Accrued Leave (G/P)

Guideline/Procedure
4.0503.02.1
Effective date: 11/13/20

Leaves and absences must be accurately reported and recorded by employees in the College’s time reporting and payroll systems. All leave time taken by employees is subject to advance approval by the immediate supervisor, unless otherwise indicated. Accrued vacation and sick leave must be used prior to commencement of any leave of absence without pay as described in Administrative Rule 4.0503.05, Leave Without Pay.

I.  Vacation Leave

  1. Periods of employment with the College in any position that does not accrue vacation leave do not count toward the rate of vacation leave accrual the employee is eligible to receive. However, if a full-time faculty member moves into a position that accrues vacation, their years of prior full-time faculty service will count toward their vacation accrual rate in the new position and they will not be subject to a 90-day waiting period for using accrued vacation.
  2. Employees must work or be in a paid leave status for 50% of the scheduled hours in a pay period in order to accrue vacation leave. In general, this means that employees paid on a monthly basis must work 80 hours during the pay period before they accrue vacation leave for that month and employees paid on a biweekly basis must work 40 hours during the pay period before they accrue vacation leave for that biweekly period.
  3. If an employee changes positions from a vacation accruing classification to a non-vacation accruing classification the employee will be paid the vacation leave accrual for which they are entitled unless the change in positions is for a temporary period of 2 months or less.
  4. If an employee leaves the College then returns to work in a vacation accruing position within one year from the date of their separation, or if a vacation accruing employee moves to an adjunct faculty or hourly position then returns to a vacation accruing position within one year:
    1. the employee will be subject to a 90-day waiting period for using vacation accruals and,
    2. the employee’s prior years of service, excluding adjunct or hourly service, will be applied toward their accrual rate. Therefore, the employee will continue to accrue at their previous accrual rate.
  5. If an employee leaves the College then returns to work in a vacation accruing position, or if a vacation accruing employee moves to an adjunct faculty or hourly position then returns to a vacation accruing position after one year:
    1. the employee will be subject to a 90-day waiting period for using vacation accruals and,
    2. the employee’s prior years of service with the College will not be counted toward their new accrual rate. Therefore, the employee will begin accruing at the lower vacation accrual rate of 10 hours per month.
  6. In the event of the death of an employee (except for grant employees), payment for all unused vacation leave will be made to the deceased employee’s estate in accordance with a court order, or to the surviving spouse of the deceased employee. The appropriate legal documents must be submitted to the Office of Human Resources (HR) Benefits.

II.  Sick Leave

  1. In the event of an illness or accident, an employee must notify their immediate supervisor no later than one hour after the employee’s scheduled start time, or as soon as possible thereafter.
  2. An employee should inform their supervisor as soon as possible when scheduling medical treatments, procedures, or healthcare appointments (including dental and vision exams and treatment). The employee should make a reasonable effort to schedule such sick leave eligible events so they do not unduly disrupt departmental and ACC operations.
  3. If an employee has a sick leave-eligible event during the work day and must leave work, the employee shall use sick leave for the missed work time.
  4. A supervisor may approve an alternative type of paid leave if an employee has no sick leave available, provided the employee has an FMLA-qualified absence. If the absence is not an FMLA-qualified absence, it will be treated as a leave of absence without pay and the employee may be subject to disciplinary action.
  5. Employees must work or be in a paid leave status for 50% of the scheduled hours in a pay period in order to accrue sick leave. In general, this means that employees paid on a monthly basis must work 80 hours during the pay period before they accrue sick leave for that month and employees paid on a biweekly basis must work 40 hours during the pay period before they accrue sick leave for that biweekly period.
  6. If the illness requires the use of sick leave for three (3) or more consecutive work days, and the employee is eligible for FMLA, the employee must file FMLA paperwork to secure the employee’s position. If the employee is eligible, FMLA paperwork must be filed if the illness is for the employee, spouse, child, or parent. See Administrative Rule 4.0503.04, Family and Medical Leave for more information.
  7. Full-time faculty members should notify their department chair if they will be absent due to illness. The department chair is responsible for ensuring that a substitute covers the classes. The actual work hours missed should be entered in the College’s time reporting and payroll systems.
  8. If an employee leaves ACC, then returns to work at the College in a sick leave accruing position or, if a sick leave accruing employee moves to an adjunct faculty or hourly position then returns to a sick leave eligible position, their prior sick leave balance will not be reinstated.
  9. Personal leave is taken out of an employee’s sick leave accumulation and does not accrue or accumulate from year-to-year. See Administrative Rule 4.0503.03, Non-Accrued Paid Leave, for more information.
  10. In the event of the death of an employee (except for grant employees), payment for 50% of any unused sick leave in excess of 960 hours will be made to the deceased employee’s estate in accordance with a court order, or the surviving spouse of a deceased employee. The appropriate legal documents must be submitted to Human Resources, Benefits.

III. Leave for Employees on a Grant

  1. Business Services shall notify HR, Compensation of the terms and conditions of employment under a grant.
  2. HR shall ensure that job posting announcements include any specific terms and conditions of the grant.
  3. HR shall provide the offer letter of employment to the candidate outlining any terms and conditions of employment. The immediate supervisor shall receive a copy of the offer letter of employment.
  4. The hiring department shall ensure that the terms and conditions of employment are satisfied.

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