In a recent anonymous Speak Out the writer asked about the ability to donate hours to other employees in times of need. The writer also mentions that this would not happen as FCC would not be able to write it off, so as a result employees lose out.
There is some accuracy to the request, and some misleading information so let’s go through a couple details.
First, FCC is a nonprofit and as such, losing the tax write off when gifting hours from one employee to another is not an issue. Presently, we accrue the liability on our books for sick and vacation time, so the expense has already been recognized. Again, there is no advantage to FCC for doing or not doing this but there could be an issue for recipients as the donated hours are treated like income.
Second, FCC does not use PTO, but rather accrues sick and vacation time based on hours worked. This results in some employees carrying large balances of earned sick time. We have considered switching to a PTO-oriented time off system on more than one occasion, but it can create a hardship for those who have earned large balances of earned sick time. Additionally, this conversion can be expensive. We have considered this in the past, we will consider it again, and recognize that the ability to donate time is a meaningful benefit to a PTO system.
As with many things we could change, we will continue to evaluate them and pursue implementation when opportunities present a benefit employees as well as the agency. .