Vacation
Purpose of Vacation Benefit
The vacation benefit provides a period for rest, relaxation and renewal away from work with no loss in compensation. Accordingly, staff are expected to schedule vacations each year to use this accrued benefit. Because of deadlines, work demands or special projects (as approved by a supervisor) staff may not always be able to schedule sufficient time to fully utilize their annual accrual of vacation leave. In light of this, the unused accrual is allowed to be carried forward into a new fiscal year up to a maximum as described below. The University expects supervisors and their staff to utilize vacation leave each year and that build-up of accrued vacation to maximum levels, without being reduced by vacation taken should be an exceptional case and not the norm in a department.
Table of Contents
Vacation Benefit Eligibility
Regular full-time and regular part-time staff are eligible for the vacation benefit.
Description of Staff Vacation Benefit
Vacation accrues each pay period at a rate based on the number of days to be accrued for the year. Vacation accrual begins the first feasible pay period following 30-days of employment. Vacation accrual for regular part-time staff (between .5 and 1.00 FTE) is prorated based on their FTE percentage and by the paid hours worked for the pay period. If an employee is on an unpaid leave, vacation accrual will stop until the employee returns to work or is on paid leave again.
All regular University employees may accrue vacation up to a maximum two times the annual accrual. Accrued vacation balances at any given time shall not exceed two times the individual's annual accrual.
If a staff member voluntarily leaves employment at the University with appropriate notice (30 calendar days for Exempt staff and 15 calendar days for Non-Exempt staff) any unused accrued vacation leave will be paid to the departing employee. In the event an employee leaves the University and then returns, vacation accrual will pick up from the point it was when the employee left provided that the break in service was not longer than the span of time the employee originally worked.
Vacation accrual is calculated in the following ways:
Staff (non-exempt & exempt) vacation accrual (eff. 12/1/2016)
(Other than the groups of staff listed):
Accrue two weeks of vacation per year for the first five years, three weeks per year from five to ten years of employment with the University, and four weeks per year after the completion of ten years of employment with the University.
Years of Employment | Accrued Hours Per Month (based on 1.0 FTE*) | Possible Accrued over 12 months |
|---|---|---|
| 1 mo. - 4 yrs | 6.67 hours | 80 hours (2 weeks) |
| 5 yrs - 9 yrs | 10 hours | 120 hours (3 weeks) |
| 10+ yrs | 13.33 hours | 160 hours (4 weeks) |
* Accrual of hours is prorated based on the number of hours on each check relative to full-time hours.
- For exempt employees, full-time is 173.33 hours.
- For non-exempt employees, it is 8 hours for each business day. That can be 80, 88 or 96.
- There is no accrual in a period with no payroll hours.
PLEASE NOTE: if you are on a semi-monthly pay schedule, the hours you accrue will be prorated based on the number of hours on your check relative to the number of business hours in the pay period. For example: if you work 4 hours each business day in the pay period, you would receive 1/2 of the full time accrual.
Department Directors (directors who report to a VP)
Accrue three weeks of vacation per year for the first five years, and four weeks per year after the completion of five years of employment with the University.
Years of Employment | Accrued Each Year |
|---|---|
| 1 mo. - 4 yrs | 3 weeks |
| 5+ yrs | 4 weeks |
Vice presidents, associate vice presidents, executive directors, and deans who report to vice presidents
Accrue four weeks of vacation per year.
Nonexempt staff vacation accrual (through 11/30/2016)
Accrue two weeks of vacation per year for first five years and one additional day per year each year for the next ten years for a total maximum accrual of four weeks per year upon completion of fifteen years of employment with the University:
Years of Employment | Accrued Each Year |
|---|---|
| 1-5 | 10 days (2 weeks) |
| 6 | 11 days |
| 7 | 12 days |
| 8 | 13 days |
| 9 | 14 days |
| 10 | 15 days (3 weeks) |
| 11 | 16 days |
| 12 | 17 days |
| 13 | 18 days |
| 14 | 19 days |
| 15 or more | 20 days (4 weeks) |
Vacation Usage Requirements
Regular full-time and regular part-time staff may schedule vacation leave at a time that is approved in advance by their supervisor. Similarly, supervisors are expected to work with their staff to ensure appropriate vacation leave is scheduled, at least on annual basis (in short or long duration) as fits the circumstances.
Vacation Reporting Requirements
All Exempt Staff must submit on the required electronic form, a monthly report of vacation leave taken. Both Exempt and Non-exempt Staff are to report vacation leave in one-hour increments.
Limitations & Exclusions
Vacations are scheduled and approved by the employee's supervisor. Although efforts will be made to accommodate any staff requests to take vacation at specific times, supervisors are required to consider the needs of the department when evaluating vacation requests. Therefore, vacation requests may be denied during peak activity periods within the department or when other related staff are scheduled to be away from the University.
Coaching Staff who work less than 12 months, Residence Life Coordinators, Temporary and short hour employees are not eligible for paid vacation benefits.