Donor Appreciation Leave
With prior approval for time off, employees may use up to 8 hours of Donor Appreciation Leave1 (DAL) for personal leave for any reason including vacation, short-term illnesses, and any personal business. This leave is granted in appreciation for an eligible employee’s consistent donation over a calendar year. This leave is separate from Blood Donation Leave which can be used when making the donations.
Sources
1Texas Government Code Section 661.902
Eligibility
All benefits-eligible employees are eligible to earn up to 8 hours of Donor Appreciation Leave. This 8-hour grant is pro-rated for part-time employees based on their full-time equivalency status (FTE.)
This leave is earned after the employee (or their surrogate) completes 4 whole blood or platelet donations or 2 double red cell donations in a calendar year. The donations must occur at an MD Anderson facility or event managed by the MD Anderson Donor Operations Staff.
Accruals
- Once the final donation in the calendar year is made, the 8 hours (pro-rated for part-time employees) is loaded in the timekeeping system as Donor Appreciation Earned (DRE).
- The hours are loaded as a lump sum in the timekeeping system on the first of the month following the quarter when the fourth donation of the calendar year was made.
The table below details when hours are available for use based on when the fourth donation was made.
Quarter the 4th donation was made |
Hours become available for use |
Quarter 1 |
April 1 |
Quarter 2 |
July 1 |
Quarter 3 |
October 1 |
Quarter 4 |
January 1 |
Process for Using
STEP 1: Once the hours are available for use, the employee requests Donor Appreciation Leave (DAL) with reasonable advance notice through the timekeeping system and follows their Departmental Time Off Procedures.
STEP 2: The manager approves the time off request or communicates reasons for not approving it (e.g., scheduling conflicts, not eligible, etc.)
See FAQs for additional information.
Rules and Exceptions
- Accrued hours expire 12 months from when the hours were granted. The hours are not paid out at termination of employment and may not be donated to another employee.
- A surrogate donor may not be an employee of MD Anderson.
- See FAQs for additional information.
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