Explanation
Several governments, including both the Federal government and State of Ohio, provide employees paid time off to participate as a living organ donor. The donation of a life-saving organ is a humanitarian sacrifice that should be encouraged and supported. The waiting list for organ transplants continues to grow rapidly, with over 85,000 transplant candidates currently on the nationwide list. While the list continues to grow, statistics show that the number of deceased donors has not changed significantly in the last ten years.
Living donation, however, has grown rapidly due to advances in the field of transplantation. In 2001, the number of living donors in the U.S. (6,548) surpassed the number of deceased donors (6,082) for the first time. Helping increase the amount of living donations are the growing number of employment policies created to ease the financial burden associated with the donation of organs and bone-marrow; most notably eliminating the loss of pay during recovery from the donation.
This legislation brings the City of Columbus into the growing ranks of public employers providing its employees the opportunity to make a living organ donation. It extends to Management Compensation Employees the opportunity to participate in a Living Organ Donor program and directs the Director of the Department of Human Services to take appropriate steps to immediately extend a similar opportunity to all City employees.
Title
To amend Section 10, Special Leave With Pay, of the Management Compensation Plan (Ordinance 2499-99, as amended) to enact (G) Living Organ/Bone Marrow Donor to allow employees paid time off to accommodate instances where they serve as a living organ or adult bone marrow donor, and to declare an emergency.
Body
WHEREAS, several governments, including the State of Ohio, provide employees paid time off to participate as a living organ/Bone Marrow donor; and
WHEREAS, nationwide over 85,000 hopeful persons await organ transplants; and
WHEREAS, the donation of a life-saving a humanitarian sacrifice that should be encouraged and supported; and
WHEREAS, the City of Columbus does not currently have such a policy; and
WHEREAS, based on the State of Ohio experience, where one employee in four years donated a qualifying organ, the financial impact of such a policy is negligible; and
WHEREAS, an emergency exists in the usual daily operation of the City of Columbus in that it is immediately necessary to enact a living organ/bone marrow donor policy for City employees and for the preservation of public health, peace, property and safety; now, therefore
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS:
Section 1. To amend Section 10, Special Leave With Pay, of the Management Compensation Plan (Ordinance 2499-99, as amended) to enact the following provision:
(G) Living Donor Leave.
Each calendar year, a fully qualified full-time employee covered by this ordinance is eligible to receive regular pay for up to two hundred forty (240) hours of leave for the employee's donation of any portion of an adult liver, lung or pancreas or because of the employee's donation of an adult kidney.
Each calendar year, a fully qualified full-time employee covered by this ordinance is eligible to receive regular pay for up to fifty-six (56) hours of leave for the employee's donation of adult bone marrow.
Paid time off pursuant to this section is subject to review of appropriate medical documentation by the Department of Human Resources.
Section 2. That this amendment shall be effective January 1, 2004.
Section 3. That the Director of the Department of Human Resources is hereby directed to immediately take appropriate steps to extend a similar opportunity to all City employees.
Section 4. That for the reasons stated in the preamble hereto, which is hereby made a part hereof, this ordinance is hereby declared to be an emergency measure and shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage and approval by the Mayor, or ten days after passage if the Mayor neither approves nor vetoes the same.