Vacation

Staff Vacation Leave Policy

Policy

The University values the contributions of its employees and provides paid vacation leave to staff who are regularly scheduled to work at least 1,000 hours per year to allow for time to handle personal issues, celebrate holidays not officially observed by the University, revitalize, relax, maintain morale, minimize burnout, and return to work refreshed.

Staff accrue vacation time according to the length of continuous University service: 

*10 and 11-month staff accrue during the pay periods they are scheduled to work. They do not accrue during the months they are not scheduled to work and do not receive a pay check or are receiving their deferred payout (if applicable). 

**The amount of vacation will be based on the hours paid in the pay period; including vacation, sick, holiday, bereavement leave, etc.

Part-time employees accrue vacation time on a pro-rated basis.

Staff members who are part of the President’s Cabinet do not accrue nor accumulate vacation time and will not be paid out for unused vacation time upon departure from the University. 

Calculation of Vacation Time Accrued:

Eligible employees accrue vacation every pay-period as long as they are in a paid status, (e.g. regular, vacation, sick leave, holiday, etc.) and they have not already reached their maximum accrual.

Non-Exempt employees will earn vacation based on the number of hours paid each pay period including vacation, sick, holiday, bereavement leave, etc.

      Exempt employees accrue vacation time based on scheduled weekly hours with the exception of:

• New exempt employees who work for at least one day of the month will receive their full accrual for that month.
• Exempt employees who leave the University will accrue ½ of their monthly vacation allotment for that month if they leave before the 15^th of the month; they will accrue the full month’s vacation time allotment if they leave on the 15^th of the month or later.

Employees on unpaid leave of absence do not accrue vacation time.

Year to Year Accumulation of Vacation Time:

The maximum vacation accumulated by an employee may not exceed twice the yearly allowance.  Once an employee has accumulated twice their yearly allowance, they will not accrue any additional vacation until vacation time is used and their vacation balance is below two times the yearly allowance. 

Leave taken is deducted from the balance once the employee submits AND the manager approves timeI, but not in advance of the date taken.

In the event that a vacation accrual balance remains at the maximum in a pay period because leave was not submitted  and approved , an employee will not accrue vacation time for that time period. 

Scheduling Vacation:

Earned vacation may be taken at times mutually acceptable to the employee and the immediate supervisor. Requests to use vacation time must be agreed to and approved in advance. Department work requirements will always be a prime consideration and the employee's supervisor will make final decisions as to when vacation may be taken.

Non-exempt employees will record their vacation time in 15 minutes increments, similar to worked time.

Exempt employees must take vacation time in half or full-day increments.

Employees must take eligible paid time off (sick, vacation, parental leave) prior to going on leave without pay.

Eligible employees regularly scheduled to work less than 12 months per year must take vacation time during their normal work schedules.

Payment Upon Separation:

Employees may not take vacation during the two weeks prior to their resignation/retirement date.

Employees who separate/retire from University employment will be paid for unused vacation days up to the employee’s yearly accrual plus five days, not necessarily their maximum accrual. Should an employee die while in active service, pay for accumulated vacation will be paid to the estate of the employee. Employees who are terminated for gross misconduct (incidents of serious misconduct, including but not limited to theft, fraud or violence in the workplace), are not eligible to be paid for accumulated vacation. 

View the Staff Vacation Leave Policy.