Accrued Time-Off Donor Program.
Milwaukee Code of Ordinances § 350-45
in effect350-45. Accrued Time-Off Donor Program.
1.
ESTABLISHED. There is established a city-wide accrued time-off donor program administered by the department of employee relations to provide income protection to eligible employees who have exhausted all accrued time off and are suffering from a serious health condition as defined under the federal family and medical leave act and are unable to work full-time or to eligible employees who have exhausted all accrued time-off with immediate family members who are suffering from a serious health condition as defined under the federal family and medical leave act. “Immediate family” in this section means a spouse, registered domestic partner as provided in s. 350-245, child or step-child.
2.
DONATION RULES.
a. Employees interested in donating accrued time-off shall complete a "Notification of Intent to Donate Time" form developed by the department of employee relations.
b. Each request to donate time shall specify only one employee to receive the donation. A separate "Notification of Intent to Donate Time" form must be completed for each employee to whom time is being donated.
c. Employees may donate accrued time in whole-hour increments only.
d. The decision to donate time cannot be rescinded once the "Notification of Intent to Donate Time" form has been received by the department of employee relations.
e. Employees donating time shall not have any accrued time returned if the employee to whom time is donated does not utilize the entire donation. The city shall take efforts to ensure that loss of donations due to non-utilization are kept to a minimum.
f. The employee donating time shall be notified by his or her department when the donation has been approved by the department of employee relations.
g. The types of leave eligible for donation shall be limited to vacation, compensatory time off and time-off in lieu of holidays.
3.
RECIPIENTS' ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA AND RULES.
a. Eligible employees may receive donations of 2,080 hours per illness from qualified city employees regardless of department or union affiliation.
b. Employees qualified to receive donations of time, or their appropriate authorized agents, must complete an "Application for Accrued Time-Off Donor Program" form, which shall be available from the department of employee relations.
c. The employee, or his or her authorized agent, shall be responsible for completing the applications and obtaining a physician's statement certifying that the employee or the employee’s immediate family member is suffering from a serious health condition as defined under the federal family and medical leave act that meets the program's medical requirements.
d. No determination regarding eligibility to receive donated time-off shall be made until the department of employee relations has received a completed application and physician's statement certifying that the employee or employee’s immediate family member is suffering from a serious health condition as defined under the federal family and medical leave act or the applicable family and medical leave act certification establishing the employee or employee’s immediate family member suffers from a serious health condition as defined under the federal family and medical leave act. An employee shall not be eligible to receive donated time-off unless and until he or she has exhausted all of his or her own accrued time-off. Although the decision of the department of employee relations respecting eligibility shall be final, employees who are denied this benefit shall be entitled to a written explanation as to why they did not qualify for participation in the program.
e. The city of Milwaukee reserves the right to require the employee to obtain, at his or her own expense, if not covered by the employee's health insurance provider, a second opinion from a physician of the employee's choice as to the nature of the physician's diagnosis and prognosis contained in the physician's statement.
f. Employees eligible to participate in the program and receive donations of time shall be so notified by the department of employee relations.
g. Donations of time shall be credited to a special account for the employee established by the city for this purpose. If the employee does not utilize the entire donation, any remaining time shall revert to the city. Donated time may only be used to cover absences during the period this policy is in effect.
h. Employees receiving donations of time may request, in writing, to be notified of the names of employees who donate time for their use.
i. Payments received under this program are considered other income and, under current internal revenue service guidelines, are to be included in the employee's W-2 reporting.
4.
PARTICIPATION BY EMPLOYEE UNIONS. a. Unless stated otherwise in a certified collective bargaining agreement while it is in force and in effect and consistent with city bargaining obligations, all city employees shall be eligible to participate in this program.
b. Disputes arising from the administration of this benefit shall not be subject to any challenge.
c. This program shall constitute the sole means by which employees may donate and receive time-off in cases of serious health condition as defined under the federal family and medical leave act.
5.
WORKFORCE NOTIFICATION. Upon confirmation of eligibility, and at the recipient employee's request, the department of employee relations shall provide each department with pertinent information regarding the recipient employee for the purpose of communicating the need for donations to other employees.
6.
REPORT. The department of employee relations shall report quarterly to the finance and personnel committee of the common council detailing program administration and utilization, including the number of requests, approvals and denials.
Source: City of Milwaukee Legislative Reference Bureau, Milwaukee City Charter and Code of Ordinances (city.milwaukee.gov master PDFs)URL: https://city.milwaukee.gov/ImageLibrary/Groups/ccClerk/Ordinances/Volume-3/CH350-sub4.pdf#page=5Fetched: 10/26/2026