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Vacation and Sick Leave

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  1. POLICY

    Salt Lake Community College will provide the following; vacation leave, sick leave and sick leave pool to full-time administrators, staff, and faculty following the accompanying procedures.

  2. REFERENCES

    Reserved

  3. DEFINITIONS

    See PWC Definitions.

  4. PROCEDURES
    1. Accrual
      1. Full-time, staff employees, working between 75 percent full-time equivalent (FTE) and 100 percent FTE accrue vacation and sick leave in proportion to the percent of time worked.
      2. Faculty and staff employees working on an academic calendar basis, including some laboratory aides and laboratory coordinators, do not accrue vacation leave.
      3. An employee's accrual start date will be the first day of the month in which hired if hired between the first and the fifteenth of the month, and the sixteenth day of the month if hired between the sixteenth and the end of the month.
      4. Vacation and sick leave do not accrue during periods of leave without pay, including holiday closure and any unpaid portion of a family medical leave. Sick leave is not required for scheduled holidays and non-appointment days for faculty.
    2. Accrual Schedule
      1. Vacation
        1. Administrative: Days Accrued Per Year 24 (2.00 days per month – 8 hours per paycheck.
        2. Staff (exempt): Days Accrued Per Year 22 (1.83 days per month – 7.33 hours per paycheck.
        3. Staff (Non-Exempt):
          Years of Service DaysAccrued Per Year
          1 through 312 (1 day per month – 4 hours per paycheck)
          4 through 615 (1.25 days per month – 5 hours per paycheck)
          7 through 918 (1.50 days per month – 6 hours per paycheck)
          10 or more22 (1.83 days per month – 7.33 hours per paycheck)

          New employees may provide documentation of prior employment, including Utah System of Higher Education and Utah public education employment, to establish their vacation accrual rate as long as the previous employment was full-time.

      2. Sick Leave
        1. Full-time staff members accrue one sick day per month of employment. Full-time faculty accrue one sick day per month for each month of their appointment.
        2. Sick Leave is used for;
          1. personal injury, illness, birth of a child, preventative care or doctor's appointments; or
          2. injury, illness of a spouse, domestic partner, child, stepchild, parent-in-law or parent as defined in the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
    3. Maximum Accrual and Carryover
      1. Employees may carry over a maximum of 40 days of vacation from one fiscal year to the next.
      2. Employees are granted a three-month grace period ending September 30 of each year to use the days accumulated in excess of 40.
      3. Employees working between 75 percent FTE and 100 percent FTE will have the maximum accrual carryover pro-rated.
      4. There is no limit on the accumulation of sick leave.
    4. Cash Out
      1. The maximum vacation paid upon termination cannot exceed 30 days plus the current fiscal years earned and unused vacation.
      2. To be eligible for a sick leave cash out, upon regular or early retirement, an employee must have accumulated at least 100 days of earned and unused sick leave.
      3. For every day of earned and unused sick leave accumulated over 100 days, a cash out of one day will be made upon retirement up to a maximum of 25 days.
      4. The cash-out rate is $100.00 per day.
    5. Soft Funded Positions
      1. Employees paid from both a grant or contract and hard college funds will be allowed to cash out the hard-funded portion of vacation accrual upon termination.
      2. The grant or contract portion is contingent upon the availability of the funds from the specific grant or contract.
      3. If funds are not available, accrued and unused vacation must be taken before termination.
      4. Employees paid from grants or contracts must take vacation time before transfer or termination if funds from the specific grant or contract are not available.
      5. Supervisors will monitor and manage unused vacation days for those employees paid from grants or contracts.
    6. Sick Leave Conversion to Vacation Leave
      1. Full-time, benefit-eligible staff employees can convert accrued sick leave to vacation. Faculty do not accrue vacation time and do not participate in this program.
      2. Converting sick leave to vacation leave requires an accumulated base of 18 days of unused sick leave before July 1. Conversion is then determined from the number of unused sick leave days accumulated during the next fiscal year beginning July 1.
      3. Only employees who have used less than four days of sick leave during the fiscal year are eligible to convert.
      4. The maximum number of days an employee may convert in one year is four.
      5. Each new fiscal year constitutes a new conversion period. If the original eligibility base of 18 days is used during the year for sick leave purposes, the employee must once again build up to 18 days of unused sick leave before being eligible for sick leave conversion.
      6. Payroll will send a conversion form by email to notify eligible employees. The employee must sign and return the form by the specified deadline.
    7. Employee Responsibilities
      1. Vacation
        1. Employees must request vacation from their immediate supervisor following departmental guidelines.
        2. Employees are encouraged to schedule vacations at times that will not interfere with the efficiency of the department.
        3. Employees who are absent without approved vacation time are considered to be absent without approval.
      2. Sick Leave
        1. When using sick leave, employees are responsible for notifying their supervisor before or on the first day and within the first hour of the start of the shift following departmental guidelines.
        2. Employees requested to provide medical documentation of an illness or injury shall submit documentation directly to the Human Resources office.
        3. Allowances can be made when the need for leave is unforeseeable.
        4. Employees who need extended sick leave must contact Human Resources to request family medical leave.
      3. Employees are required to submit their time using either web or department time entry.
    8. Supervisor Responsibilities
      1. Vacation
        1. Requests must be approved or denied by the employee's immediate supervisor.
        2. Supervisors are responsible for advising employees paid from grant or contract positions about vacation implications and for monitoring vacation use.
        3. Supervisors are encouraged to schedule employees for a vacation before they separate from the college.
      2. Sick Leave

        Supervisors must notify the Human Resources when an employee needs to extend sick leave as soon as they become aware of the need.

      3. Supervisors or their designee are responsible for approving an employee's submitted vacation or sick leave time through web or department time entry.
    9. Sick Leave Pool, Advanced Sick Leave, and Worker's Compensation
      1. Sick Leave Pool

        Salt Lake Community College provides a sick leave pool from which eligible employees can draw to care for:

        1. themselves or an eligible family member who has suffered catastrophic illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition; and
        2. the condition requires hospitalization or convalescence or recuperation in an extended care facility or at home while under the care of a licensed health care provider.
        3. Sick Leave Pool Eligibility
          1. All full-time employees who are past their initial six months of employment and are eligible to accrue sick leave may apply to use hours from the sick leave pool subject to the following:
            1. An employee does not have to contribute to the sick leave pool to apply to use leave from the sick leave pool.
            2. Employees granted leave from the sick leave pool are not required to pay back the time.
            3. Employees must first exhaust all accrued sick and vacation leave before the use of the sick leave pool.
            4. An employee is eligible for a maximum of 60 days granted in up to 30-day segments for each catastrophic health condition.
        4. Withdrawal of time from the Sick Leave Pool
          1. Eligible employees must apply for family medical leave or medical leave before applying for any time from the sick leave pool.
          2. An eligible employee or the employee's designee may apply, in writing, to Human Resources for approval to draw time from the sick leave pool.
          3. Employees are ineligible to draw from the sick leave pool if they are receiving or have applied to receive Workers' Compensation indemnity benefits.
          4. Failure to apply as soon as the need is foreseeable, or failure to provide supporting medical documentation may result in the denial of use of sick leave pool hours.
          5. Employees cannot receive time from the sick leave pool retroactively.
          6. Human Resources will review the application and supporting medical documentation. If the employee is eligible to participate, Human Resources will:
            1. notify the employee and the employee's supervisor if the use of the sick leave pool is approved; or
            2. notify the employee if the use of sick leave pool time is denied and provide the employee with the reason for the denial.
          7. An employee may use sick leave pool hours in the same manner as accrued sick leave.
          8. An employee shall be entitled to accrue the same benefits as an employee who uses regularly accrued sick leave.
          9. If the employee receives a medical release to return to work on a part-time basis, the employee may continue to receive and use sick leave pool hours for the balance of the regular work schedule, after using any accrued sick and vacation leave, until medically released for full duty.
          10. When an employee using sick leave pool hours returns to full duty, any unused hours revert to the sick leave pool.
          11. If the employee does not return to work, the employee does not owe the college for sick leave pool hours used, nor will the college pay the employee for any sick leave pool hours remaining.
          12. This sick leave pools hours run concurrently with family medical leave hours.
      2. Advancing Unaccrued Sick Leave
        1. Employees shall have the option of applying for and using up to 30 days of advanced, unaccrued sick leave.
        2. To receive advanced, unaccrued sick leave, an employee must submit a written request accompanied by a recommendation from the employee's supervisor to Human Resources.
        3. Human Resources will forward the letter to the appropriate cabinet member for approval. If approved, the Human Resources and the employee will decide the conditions for repayment.
        4. Repayment conditions will be communicated to payroll by the leave coordinator.
        5. Any sick leave required beyond the initial 30-day extension requires written approval from the college president.
        6. Any advanced sick leave days the employee must repay will reduce the number of days available to an employee from the sick leave pool.
      3. Worker's Compensation

        The college's Workers' Compensation program is administered through the Risk Management office. Workers' Compensation benefits may be coordinated with family medical leave, sick leave, or sick leave pool by corresponding with Risk Management.

    10. Records

      The Banner Human Resources system maintains a history file of all recorded employee absences.

Date of last cabinet review: June 2, 2020

The originator of this policy & procedure is Human Resources. Questions regarding this policy may be directed to the originator by calling 801-957-4210.