NJ Civil Service Navigator

N.J.A.C. 4A:6-1.22 Donated leave program

N.J.A.C. 4A:6-1.22, Donated leave program. A State employee shall be eligible to receive donated sick or vacation leave if the employee: 1. Has completed at least one year of continuous State service Full text with 9 recorded amendments, 30 citing decisions, cited by 3 other rules.

Leaves, Hours of Work, and Employee Development · Leaves of Absence

Current through New Jersey Register, Vol. 58 No. 14, July 20, 2026. Reviewed as of July 26, 2026.

This is an annotated mirror, not the official publication. Verify against the Civil Service Commission before relying on it.

In plain language

Four gates stand between a State employee and a day of donated leave: one year of continuous State service, exhaustion of all accrued sick, vacation and administrative leave along with any sick leave injury benefits and compensatory time off, no discipline in the previous two years for chronic or excessive absenteeism, chronic or excessive lateness or abuse of leave, and a qualifying reason. The reasons are a catastrophic health condition or injury affecting the employee, the same affecting an immediate family member the employee is needed to care for, or absence to donate an organ. Catastrophic means life-threatening, or a period of disability a physician verifies as requiring 60 or more work days of absence or care. The numbers: at least five days received before anyone can take part, no more than 30 days from any one donor, 260 days maximum for a recipient, nothing retroactive, and a donor must keep 20 accrued sick days or 12 accrued vacation days in hand. A donation cannot be revoked. Local appointing authorities may run their own programs on these terms with the approval of the Chairperson.

Written by the NJ Civil Service Navigator editorial team from the text of N.J.A.C. 4A:6-1.22. It is a description of the rule, not the rule itself, and not legal advice.

(a) A State employee shall be eligible to receive donated sick or vacation leave if the employee: #

1. Has completed at least one year of continuous State service; #

2. Has exhausted all accrued sick, vacation and administrative leave, all sick leave injury benefits, if any, and all compensatory time off; #

3. Has not, in the two-year period immediately preceding the employee's need for donated leave, been disciplined for chronic or excessive absenteeism, chronic or excessive lateness or abuse of leave; and #

4. Either: #

i. Suffers from a catastrophic health condition or injury; #

ii. Is needed to provide care to a member of the employee's immediate family who is suffering from a catastrophic health condition or injury; or #

iii. Requires absence from work due to the donation of an organ (which shall include, for example, the donation of bone marrow). #

(b) For purposes of this section, a "catastrophic health condition or injury" shall be defined as follows: #

1. With respect to an employee, a "catastrophic health condition or injury" is either: #

i. A life-threatening condition or combination of conditions; or #

ii. A period of disability required by his or her mental or physical health or the health of the employee's fetus which requires the care of a physician who provides a medical verification of the need for the employee's absence from work for 60 or more work days. #

2. With respect to an employee's immediate family member, a "catastrophic health condition or injury" is either: #

i. A life-threatening condition or combination of conditions; or #

ii. A period of disability required by his or her mental or physical health which requires the care of a physician who provides a medical verification of the need for the family member's care by the employee for 60 or more work days. #

(c) A State employee may request that the appointing authority approve his or her participation in the program, as a leave recipient or leave donor. The employee's supervisor may make such a request on behalf of the employee for his or her 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 appointing authority medical verification from a physician or other licensed health care provider concerning the nature and anticipated duration of the disability resulting from either the catastrophic health condition or injury, or the donation of an organ, as the case may be. #

2. When the appointing authority has approved an employee as a leave recipient, the appointing authority shall, with the employee's consent, post or circulate the employee's name along with those of other eligible employees in a conspicuous manner to encourage the donation of leave time, and shall provide notice to all negotiations representatives in that appointing authority. #

i. If the employee is unable to consent to this posting or circulation, the employee's family may consent on his or her behalf. #

(d) In State service, a leave recipient must receive at least five sick days or vacation 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 vacation days and may not donate more than 30 such days to any one recipient. #

1. A leave recipient shall receive no more than 260 sick days or vacation days, and shall not receive any such days on a retroactive basis. #

2. A leave donor shall have remaining at least 20 days of accrued sick leave if donating sick leave and at least 12 days of accrued vacation leave if donating vacation leave. #

3. A leave donor shall not revoke the leave donation. #

4. If a leave donor is not in the same department or autonomous agency as the leave recipient, appropriate arrangements shall be made between the affected appointing authorities to verify donor eligibility and adjust leave records. However, the posting requirement set forth in (c)2 above is limited to the recipient's appointing authority. #

(e) While using donated leave time in State service, the leave recipient shall accrue sick leave and vacation leave and be entitled to retain such leave upon his or her return to work. #

1. Any unused, donated leave shall be returned to the leave 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, that leave time shall not be returned. #

2. Upon retirement, the leave recipient shall not be granted supplemental compensation on retirement for any unused sick days which he or she had received through the leave donation program. #

(f) A State 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, or engaging in, an act of retaliation against an employee. #

(g) In local service, an appointing authority may establish a donated leave program, which shall be consistent with the provisions of (a) through (f) above, with approval of the Chairperson or designee. #

1. The appointing authority shall submit to the Chairperson or designee a donated leave program proposal no later than 30 days before the planned implementation of the program. The proposal shall include a summary of consultations with affected negotiations representatives concerning the program and name the donated leave program administrator for the appointing authority. #

2. The appointing authority shall not implement a donated leave program unless the program has been approved by the Chairperson or designee. #

3. The appointing authority shall retain all records concerning implementation of an approved donated leave program subject to an audit by a representative of the Civil Service Commission. #

4. The appointing authority may suspend or terminate the donated leave program at any time upon 30 days written notice of such suspension or termination to the Chairperson or designee, all affected employees, and labor negotiations representatives. #

Out of leave with a serious illness: how donated leave works

Donated leave exists for the State employee who has run out of paid time during a long, serious absence. It is narrow by design. Eligibility turns on four tests.

You need at least one year of continuous State service. You must already have used all accrued sick, vacation and administrative leave, any sick leave injury benefits and all compensatory time off. You must not have been disciplined in the past two years for chronic or excessive absenteeism, chronic or excessive lateness or abuse of leave. And the reason has to be a catastrophic health condition or injury of your own, care of an immediate family member who has one, or an organ or bone marrow donation. Catastrophic means life-threatening, or a period of disability that a physician verifies will need 60 or more work days away; for your own condition that includes a disability required by the health of your fetus. Immediate family is defined broadly in the Commission's rules and includes anyone whose close association with you is the equivalent of a family relationship.

You, or your supervisor on your behalf, ask the appointing authority to approve you as a recipient, with medical verification of the condition and its expected length. Once approved, and with your consent or your family's if you cannot give it, your name is posted or circulated within your appointing authority and the unions there are told.

At least five days have to come in before you can take part, and the ceiling is 260, never retroactive. A donor gives whole days, no more than 30 to you, and has to keep at least 20 sick days or 12 vacation days. While you are on donated time you keep accruing your own leave, and what you do not use goes back to the donors on a prorated basis when you return. Those days do not count toward payment for unused sick leave at retirement.

If the leave runs out first, unpaid leave is the next question, and in State service a permanent employee may be granted up to a year with the Chairperson's approval. Family leave and federal medical leave can run alongside, and paid leave used for a family leave purpose may be counted against those entitlements. Local employees have donated leave only where the employer runs a program the Chairperson has approved.

Related on this site: /nj-civil-service-leave, /workplace-rights

Written by the NJ Civil Service Navigator editorial team. Every statement here traces to the rules cited on this page. It is not legal advice, and a collective agreement may change how these rules apply to you.

Amendment history

Rule numbers, effective dates and New Jersey Register citations as published. 9 recorded changes.

  1. AmendedR.2016 d.171
    48 N.J.R. 5(a); 48 N.J.R. 2775(b)
  2. AmendedR.2010 d.125
    42 N.J.R. 12(a); 42 N.J.R. 1166(a)
  3. AmendedR.2005 d.66
    36 N.J.R. 4567(a); 37 N.J.R. 587(a)
  4. AmendedR.2001 d.26
    32 N.J.R. 3515(b); 33 N.J.R. 253(b)
  5. AmendedR.1996 d.368
    28 N.J.R. 2107(a); 28 N.J.R. 3781(a)
  6. New ruleR.1993 d.47
    24 N.J.R. 3590(a); 25 N.J.R. 293(a)
  7. date not statedAdministrative correction
    28 N.J.R. 4577(a)
  8. date not statedPetition for rulemaking
    39 N.J.R. 2153(a)
  9. date not statedPetition for rulemaking
    42 N.J.R. 87(a)

How this rule has been applied

30 decisions have cited N.J.A.C. 4A:6-1.22. The list below is citations to those decisions, not the decisions. We have not written summaries for this section. A citation with no summary is deliberate: we do not paraphrase a decision we have not read. Nothing here is legal advice.

Civil Service Commission final determinations (30)
  • In re R.P., Dep't of Cmty. Affairs, CSC Docket No. 2020-1165Docket 2020-1165
  • In re Dep't of Law and Pub. Safety, CSC Docket No. 2020-1010Docket 2020-1010
  • Baccalaureate Child Welfare Educational Program. In re K.N., Dep't of Children & Families, CSC Docket No. 2019-1278Docket 2019-1278
  • In re Armstrong, Dep't of Human Servs., CSC Docket No. 2019-3200Docket 2019-3200
  • In re B.F., Motor Vehicle Comm'n, CSC Docket No. 2019-1765Docket 2019-1765
  • In re J.R., Dep't of Env'tl. Prot., CSC Docket No. 2017-2010Docket 2017-2010
  • In re Davis, Dep't of Labor & Workforce Dev., CSC Docket No. 2018-2532Docket 2018-2532
  • In re Zanzuccki, N.J. Racing Comm'n., CSC Docket No. 2018-3791Docket 2018-3791
  • In re Dougherty, Dep't of Human Servs., CSC Docket No. 2018-3686Docket 2018-3686
  • In re A.B., Dep't of Envtl. Prot., CSC Docket No. 2018-674Docket 2018-674
  • In re J.R., Dep't of Env't Prot., CSC Docket No. 2017-2010Docket 2017-2010
  • In re B.M., Dep't of Law & Pub. Safety, CSC Docket No. 2018-1228Docket 2018-1228
  • DLP. In re D.C., Dep't of Human Servs., CSC Docket No. 2018-1232Docket 2018-1232
  • In re P.B., Dep't of Agric., CSC Docket No. 2018-670Docket 2018-670
  • In re K.W., Dep't of Educ., CSC Docket No. 2017-4023Docket 2017-4023
  • In re J.S., Dep't of Human Servs., CSC Docket No. 2017-2003Docket 2017-2003
  • In re R.A., Dep't of the Treasury, CSC Docket No. 2017-2697Docket 2017-2697
  • In re C.G., N.J. Office of Info. Tech., CSC Docket No. 2017-3485Docket 2017-3485
  • In re S.H., Dep't of Law & Pub. Safety, CSC Docket No. 2017-2799Docket 2017-2799
  • In re P.H., Dep't of Human Servs., CSC Docket No. 2017-282Docket 2017-282
  • In re B.P., Motor Vehicle Comm'n, CSC Dkt. No. 2017-2589
  • In re J.H., Dep't of Human Servs., CSC Docket No. 2016-442Docket 2016-442
  • In re C.W., Dep't of Agric., CSC Docket No. 2016-583Docket 2016-583
  • In re Lawrence, Dep't of Transp., CSC Docket No. 2014-2836Docket 2014-2836
  • In re T.J. Dep't. of Health, CSC Dkt. No. 2013-2911cites (b)
  • In re Elmer, Dep't of Corr., CSC Docket No. 2014-444Docket 2014-444
  • In re James Macinnes, Dep't. of Law and Public Safety, CSC Dkt. No. 2013-3313
  • In re Audra Anepete, Dep't of Env't. Prot., CSC Dkt. No. 2013-3093
  • In re Ehrlich, Dep't of Env't Prot., CSC Docket No. 2013-2622Docket 2013-2622
  • In re Marie Colleen Stemme, Dep't. of Agriculture, CSC Dkt. No. 2013-2283

Commission decisions citing 4A:6-1.22

6 decisions of the Civil Service Commission since January 16, 2019 cite this section (granted 4, dismissed 1, denied 1, as the minutes record the outcome). The newest:

All 6 decisions

Rules that point here

Elsewhere in Leaves of Absence