Policy: 5.6 Leaves of Absence

Policy: 5.6 Leaves of Absence

Adoption Date: August 1, 2022  Revised

A.   Holidays

Holidays for employees will be set by the president and announced by memorandum at the beginning of each fiscal year.  If a college holiday occurs on a day that is outside of the employee’s normal work schedule, the employee is not entitled to recover the holiday missed.  Employees are credited with holiday hours for the time they would normally be scheduled to work on the day the holiday falls.

B.   Development Leave

Employee development leaves (without salary) may be granted by the president with approval of the Board of Trustees for a period of not less than one semester or more than one year.  A faculty development leave will be granted only if a suitable substitute can be found for the faculty member who requests leave.  Substitutes will be made aware of the temporary nature of the position.  An employee must have been with the district at least two years to be eligible for development leave.  An employee requesting a leave of absence should prepare a written request describing the details of the requested leave (purpose, length, and other pertinent details).  The written request should be directed to both the appropriate administrator and the president and should be submitted well in advance in order for proper arrangements to be made and for Board approval.

 C.  Sick Leave

All full-time employees may accumulate a maximum of 720 hours of sick leave. Sick leave accrues at the rate of 8 hours per month of service.  The monthly sick leave credit may be pro-rated if the employee’s work week is less than 38 hours.  The following regulations apply to sick leave:

1. One-half month or more full‑time employment is considered a complete month in computing earned sick leave.  Less than one‑half month of full‑time employment is disregarded.
2. Credit for sick leave accumulates during leaves of absence with pay.
3. An employee must enter sick leave on a weekly basis in the online time keeping system.  In cases of elective hospitalization prior approval must be obtained.  In all cases of elective hospitalization, a physician’s statement of immediate necessity may be required. 
4. An employee may be required to furnish a doctor’s release.  Each supervisor and/or the Chief Human Resources Officer will have individual discretion over these instances.
5. Sick leave with pay is allowed a full-time employee for absence from work for which he/she has been scheduled during the employee’s normal work week up to the amount of his/her earned credits when the absences are due to the following: An employee will be allowed reasonable time with sick leave for medical or dental appointments if it is not possible to schedule the appointment on his/her own time.  Requests for such time off should be made as far in advance as possible by notifying the supervisor.
6. Illness or injury should be reported to the employee’s immediate supervisor as soon as possible. An employee planning to return to work following sick leave should notify his/her supervisor as early as possible of the employee’s return time.  Actual hours missed are charged to sick leave.
7. An employee who transfers from one department to another maintains the balance of his/her unused sick leave.
8. Sick leave will be deducted from the employee’s accumulated sick leave in accord with the employee’s regular work schedule.
9. An employee is not entitled to take sick leave with pay except when he/she or a member of his/her immediate family is actually ill. (Immediate family is defined as:  mother, father, sister, brother, spouse, child, grandchild, mother-in-law, father-in-law, sister-in-law, brother-in-law, grandmother, grandfather, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, stepmother, stepfather, stepchild, niece, nephew, aunt, uncle, or a person who occupies a position of significance, living in the same household or, if not in the same household, are totally dependent upon the employee for personal care or services on a continuing basis.  Any extenuating circumstances will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and must be approved by the President prior to the leave of absence.  Malingering and other abuses of sick leave privileges constitute grounds for dismissal.  Accumulated sick leave does not constitute a claim for reimbursement when one’s employment is terminated with the district except in the case of retirees (see #10).
10. Employees who are retiring may use up to the equivalent of four weeks (152 hours based on a 38-hour week base) of their accrued sick leave immediately preceding their retirement date or be paid the equivalent in their final check. If the employee chooses to be paid, they must receive payment in the same fiscal year as retirement.
11. Employees who change from full-time to permanent part-time with no break in service may carry over unused sick leave and use it as needed.  However, once the employee changes from full-time to part-time, no sick leave may be earned or accrued. 
12. If a college retiree returns to work in a benefits eligible position within 2 years of retirement, the balance of their sick leave at retirement will be reinstated. 

D.   The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

(a)       If at any time, when an employee becomes eligible for leave under this subsection, the college and any shared-service agreements in which it participates as fiscal agent employer have a combined total of fifty employees within seventy-five miles of any college or above-described co-op facility, the following provisions of the Family and Medical Leave Act apply. 

(b)       Any employee who has been employed by the college for at least twelve months and for at least 1,250 hours of service during the twelve months immediately preceding the date when leave is requested to commence shall be eligible for the following described FMLA leave.

(c)       The leave shall be granted for any of the following qualifying events:

1. The birth of a child or the need to care for a newborn child of the employee;
2. The placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster care;
3. The need for the employee to care for a child, spouse, or parent with a serious health condition;
4. The employee’s own serious health condition if it makes the employee unable to perform the functions of his job.

(d)        If an employee becomes eligible for FMLA leave the unpaid FMLA leave shall commence when the employee exhausts all accrued leave.  In the event the employee is eligible for the Sick Leave Pool, FML (Family Medical Leave) will run concurrent with the Sick Leave Pool.   Notice to the employee of this fact shall be given to the employee by the Chief Human Resources Officer at the time of the requested leave, or as soon thereafter as the Chief Human Resources Officer learns the leave is FMLA eligible.

(e)        During the time of FMLA leave, all college health benefits shall be afforded as if the employee had continued to work, with the college continuing to pay the employer portion of any health care premium.  The employee shall continue to pay all premium payments as if the employee were continuing to work instead of taking the leave.

(f)         The college may recover its share of healthcare premiums paid for the employee if the employee does not return to work for any reason other than the continuous serious health condition of the employee or the employee’s immediate family or another reason beyond the employee’s control.  The employee shall be considered as having returned to work 30 calendar days after return to work.

(g)        The college may require that the employee present a certification of fitness to return to work if the absence was caused by the employee’s own serious health condition.  The college may delay restoring the employee to employment until it receives a certificate relating to the health condition that caused the employee’s absence.

(h)        The taking of FMLA leave shall not result in the employee losing any benefits that accrued prior to the start of the leave. 

(i)         Leave shall be determined based on the needs of the employee and may be granted for an amount of time not to exceed twelve work weeks during any twelve-month period.

(j)         The college shall calculate the twelve-month period and twelve-week leave entitlement as follows:

             Howard College/SWCD chooses the “rolling” 12-month period measured backward from the date an employee uses any FML for determining the 12-month period.

(k)        If at any time the Board of Trustees elects to change the manner in which FMLA entitlements are calculated, the President shall give 60 days’ notice to all employees during any transition period.  The employee shall be entitled to a calculation under whichever method affords the employee the greater entitlement during the transition period.

(l)         If both spouses are employed by the college, each may request FMLA, but the combined leave may be limited to a total of twelve weeks if the leave is for:

1. birth of the employee’s child or to care for the child after birth;
2. placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster care or to care for the child after placement;
3. care of the employee’s parent with a serious health condition.

(m) FMLA leave may be taken intermittently by non-instructional employees as follows:

1.   Leave may be taken in separate blocks of time due to a single qualifying reason, such as a reduced leave schedule with a lesser number of days per work week or a lesser number of hours.

2.   Leave taken after the birth or placement of a child for adoption or foster care may be taken intermittently if the college agrees.  If, however, the parent has a serious health condition or other qualifying cause apart from the care of the child, this section shall not apply.

3.   Leave may be taken intermittently on a reduced leave schedule when medically necessary for planned or unanticipated medical treatment of a related serious health condition by or under the supervision of a health

4.   care provider, for recovery from treatment or recovery from a serious health condition, or to provide care or psychological comfort to an immediate family member with a serious health condition.

5.   If the employee needs intermittent leave or leave on a reduced leave schedule that is foreseeable based on planned medical treatment for the employee or family member, including during a period of recovery from a serious health condition, or if the college agrees to permit intermittent or reduced schedule leave for the birth of a child or for the placement of a child for adoption or foster care, the college may require the employee to transfer temporarily during the period of intermittent or reduced leave schedule to an available alternate position for which the employee is qualified and which better accommodates recurring periods of leave than does the employee’s regular position.  The alternative position must have equivalent pay and benefits.

(n)       For instructional employees desiring to take intermittent leave or leave on a reduced schedule to care for a family member or for the employee’s own serious health condition, which is foreseeable based on planned medical treatment, and the employee would be on leave for more than twenty percent (20%) of the total number of working days over the period leave would extend, the college may require the employee to choose either:

1. to take leave for a period or periods of a particular duration not greater than the duration of the planned treatment; or
2. to transfer temporarily to an available alternative position for which the instructional employee is qualified, which has equivalent pay and benefits, and which better accommodates recurring
3. periods of leave than does the employee’s regular position.
4. The above-described policy applies only to leave involving more than 20% of the working days during the period over which the leave extends. If the instructional employee desires to take leave for 20% or less of the working days during the leave period, the college shall not request transfer of the employee to an alternate position. 

(o)        If an employee does not give notice of foreseeable FMLA leave to be taken intermittently or on a reduced leave schedule, the college may require the employee to take leave of a particular duration or to transfer temporarily to an alternative position or require the employee to delay the taking of leave until the thirty-day notice provision is met.

(p)        If an instructional employee requests to take leave more than five weeks before the end of the semester, the college may require the employee to continue to take leave until the end of the term, if the leave will last at least three weeks and the employee would return to work during the three-week period before the end of the term. 

(q)        If an instructional employee requests to take leave more than five weeks before the end of the term for a purpose other than the employee’s own serious health condition, and the employee will return during the five-week period before the end of the term, the college may require the instructional employee to continue to take leave until the end of the term, if the leave will last more than two weeks and the employee would return to work during the two-week period before the end of the term.

(r)         If an instructional employee begins leave for a purpose other than the employee’s own serious health condition during the three-week period before the end of the term, and the leave will last more than five working days, the college may require the employee to continue taking leave until the end of the term. 

(s)        Salaried employees who are among the highest paid 10% of all the employees of the college at the time of the request for leave need not be restored to the same position if to do so would cause substantial and grievous economic injury to the operations of the college.  If the college believes reinstatement should be denied to such an employee, it must give written notice of this fact to the employee at the time the employee gives notice of the need for FMLA leave.  At the same time, the college must fully inform the employee of the potential consequences with respect to reinstatement and maintenance of health benefits, if the college should determine that substantial and grievous economic injury to the college operation will result if the employee is reinstated upon return. 

(t)         No employee of the college shall interfere with any employee’s rights under the law or this policy to request or assert a right to FMLA leave.

(u)        Notice of FMLA entitlements shall be posted in all facilities where employees work and where employees can read it.  If a significant number of employees are fluent in another                           language, the notice shall appear in that language as well.

(v)        Military Family Leave Entitlements (National Defense authorization Act for FY 2008, as amended)

1. Military Caregiver Leave:

Eligible employees (spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin of service member) may take up to 26 work weeks of unpaid leave during a “single 12-month period” to care for a covered service member with a serious injury or illness.  A covered service member is a current member of the Armed Forces, including a member of the National Guard or Reserves, who is undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy, is otherwise in outpatient status, or is otherwise on the temporary disability retired list, for a serious injury or illness.  A serious injury or illness is one that was incurred by a service member in the line of duty on active duty that may render the service member medically unfit to perform the duties of his or her office, grade, rank, or rating.

The “single 12-month period” begins on the first day the employee takes leave for this reason and ends 12 months later, regardless of the 12-month period established by the employer for other types of FMLA leave.  An eligible employee is limited to a combined total of 26 work weeks of leave for any FMLA qualifying reason during the “single 12-month period”.  (Only 12 of the 26 weeks total may be for a FMLA qualifying reason other than to care for a covered service member.)  Leave may be taken intermittently whenever medically necessary to care for a covered service member with a serious injury or illness.  When leave is needed for planned medical treatment, the employee must make a reasonable effort to schedule treatment so as not to unduly disrupt the employer’s operation. 

Spouses employed by the same employer are limited to a combined total of 26 work weeks in a “single 12-month period” if the leave is to care for a covered service member with a serious injury or illness, and for the birth and care of a newborn child, for placement of a child for adoption or foster care, or to care for a parent who has a serious health condition.

2.  Qualifying Exigency Leave:

Eligible employees may take up to a total of 12 work weeks of unpaid leave during the normal 12-month period established by the employer for FMLA leave for qualifying exigencies arising out of the fact that the employee’s spouse, son, daughter, or parent is on active duty, or has been notified of an impending call or order to active duty, in support of a contingency operation.  Under the terms of the statue, qualifying exigency leave is available to a family member of a military member in the National Guard or Reserves; it does not extend to family members of military members in the Regular Armed Forces.  

Qualifying exigencies may be found on the U.S. Department of Labor website at www.dol.gov

Leave may be taken intermittently for a qualifying exigency arising out of the active-duty status or call to active duty of a covered military member. 

E.   Bereavement Leave

Bereavement leave is granted for absence from job duties, when necessary, by a death in the employee’s immediate family or as approved by a cabinet member or by the president.  (see immediate family definition in sick leave section on page 1) One day of bereavement leave per incident will not be charged to the employee’s accrued leave.  Any additional time per incident will be charged against accumulated sick (when applicable), vacation or personal leave and is not deducted from an employee’s salary unless all leave has been used. Bereavement leave is also granted for funeral attendance when an employee is serving as a pallbearer.   

Bereavement leave may be granted to attend the funeral of another college employee or a member of the college employee’s immediate family.  Employees attending these services are allowed up to 2 hours if the services are local and up to 4 hours if the services are out of town and will not be charged for this time with supervisor approval.

F.   Bad Weather Days

Classes will be held and business will continue as usual on bad weather days unless hazardous conditions exist affecting travel to the local site.  The president or designated administrator will determine the need to cancel classes and will coordinate with the local school district.  Closure announcements will be given to the local radio stations by 6:00 a.m. or as appropriate.  In some instances, employees will not be able to travel due to local conditions in his/her place of residence.  These leaves of absence will be handled on a case-by-case basis and could be charged to vacation or personal leave.  In cases where class begins late, such as 10:00 a.m., activities will begin at the place where you would be at that time.

G.   Court or Jury Duty   

Any employee may fulfill his/her civic responsibilities of serving as a juror, witness or court interpreter.  An employee who is subpoenaed as a witness or called to serve as a juror or court interpreter should report the call to his/her immediate supervisor.  He/she will be relieved from duties for the reasonable time required for rendering such services.  The employee is entitled to retain all compensation received for such services, and no deductions will be made in pay for the reasonable time he/she is absent from duty fulfilling these responsibilities. The employee is required to document this leave by entering it in the online time keeping system.

H.   Work at Home/Altered Operation

While Howard College does not have a work at home policy, some employee jobs may lend themselves to do a portion or all of their work from home during times of illness, absence or special circumstances.  This option may not be available to all employees because of the nature of their job.  These arrangements must be approved by the college president. In these special circumstances and if agreeable to the employee and the employee’s supervisor, case by case arrangements will be considered.  This arrangement must be pre-approved by the respective cabinet member and the president and reviewed and reauthorized every 30 days or as determined by the president.  Hours recognized as work would not be charged as employee leave.  Time worked must be substantially documented. 

I.    Sick Leave Pool

Purpose:  To establish guidelines for the creation and operation of a sick leave pool intended to benefit full-time employees by providing for the alleviation of some of the hardship caused to employees who suffer a catastrophic injury or illness to themselves or in their immediate family.

Criteria:  All regular permanent full-time employees are eligible to apply for pool leave if they or an immediate family member suffers a catastrophic illness or injury.

Sick Leave Pool Use: The conditions governing use of pool leave are:

• § employees may use pool leave for their catastrophic illness or injury or for a member of their immediate family;
• § employees must exhaust ALL accrued leave entitlement before they are eligible to use leave from the pool;
• § employees must submit a completed Certification of Physician or Practitioner Form for each provider, supporting their medical condition, with the Sick Leave Pool Donation/Request Form;
• § employees on pool leave continue to accrue sick leave;
• § employees who use pool leave are not required to pay back pool leave;
• § awards of leave from the pool can be used ONLY for the catastrophic condition for which the award was made;
• § employee requests for leave from the pool must be approved by the President of the District.

Return of Time Donated to Pool:  Employees who contribute sick leave to the pool cannot recover donated leave unless they are eligible to use it through the pool.

Contributions to Leave Pool:  Contributions to the pool are strictly voluntary.  All regular permanent full-time employees may contribute up to 24 hours of their sick leave to the pool each fiscal year, unless retiring.  Retiring employees may donate up to 120 hours of their accrued balance at the time of retirement by submitting a Sick Leave Pool Donation/Request Form when they “check out” in Human Resources.   An employee contribution drive will be initiated to add hours to the sick leave pool in February of each year. Only one such contribution drive will be conducted per year unless specifically authorized by the President.  Employees who make contributions to the pool may not stipulate who will receive the contributions.  To contribute time to the pool, an eligible employee will submit a Sick Leave Pool Donation/Request Form provided by the Human Resources Office during the sick leave pool contribution drive. 

Balance Required to Donate:  Employees may not contribute sick leave to the pool until they have completed 12 months of employment and if the contribution would cause their balance of accrued sick leave to fall below 80 hours.  The 80-hour balance requirement does not apply to retirees.

Maximum Time Awarded:  The amount of pool leave awarded to an employee during a 12-month period will not exceed a total of 360 hours, whether it be for a single catastrophic illness/injury or any combination of catastrophic illnesses/injuries.  The 12-month period will begin on the first day pool leave is used from the initial award.  Any amount of pool leave awarded to an employee during a 12-month period will be recorded as paid leave under the FMLA.  Pool leave and FML will run concurrent. For further details on the FMLA and other leave policies, refer to the district’s Employee Handbook.  In the case of multiple family members employed by the district, only one award will be made per family for the same catastrophic illness of one family member.

All requests to use sick leave from the pool will be reviewed and approved ONLY by the President.  Upon the President’s approval of the request, the effective time and date will normally be that on which the employee entered leave without pay status.  Under no circumstances will awards be made retroactive more than 30 calendar days prior to receipt of the request by the Human Resources Department.  The Chief Human Resources Officer shall credit the approved time to the employee who may use the time in the same manner as sick leave earned in the course of employment with the district.  However, it may be used only for the catastrophic condition for which it was awarded.  The use of this leave need not be continuous.  An employee who needs to use their pool leave intermittently is required to utilize all currently accrued leaves before re-accessing the remainder of the leave awarded from the pool.  Employees may also be required by their supervisor to produce evidence of the cause or circumstances necessitating the intermittent use of the leave awarded from the pool.

Unused Sick Leave Pool Time:  The Human Resources Office will track each employee receiving sick leave pool hours for 12 months following the date the award is initially used by the employee.  Only hours used will be deducted from the Sick Leave Pool balance.

Definitions:  Catastrophic Condition: A catastrophic condition is characterized by the sudden onset of symptoms that can be life threatening.  The following are examples of conditions that may be considered catastrophic:  most forms of cancer, brain tumors, severe heart attack, severe stroke, acquired immune deficiency syndrome, and cerebral aneurysm.  Conditions of a chronic nature that may require long term medical treatment are not in and of themselves considered catastrophic.  Examples of conditions not usually covered unless accompanied by a catastrophic condition or a complication that leads to a catastrophic condition include gynecological problems and conditions; hysterectomies; gallbladder surgery; surgery for herniated disk; carpal tunnel syndrome; allergies; bronchitis; most broken bones and orthopedic surgeries; angina; pregnancy and childbirth, vaginal or caesarean section; and postpartum recovery.

General Eligibility Criteria:  The criteria used by the President to determine whether an illness or injury is catastrophic will be:

• a medical diagnosis or surgery in the current Federal Register List of Diagnosis Related Groups (DRG) which rates an Outlier Threshold of 28 or greater, and
• a condition so severe that it results in the employee being unable to work for at least 20 continuous workdays.

A diagnosis or surgery not listed on the DRG or a disability not meeting the 20 consecutive days criterion may qualify for designation as catastrophic under certain unusual conditions and may be considered by the President.  Consultation with a physician may be necessary.

Outlier Threshold: The length of stay that must be achieved for a particular Federal Register List of Diagnosis Related Groups (DRG) before the outlier criteria apply.

Outlier Diagnosis: A case involving an unusually long length of stay or one in which the costs are substantially above the usual cost for the diagnosis group.

Immediate Family: Mother, father, sister, brother, spouse, child, grandchild, mother-in-law, father-in-law, sister-in-law, brother-in-law, grandmother, grandfather, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, stepmother, stepfather, stepchild, niece, nephew, aunt, or uncle, or a person who occupies a position of significance, who are living in the same household or, if not in the same household, are totally dependent upon the employee for personal care or services on a continuing basis.  Any extenuating circumstances will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and must be approved by the President prior to the leave of absence. 

K.   Military Leave

Employees who are members of any branch of service are entitled to all rights according to the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA), see 38 U.S.C.  Individuals who voluntarily or involuntarily leave his/her employment position to undertake military service are protected under USERRA.  USERRA also prohibits employers from discriminating against past and present members of the uniformed services and applicant to the uniformed services.  For more information, see www.dol.gov/vets.

Required Notice: The employee must provide advance notice, either oral or written. However, no advance notice is required if it is precluded by military necessity or if it would be impossible or unreasonable to give. Texas State employees must provide a copy of the military orders and submit a leave request to his or her supervisor.

An employee who is a member of the Texas military forces or a reserve component of the United States Armed Forces is entitled to a paid leave of absence from their duties on a day on which the person is engaged in authorized training or duty ordered or authorized by proper authority.  Paid military leave is limited to 15 workdays each federal fiscal year (Oct 1 – Sept 30) and do not need to be consecutive.  Employees are entitled to use available accrued leave during a time of active military service.  During a leave of absence, the person may not be subjected to loss of time, efficiency rating, personal time, sick leave, or vacation time.

Employees are entitled to carry forward from one fiscal year to the next the net balance up to a maximum of 45 workdays.

L.  Personal Leave

Personal leave may be granted for personal reasons, provided adequate arrangements can be made for the employee’s responsibilities during the absence.  It should not be granted if significant inconvenience or more than normal expense to the college would result.  Employees who have personal business requiring their absence from assigned duties must receive approval from the appropriate supervisor.  Personal leave is charged against personal leave balance based on the actual hours missed and is only deducted from an employee’s salary if all available personal leave has been used beginning September 1, 2017. All full-time employees regardless of term receive 25 hours of personal leave each year. Personal leave hours do not roll over and do not accumulate.

M.  Vacations: Faculty Exempt

All full-time, faculty exempt employees on a 9-month up to 11-month contract receive five days of paid vacation time of winter break in addition to the two-week scheduled holiday break for all employees. Twelve-month faculty employees do not receive these 5 days unless they choose to use vacation (see section O. Vacations Exempt and Non-Exempt Staff and 12-month Exempt Faculty (Correctional Studies excluded)). In order to provide instruction during the fall and spring semesters, this time is built in during a winter break. Faculty may use personal leave during a regular semester according to policy (see above/L. Personal Leave). Less than 12-month faculty who teach in the mini semesters may be compensated extra and do not receive additional vacation time. Faculty working more than nine months receive the same scheduled holidays as 12-month employees during the time worked. 12-month faculty will follow the vacation schedule of 12-month employees. See the holiday schedule distributed annually.

N.  Vacation/Holidays: Correctional Facilities

Howard College employees who are assigned full-time to a correctional facility will observe the following vacation/holiday calendar. Calendars and workdays will coincide with the prison schedule.

(If the correctional/detention center does not observe one of the holidays listed, then the employee may take that day or another day in place of that day at another time.)

• Labor Day (1 day) Martin Luther King’s Birthday (1 day)
• Columbus Day (1 day) President’s Day (1 day)
• Veterans Day (1 day) Memorial Day (1 day)
• Thanksgiving (2 days) Juneteenth (1) day
• Christmas Day* Independence Day (1 day)
• New Year’s Day* Spring Break (5 days)
• Christmas/New Year’s (5 days) Vacation: 2 weeks
• Additional Break of 5 consecutive days (floating week) is granted to Correctional Studies employees who are hired prior to holiday break in that fiscal year. The floating week must be taken consecutively unless special approval is obtained for medical reasons. Employees are not paid for this time upon resignation, termination or interruption of employment.

If closure occurs by the correctional institution on a day/s leave is taken, the following will be observed:

1. If an employee is taking their floating week, no adjustments will be made, and the full floating week (40 hours) will be deducted from the employee’s floating leave balance.
2. If an employee is taking any other leave of absence (vacation, sick, personal), the hours the employee is unable to enter the facility are not counted against the employee’s accrued leave.

*If Christmas Day and New Year’s Day fall on a weekday, then employees will get those days off in addition to the five days of Christmas/New Year’s Break. If Christmas Day and New Year’s Day fall on a weekend, then the employee gets only the five working days off for Christmas/New Year’s Break.

Current employees are credited 80 hours to be used during the year. Employees hired after September 1, accrue vacation time at 6.67 hours each month worked. An employee is permitted to carry over 165 hours of vacation time.

O.  Vacations: Exempt and Non-Exempt Staff and 12-month Exempt Faculty (Correctional Studies excluded)

Employees working for twelve months are entitled to accrue up to 55 hours of paid vacation time from the date of employment. An additional 27 hours of paid vacation time is used during the summer break, totaling 82 hours. Employees will be required to take mandatory vacation during the designated summer break week as listed on the academic calendar (beginning in July 2021). Nine hours of that week would be the July 4th holiday (regardless of when the holiday falls) for a total of 36 hours for the week. On September 1, current employees are credited 55 hours to be used during the year. Employees hired after September 1, accrue vacation time at 4.58 hours each month worked. The monthly vacation credit may be pro-rated if the employee’s regular work week is less than 38 hours in the fall and spring; and 36 hours in the summer.

P.   Vacation: Applies to all employees who earn vacation:

1.  One-half month or more full-time employment is considered a complete month in computing earned vacation. Less than one-half month of full-time employment is disregarded.

2.   An employee is permitted to carry over 165 hours of vacation time. If an employee terminates with the college prior to the completion of the fiscal year and has used unaccrued vacation time, the employee’s final paycheck will be adjusted.

3.  Unearned vacation leave may not be used for sick leave related instances without prior approval of the supervisor. Each supervisor will have individual discretion over approval of these instances.

4.  Upon resignation, termination or interruption of employment, the balance of accrued vacation time will be paid if at least ninety days service has been rendered. Exceptions are as follows:

a.  An employee may be discharged without notice or without further pay for willful violation of rules, misconduct, or similar causes.

b.  If the last day of duty is other than the last day of the respective ninety-day period for accruing vacation, leave will be computed to the nearest quarter hour.

5.  Length of service is determined as follows:

a.  If all service has been continuous except for sick leave, authorized absences, or temporary lay-offs, the employee’s length of service shall continue from the original date of employment.

b.  If an employee’s employment is terminated and he/she later is re-employed for full-time,he/she is considered to be the same as a new employee so far as allowed paid vacation is concerned.

  c.  In the event that an employee transfers or is promoted, the continuous credited service accumulated under the employee’s present position is counted as continuous credited service under the new position.

6.   Holidays recognized by the district and occurring during a vacation period are not counted against vacation time.

7.   Vacation time does not accrue during authorized absences without compensation.

8.   Extra pay is not given in lieu of vacation leave (except in the case of termination – see #5).

9.   A record of vacation time accrued and taken is kept for each employee from the beginning date     of his/her employment.

a.  The maintenance of this record is kept in the online time keeping system.

b.  The records are subject to inspection by the internal auditors upon request.

10. Vacation schedules are determined according to the needs of the department. Department supervisors shall determine the appropriate time for employees to schedule vacations. All vacation schedules are subject to control and prior approval of both the department supervisor and the President. Employees are required to schedule their vacations so as not to interfere with normal operations of their department as determined by the supervisor. When employees request vacations for the same period, the employee who requests time off first receives priority. If requests are received at the same time, the employee with the greater length of service receives priority.

11.  In case of an employee’s death, the balance of their accrued vacation leave will be paid to the estate. The payment is calculated at the rate of compensation being paid the employee at the time of death.

12.  Non-faculty employees that change from full-time to part-time with no break in service may carry over any unused vacation time and use it according to district policy, or they may choose to have the accumulated vacation leave paid to them. However, an employee who changes from full-time to part-time will not earn or accrue vacation.

13.  Employees that change from a 12-month staff position to a full-time or part-time faculty position that is less than 12 months and that does not accrue vacation will have the balance of their accrued vacation leave paid to them.

14.  Supervisors may request employees who have announced their resignation or whose contracts/letters will not be renewed to take any accumulated vacation time prior to their last day.

Q.  Leave Without Pay

Employees must first use any accrued leave before taking leave without pay.  This applies to sick, vacation and personal leave balances by this policy. Leave without pay should only be taken for unusual circumstances and must be approved by the respective cabinet member. Excessive absences that result in consistent frequent uses of leave without pay can result in termination. 

R.   Staff Development Leave Award

Employees can receive an additional day of vacation upon completion of the staff development incentive program (see Policy 5.3/Benefits).  Awards do not have to be used that fiscal year and can be carried forward if the award form is presented as documentation.  Awards can accumulate and can be used for vacation, personal or sick leave purposes.  A single award cannot be used in increments but must be used in its entirety.