(a) Any employee of the Government of the Virgin Islands, including employees of the Legislature, the judicial branch, the University of the Virgin Islands, and all independent or semi-autonomous agencies and instrumentalities of the Government of the Virgin Islands, shall be eligible to receive donated sick or annual leave if the employee:
(1) has completed at least one year of continuous employment with the Government of the Virgin Islands;
(2) is suffering from a health condition including maternity or injury or when the employee is the primary care giver of a seriously ill spouse, child, parent or any individual who is the legal dependent of the employee which is expected to require a prolonged absence from work by the employee; and
(3) has exhausted all accrued sick, annual and administrative leave and compensatory time off while absent on approved sick leave.
(b) The Director of the Division of Personnel shall administer the donated leave program of the Government of the Virgin Islands. The Director of the Division of Personnel, or his designee, shall promulgate rules and regulations necessary to implement the provisions this section and maintain appropriate records of donated leave for all employees of the Government of the Virgin Islands. All donated annual leave shall be calculated on the basis of the donor's salary, whichever is less.
(c) Any employee of the Government of the Virgin Islands may request that the Director of the Division of Personnel approve their participation in the program as a leave recipient or as a leave donor. The employee's supervisor may make a request on behalf of the employee for their participation in the program as a leave recipient.
(1) The employee or supervisor requesting the employee's acceptance as a leave recipient shall submit to the Director of the Division of Personnel medical verification from a physician or other licensed health care provider concerning the nature and anticipated duration of the disability resulting from serious health condition or injury.
(2) The Director of Personnel shall approve a leave request within 10 business days after the leave donor has complied with the requirements in paragraph (1).
(3) When the Director of the Division of Personnel has approved an employee as a leave recipient, the Director of the Division of Personnel or the Director of the Department or Division where the employee works, or their designee, shall, with the employee's consent, post or circulate the employee's name along with those of other eligible employees In a conspicuous manner in the work place, to encourage the donation of leave time, and shall provide notice to the Department of Personnel of the employee donating leave.
(i) If the employee is unable to consent to the posting or circulation, the employee's family may consent on their behalf.
(d) A leave recipient must receive at least five sick days or annual days or a combination thereof from one or more leave donors to participate in the donated leave program. A leave donor shall donate only whole sick days or whole annual days to any one recipient.
(1) A leave recipient shall not receive days on an retroactive basis.
(2) A leave donor shall have at least 20 days of accrued sick leave and at least 12 days of accrued annual leave remaining when donating leave.
(e) While using donated leave time, the leave recipient shall accrue sick leave and annual leave and shall be entitled to retain such leave upon their return to work.
(1) Any unused donated leave shall be returned to the leave donor or donors on a prorated basis upon the leave recipient's return to work, except that if the proration of leave days results in less than one day per donor to be returned, the leave time shall not be returned.
(2) Upon retirement, the leave recipient shall not be granted supplemental compensation for any unused sick days which they had received through the leave donation program.
(f) Any employee shall be prohibited from threatening or coercing or attempting to threaten or coerce another employee for the purpose of interfering with rights involving donating, receiving or using donated leave time. Such prohibited acts shall include, but not be limited to, promising to confer or conferring a benefit such as an appointment or promotion or making a threat to engage in an act of retaliation against an employee.