Holiday and Leave Policies
| New Year's Day | January 1 |
|
* Martin Luther King's Birthday |
|
|
* Robert E. Lee's Birthday |
|
| George Washington's Birthday | Friday of Spring Break in lieu of Washington's Birthday |
| Memorial Day | Last Monday in May |
| Independence Day | July 4 |
| Labor Day | First Monday in September |
| Veterans Day | Day after Thanksgiving in lieu of Veterans Day
|
| Thanksgiving Day | Fourth Thursday in November |
| Christmas Eve | December 24 |
| Christmas | December 25 |
|
* Employee's Birthday |
|
|
* You are given two additional days off during Christmas vacation: one is to observe Martin Luther King's and/or Robert E. Lee's Birthday and the other is to observe your birthday. Both of these days are given during this time in lieu of the actual birthday of Martin Luther King and Robert E. Lee, and your birthday. |
|
In addition, if the Governor proclaims any other holiday for state employees, the University will grant that day or another day off.
Holidays which occur on a Saturday (except December 25) will be observed the preceding Friday. When December 25 occurs on Saturday, the following Monday is observed.
Holidays which occur on a Sunday (except December 24) are observed the following Monday. When December 24 occurs on a Sunday, the preceding Friday is observed.
If you are assigned an unusual work schedule which requires you to work on regularly scheduled holidays, you will be granted time off on another day following the holiday. Your choice for taking this day off is to be made as soon as possible after the holiday. Also, the choice is subject to your supervisor's approval. Working on a holiday is not considered overtime unless working that day results in a work week of more than 40 hours.
If you are a one-half time or greater employee, your holiday pay will be proportionate to the time worked.
In order to receive holiday pay, you must be in paid status (not on leave without pay) the workday before the holiday and the workday after the holiday.
Specific annual dates of the holidays observed by the University are published and distributed to each department by Human Resource Services after July 1 of each year.
Sick leave is a benefit which is available to University employees who work 1,000 hours or more per year in a regular salary classified position. Paid sick leave is not granted as vacation leave and can only be used when the employee is unable to work because of sickness or injury or for medical, dental, or optical treatment. Sick leave may also be granted to employees due to the death or serious illness of a member of the employee's immediate family. Immediate family shall mean the father, mother, sister, brother, husband, wife, child, grandparents, in-laws, or any individual acting as a parent or guardian of the employee. An employee shall be required to furnish to his/her supervisor a certificate from an attending physician for five or more consecutive days of sick leave. Application to use sick leave must be filed within two days after employee returns to work. Employees who leave University employment are not entitled to be paid for accrued sick leave.
An eligible, full-time employee accrues sick leave at the rate of eight hours for each complete month of service up to a maximum of 960 hours. Employees working less than full time but more than 1,000 hours per year in a regular salary classified position accrue sick leave in the same proportion to time worked.
Sick leave may not be accumulated during a leave without pay when such leave totals ten or more days within a calendar month.
When an employee is laid off due to budgetary reasons or curtailment of University activities and within six months again becomes an employee of the University, accrued sick leave may be restored to his/her credit.
Sick leave is granted on a basis of work days, not calendar days, and is deducted from the employee's accrued sick leave. Non-workdays such as weekends and holidays falling within a period of sick leave are not charged as sick leave.
Absence due to illness or disability, except in case of maternity leave, is charged in the following order:
Employees who are absent from work due to a temporary occupational injury or illness and who are entitled to Workers' Compensation benefits may, upon proper application, utilize their accrued sick leave as a supplement to Workers' Compensation so as to receive weekly benefits from both sources equal to but not in excess of their normal weekly pay at the time of the injury or onset of illness. This option, when exercised, will reduce the employee's accrued sick leave on a basis proportional to the sick leave pay being claimed. An employee receiving Workers' Compensation benefits for a permanent disability is eligible for full pay from both sources.
Maternity leave will be treated as any other leave for sickness or disability, except that an employee who is unable to work because of pregnancy may elect to take leave of absence without pay without exhausting accumulated annual and sick leave. Upon return from maternity leave the employee will be given the same or comparable position to the one she occupied prior to the leave. The employee is expected to give the supervisor as much notice as possible prior to beginning maternity leave and at least two weeks notice prior to returning to work. Both notices must be in writing. (Board Policy 420.2, 6/9/95)
The purpose of this policy and the accompanying procedure is to establish a Catastrophic Leave Bank Program for the exclusive use of the regular, full-time employees of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock as authorized by Act 169 of 1991 and according to the rules and regulations approved by the Department of Finance and Administration.
| A. | Policy |
|
It shall be the policy of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock to permit eligible, regular, full-time employees to voluntarily donate accrued annual and/or sick leave to the Catastrophic Leave Bank Program. It shall also be the policy of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock to permit eligible, regular, full-time employees to voluntarily receive leave from the Catastrophic Leave Bank Program. The Catastrophic Leave Bank Program does not create any expectations or promises of continued employment with the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and is merely a means of assisting eligible University employees through medical emergencies, injuries and illness should they exhaust all earned sick, annual, holiday and compensatory leave time. The Catastrophic Leave Committee shall be composed of five members who represent a relative demographic cross-section of the University's work force. Participation shall be voluntary and the administration of the Catastrophic Leave Bank Program shall be in accordance with Act 169 of 1991, Department of Finance and Administration Rules and Regulations and in compliance with the listed procedures. |
|
| B. | Definitions |
|
Catastrophic Illness means a medical condition of an employee as certified by a physician (or other individual as provided in A.C.A. 21-4-207 [a][2]) which requires an employee's absence from duty for a prolonged period of time and which results in a substantial loss of income to the employee because of the exhaustion of all earned sick, annual, holiday and compensatory leave time. Catastrophic Leave means paid leave which is transferred to a leave recipient from the University's Catastrophic Leave Bank. Catastrophic Leave may be granted only in one (1) hour increments. While a leave recipient is on catastrophic leave, he or she shall receive normal benefits such as the University's contributions to insurance and retirement. Catastrophic Leave Bank means a pool of accrued annual and/or sick leave voluntarily donated by employees of the University in accordance with rules and regulations established in Act 169 of 1991 for use by other employees. Catastrophic Leave Bank Program means a program approved by the Director of the Department of Finance and Administration and established, maintained, and administered by the University of Arkansas at Little Rock to provide for the orderly authorization and administration of catastrophic leave. Catastrophic Leave Committee means a committee comprised of five members who represent a relative demographic cross-section of the University's work force and who review applications from employees for catastrophic leave, and in turn, make recommendations to the Chancellor relating to such leave. Employee means a person who is regularly appointed or employed in a position of service by the University of Arkansas at Little Rock who is compensated on a full-time basis. A person who works less than full time (forty hours per week) is excluded from this definition, and as such, is not eligible to participate as a donor or recipient in a Catastrophic Leave Bank Program. Leave Donor means an employee whose voluntary written request to donate accrued annual or sick leave to the Catastrophic Leave Bank has been reviewed by the Catastrophic Leave Committee and approved by the Chancellor. No employee shall be allowed to be a leave donor if such a donation will reduce that employee's combined accrued sick and annual leave to less than 80 hours. (Exception: an employee who is terminating employment may donate all accrued leave time and is not required to maintain the 80 hour leave balance.) Accrued leave may be donated in no less than one (1) hour increments. Leave Recipient means a current employee whose Catastrophic Leave Request has been recommended by the Catastrophic Leave Committee and approved by the Chancellor. Medical Condition means a personal emergency limited to catastrophic and debilitating medical situations, severely complicated disabilities and severe accident cases which cause the employee to be incapacitated, require a prolonged period of recuperation and require the employee's absence from duty as documented by a physician (or other individual as provided in A.C.A. 21-4-207[a][2]). Routine disabilities or disabilities resulting from elective surgery do not qualify for catastrophic leave. Prolonged Period of Time means a continuous period of time whereby a medical condition prevents the employee from performing the employee's duties. A prolonged period of time is interpreted to be a minimum of thirty (30) working days. Substantial Loss of Income means a continuous period of time where the employee would not have otherwise been compensated by the University of Arkansas at Little Rock due to a medical condition and the exhaustion of all earned sick, annual, holiday, and compensatory leave, and such medical condition is not covered and compensated by Workers' Compensation. |
|
| C. | Catastrophic Leave Committee |
|
The Catastrophic Leave Committee shall be comprised of five members. Three members shall be selected by the Staff Senate and two members selected by the Faculty Senate. These committee members must represent a cross-section of the employee population. Ex-officio, non-voting members will include a representative from Human Resource Services and a representative from Payroll. The committee shall annually select their chairperson from the committee membership. Committee meetings will be scheduled on a regular basis. The charge of the committee shall be:
|
|
| D. | Donation to the Catastrophic Leave Bank |
|
The Catastrophic Leave Committee shall screen leave donated by employees to ensure that the following criteria are met:
|
|
| E. | General Guidelines |
|
|
| F. | Prohibition of Concern |
|
No employee shall directly or indirectly intimidate, threaten, coerce, or attempt to intimidate, threaten, or coerce any other employee for the purpose of interfering with any such employee with respect to donating, receiving or using annual or sick leave. Any report of such described instances shall be reported in writing to the Chancellor. All written reports of such described instances shall be investigated thoroughly and appropriate disciplinary action shall be taken for any substantiated violation. |
|
| G. | Supplying False Information and/or Abuse of Catastrophic Leave |
|
|
| H. | Recordkeeping Requirements |
|
In order to comply with rules and regulations established by the State of Arkansas, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Catastrophic Leave Program must include a record keeping procedure which tracks:
These records should be retained by the University of Arkansas at Little Rock subject to audit by the Department of Finance and Administration and the Division of Legislative Audit. |
|
| I. | Funding Resources |
|
Salary payments to the leave recipient will be paid from the recipient's departmental budget, the same as current sick and annual leave payments. Those departments needing assistance for funding a temporary employee to handle the workload of the employee on catastrophic leave will be handled on a case-by-case basis. |
The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) requires employers with 50 or more workers to provide qualified employees up to 12 weeks unpaid leave per year for the birth or adoption of a child, to care for a spouse or an immediate family member with a serious health condition, or when unable to work because of a serious health condition. Employers covered by the law are required to maintain any pre-existing health coverage during the leave period with the employee paying the appropriate premium. Once the leave is concluded, the employee may be reinstated to the same or an equivalent job. Contact Human Resource Services for additional information.
All employees who work 1,000 hours or more per year in a regular salary classified position accrue annual leave. Full-time eligible employees accrue annual leave in accordance with the following schedule while employees who work less than full-time but more than 1,000 hours per year accrue annual leave in the same proportion to time worked:
|
Years of Employment
|
Monthly
|
Annually
|
|---|---|---|
| Through 3 years | 8 hours | 12 days |
| 3 through 5 years | 10 hours | 15 days |
| 5 through 12 years | 12 hours | 18 days |
| 12 through 20 years | 14 hours | 21 days |
| Over 20 years | 15 hours | 22.5 days |
Annual leave is cumulative; however, no employee may have in excess of 30 days on December 31 of each year. During the calendar year accrued annual leave may exceed 30 days, but those days in excess of 30 will be lost if they are not used before December 31 of each year. Accrued annual leave may be requested by an employee at any time. The appropriate supervisor will grant the request when it will least interfere with the efficient operation of the department.
Annual leave may not be accumulated during a period of leave without pay when such leave is for ten or more days within a calendar month. Annual leave is granted on a basis of workdays, not calendar days. Non-workdays such as weekends and holidays falling within a period of annual leave are not charged as annual leave. Annual leave must be earned before it can be authorized and is deducted from the employee's accrued leave.
Upon termination, resignation, retirement, death or other action by which a person ceases to be an active employee of the University, the amount due the employee or his/her estate from accrued annual leave or holiday leave, not to exceed 30 working days, inclusive of holidays, shall be included in the final pay to the employee. No employee receiving such additional compensation shall return to University employment until the number of days for which he/she received additional compensation has expired. (Board Policy 420.2, 6/9/95)
Employees who are members of the National Guard or any of the Reserve branches of the Armed Forces of the United States shall be granted leave at the rate of fifteen (15) working days per calendar year plus necessary travel time for annual training requirements. Up to fifteen (15) military leave days may be carried over to the succeeding year for a maximum of thirty (30) military leave days for that calendar year. Such leave shall be granted without loss of pay and in addition to regular vacation time. Each employee who requests military leave shall furnish a copy of his/her orders to Human Resource Services. An employee who is drafted or called to active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States or who volunteers for military service, shall be placed on extended military leave without pay and upon application within 90 days after the effective date of his/her release from active duty, shall be reinstated to the position vacated or an equivalent position at no loss of seniority or any of the other benefits and privileges of employment. An employee who enlists or reenlists for a second consecutive tour of military duty shall forfeit his/her reemployment rights.
Military personnel called to duty in emergencies by the Governor or by the President of the United States shall be granted leave with pay not to exceed 30 work days after which leave without pay will be granted in addition to regular vacation time. (Board Policy 420.2, 6/9/95)
The President may grant an employee's written request for a leave-of-absence without pay not to exceed six months unless granted in accordance with the provision for military leave. Leave without pay is not to be granted, except in the case of maternity leave (see Sick Leave), until all of the employee's accumulated annual leave has been exhausted. Any employee on leave-of-absence without pay does not accumulate annual leave nor participate in the group insurance programs to which the University makes a contribution nor receive pay for any legal holidays. An employee may continue with the insurance programs by paying the entirety of those costs provided that arrangements have been made in advance with Human Resource Services to assume full payment of the premium costs.
The President, upon the recommendation of a Chancellor, the Vice President for Agriculture, or the Directors of the Graduate Institute of Technology and Arkansas Archeological Survey, may place an employee in a leave-without-pay status for disciplinary reasons in accordance with the written personnel policies of the unit involved. In this instance the individual is not required to exhaust annual leave and sick leave before being placed in leave-without-pay status. (Board Policy 420.2, 6/9/95)
Any employee who serves as a witness, juror or party litigant shall be entitled to regular University compensation in addition to any fees paid by the court for such services or necessary appearances in any court and such absences from work for such purposes shall not be counted as annual leave.
An employee who is summoned to serve on jury duty shall not be subject to discharge from employment, loss of sick leave or vacation time, or any other form of penalty as a result of his/her absence from employment due to such jury duty, upon giving reasonable notice to his/her employer of such summons.
Employees who are accepted by the court as expert witnesses and paid a fee in excess of the normal witness fee shall be required to take annual leave for the time required for such testimony. (Board Policy 420.2, 6/9/95)
A permanent (full-time) employee may be granted educational leave by the President of the University on the following basis:
1. The employee will continue in the service of the University for a period of time as statutorily required or in the absence of a specific law, at least twice the length of his or her course of training. Any employee who does not fulfill these obligations shall be required to pay to the University the total cost or a proportionate share of the cost of the out-service training and compensation paid during the training period.
2. A written contract setting forth all terms of the agreement shall be signed by the employee and the President or Chancellor. The employee shall retain all rights in the position held at the time when the leave was granted or in one of comparable security and pay.
The amount of salary paid during the training period will be agreed upon by the employee and the President or Chancellor but may not in any case exceed the regular salary paid the employee. Payments for tuition, fees, books, and transportation may be made only if such sums have been specifically appropriated by the General Assembly for such purposes. (Board Policy 420.2, 6/9/95)