Personal Leave Program. A. Personal leave shall be requested and used by the employee in the same manner as vacation or annual leave. Requests to use personal leave must be submitted in accordance with departmental policies on vacation or annual leave. B. At the discretion of the State, all or a portion of unused personal leave credits may be cashed out at the employee's salary rate at the time the personal leave payment is made. It is understood by both parties that the application of this cash out provision may differ from department to department and from employee to employee. Upon termination from State employment, the employee shall be paid for unused personal leave credits in the same manner as vacation or annual leave. Cash out or lump sum payment for any personal leave credits shall not be considered as "compensation" for purposes of retirement. C. A State employee in the personal leave program shall be entitled to the same level of State employer contributions for health, vision, dental, flex-elect cash option, and enhanced survivors benefits he/she would have received had the personal leave program not occurred. D. The personal leave program shall not cause a break in State service, a reduction in the employee's accumulation of service credit for the purposes of seniority and retirement, leave accumulation, or a merit salary adjustment. E. The personal leave program shall neither affect the employee's final compensation used in calculating State retirement benefits nor reduce the level of State death or disability benefits the employee would otherwise receive or be entitled to receive nor shall it affect the employee's ability to supplement those benefits with paid leave.
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Sources: Labor Contract, Union Contract, Union Contract