests to Campus Human Resources, Healthcare Human Resources, or Academic Personnel (see contact information below). Program guidelines, a Donor Form, and a Recipient Application Request will be available through Campus Human Resources. Requests may be granted until June 30, 2006.
Application of the program to exclusively represented employees is subject to union notice procedures.
The Temporary Vacation Leave Conversion Program (TVLCP) is a temporary emergency program in response to Hurricane Katrina pursuant to guidelines established by the IRS. Under the program, employees may convert accrued vacation credits into cash contributions for donations to qualified tax-exempt organizations providing disaster relief.
The donations will be made by the University directly to the organizations on behalf of the employees. In accordance with IRS regulations, employees who donate accrued leave credits will not pay taxes on the value of the leave, and the donation amount will not be included in employee income reported to the IRS. Since the IRS will not tax the donation amount, employees cannot claim a charitable deduction on their tax returns.
The organizations to which donations may be made are the Red Cross (Hurricane Katrina Relief), Habitat for Humanity (Operation Home Delivery), and United Way (Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund). The TVLCP is available between November 1, 2005, and October 31, 2006 (donations must be sent to the organizations by December 31, 2006, in accordance with IRS requirements).
Employees are asked to coordinate their requests with their department personnel manager in order to determine the number of accrued vacation hours to be donated. (Please note that converted leave credits are treated similarly to terminal vacation payments.)
If you or your staff have questions regarding the Emergency Vacation Leave Sharing Program, please contact the Hurricane Katrina Program Coordinator, Hilu Bloch, at (310) 794-0421, Healthcare Human Resources at (310) 794-0500, or the Academic Personnel Office at (310) 206-8004. For questions regarding the Temporary Vacation Leave Conversion Program, please contact Lucy Eugenio in Payroll Services at (310) 794-8706.
Sincerely,
| Donna L. Vredevoe, Ph.D. Vice Chancellor Academic Personnel | Lubbe Levin Assistant Vice Chancellor Campus Human Resources Patient Affairs |
Campus Human Resources, Personnel Services
Phone: (310) 794-3147 | Fax: (310) 794-0865
UCLA Healthcare Human Resources
Phone: (310) 794-0500 | Fax: (310) 794-0620
