Human Resources

Catastrophic Leave (ACA § 21-4-214 and 6-63-602)

The Catastrophic Leave Bank is a pool of accrued sick and annual leave, donated by state employees for use by (non-faculty) full-time employees during a catastrophic illness of the employee or a qualifying family member. "Catastrophic illness" means a medical condition of an employee; or of the spouse or parent of the employee; or of a child of the employee which may be claimed as a dependent under the Arkansas Income Tax Act of 1929.  A physician certification is required for an employee's absence from duty for a prolonged period of time and which, except for the catastrophic leave program, would result in a substantial loss of income to the employee because of the exhaustion of all earned sick and annual leave.

Eligibility:

• The employee must have been employed by the state for more than two (2) consecutive years;
• An acceptable medical certificate from a physician supporting the continued absence is on file; and
• The employee has not been disciplined for any leave abuse during the past two (2) years.
• If the illness or injury is that of an employee and is covered by workers' compensation, the compensation based on catastrophic leave when combined with the weekly workers' compensation benefit received by the employee shall not exceed the compensation being received by the employee at the onset of the illness or injury.

Once an eligible employee completes the necessary paperwork with the Human Resources office, the paperwork is then forwarded to the Catastrophic Leave Committee located in Little Rock, AR.  The purpose of the Committee is to review all catastrophic leave requests, ensure that all eligibility requirements are met, and make recommendations to the directors/heads of participating agencies/institutions. The Committee shall make determinations of continuing eligibility. 

Please direct all questions regarding Catastrophic Leave to the Human Resources office at 619-4296.     

For questions/comments on this content, please contact hrhelp@nwacc.edu.
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