Vacation Time

Scope

This policy applies to all Non-Exempt (excluding PAO and PAU) staff.

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Policy Statement

1. Staff employees should be afforded reasonable time off from workplace demands and to conduct their personal affairs.
2. 100% FTE staff employees earn vacation hours as outlined in the Schedule of Earnings table below. Staff employees with an FTE of 50% or greater earn a prorated amount.
3. Vacation hours are earned when the employee is in pay status or absent with benefits accrual. Vacation hours are not accrued during an unpaid leave of absence, while absent without pay, or when on a temporary reduction in force. See HR-05-90, Time Off Accruals during Absences.
4. Unused vacation hours accumulate from year-to-year and are received up to specified limits detailed in this policy should the staff member leave IU employment.

*University service credit is defined in HR-02-120, Seniority Dates and Service Credit policy.

** For example, an employee who began working on February 1, 2014, will start earning 5.85 hours of vacation on February 1, 2020.

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Procedures

1. Basic rules and provisions
   1. New employees may use accumulated vacation time after receipt of their first paycheck.
   2. When vacation time is taken, the exact number of hours, including tenths of hours, are reported and subtracted from accumulated earnings.
   3. Vacation cannot be used before it has been earned with one exception:
      1. In the event of a furlough (see HR-10-10, Furlough) due to lack of work, such as during the holiday break, spring break, or summer term, new employees may borrow up to 40 hours of vacation time against future accruals under the following conditions:
         1. The employee is expected to return to work after the layoff.
         2. The employee does not have any current corrective action for attendance.
      2. As soon as employees earn vacation, the accrued time is applied to the negative balance resulting from the borrowed hours.
      3. Employees with a negative vacation balance that separate from IU will have their final paycheck adjusted accordingly.
   4. No employee can expect extra pay instead of vacation.
2. Requests and approvals for the use of vacation  
   1. All vacation must be approved in advance by the supervisor before it can be used. When requested in advance, the employee is not required to provide a reason for the absence.
      1. For Non-Exempt CWA staff, a supervisor may authorize vacation time for an unscheduled absence if the employee does not have sufficient accrued income protection time and the employee has no active formal or informal discipline.
   2. Vacation requests may be denied if the dates requested fall into a peak work period in which non-emergency time off is routinely restricted.
      1. For Non-Exempt AFSCME Police staff and Non-Exempt AFSCME Service staff, departments will identify the maximum number of employees under each supervisor’s area of responsibility that can be off at one-time and identify peak periods that no one can be off due to departmental needs.
   3. For Non-Exempt Non-Union (excluding PAO and PAU) staff at South Bend: Requests for vacation time off must be approved or disapproved within three working days of the request’s receipt.
   4. For Non-Exempt AFSCME Police staff and Non-Exempt AFSCME Service staff at South Bend: Requests for a vacation of one week or more submitted by March 1st will be processed—and preference will be given—based on occupational unit seniority. Vacation requests must be submitted at least three working days in advance and will be approved or disapproved within three working days of the request, or the request is automatically approved on the fourth working day. Requests will be honored in the order in which they are received.
   5. Suppose multiple requests within a department are made for the same time off. In that case, preference will be given according to occupational unit seniority.  However, if a supervisor has given prior approval to a less senior employee for the same period, the previous authorization is honored.
      1. 1. For Non-Exempt CWA staff preference will be given according to university seniority.
3. Requests and approvals for the use of vacation for a lengthy absence
   1. Employees who wish to use accumulated vacation causing a lengthy absence from work should make their intentions known to the supervisor six months before the planned vacation.
   2. Supervisors are obligated to honor these requests unless:
      1. The request is for time off during an established peak work period in which non-emergency time off is routinely restricted; or
      2. More than one employee requests the same time off. If more than one request is received, preference will be given according to occupational unit seniority.
         1. For Non-Exempt CWA staff, preference will be given according to university seniority.
   3. Supervisors will honor time off requests previously approved for which an employee no longer has vacation accruals to cover when the reason for not having vacation accruals is due to the employee’s family medical leave as provided under HR-05-20, Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Rights. In this circumstance, the employee will not be subject to discipline for taking unpaid time off.
      1. For example, if an employee had previously scheduled all of their available vacation accruals and then suffers a health condition covered by FMLA, that employee’s vacation accruals will run concurrently with the employee’s FMLA. However, the supervisor shall still honor the previously approved time off even if the employee no longer has the accrued vacation time to cover the period.
4. Maximum vacation time allowed
   1. The maximum vacation hours that may be used during the 26 consecutive pay periods beginning with the pay period in which January 1 falls and continuing through the last full pay period in December (prorated by FTE for part-time employees) are as follows:
      

      Years of university service credit	Maximum vacation hours
      0 through the completion of 13 years	304
      Start of 14 years and above*	784
      * For example, an employee who began working on February 1, 2010, may start using 784 hours of vacation on February 1, 2023.

      1. Vacation hours used during FMLA do not count toward the maximum annual usage
      2. Accrued or borrowed time off used during a reduction in force (see HR-10-20, Reduction in Force) or furlough notice period (see HR-10-10, Furlough) does not count toward the maximum usage rules for vacation.
5. Converting income protection time (see HR-05-40, Income Protection Time (Sick Time)) to vacation
   1. During a specified period in either March or September, eligible employees may, if they choose, convert 80 hours of their accrued income protection time to 40 vacation hours subject to the following limitations and conditions. Employees must:
      1. Have 560 or more hours of accumulated income protection (sick) time as of the first full pay period in either March or September of any qualifying year.
      2. Have at least ten (10) consecutive years in an appointed position.
      3. Work in an appointed position and be in pay status when applying for the conversion and when implemented.
      4. Have not converted any income protection time to vacation time during the previous four years under this policy.
   2. Staff must submit conversion requests according to the established procedures and deadlines. Requests that are submitted are irrevocable.
   3. The conversion of income protection to vacation time does not modify the following:
      1. The maximum amount of vacation hours that can be used in a year as provided in this policy.
      2. The limitations of payment for unused accruals as provided in this policy.
6. Employees who encounter a personal emergency may elect to charge time off for personal emergency to unused vacation time. See HR-06-20, Attendance, Absences, and Personal Emergency.
7. Payment for accumulated vacation time
   1. Employees receive the accrued benefits listed below when separating from the university voluntarily or involuntarily (or when transferring to an academic position) whether or not they give or receive a separation notice. The following table shows the maximum amount an employee receives.
      

      Years of university service credit	Maximum payment for unused accruals (hours)
      0 years through 6 years	312
      Start of 7 years through 13*	352
      Start of 14 years	392
      Start of 15 years	432
      Start of 16 years	472
      Start of 17 years	512
      Start of 18 years	552
      Start of 19 years	592
      Start of 20 years	632
      Start of 21 years	672
      Start of 22 years	712
      Start of 23 years	752
      Start of 24 years	792
      Start of 25 years to the end of 29 years	832
      Start of 30 years and beyond	872
      *For example, an employee who began working on February 1, 2014, will have a maximum payment of 352 hours starting on February 1, 2020.

8. When an employee transfers from a Non-Exempt (excluding PAO and PAU) staff position to an Exempt staff or Non-Exempt Non-Union PAO and PAU staff position:
   1. The balance of vacation time is transferred into a paid time off (PTO) account. See HR-05-70, Paid Time Off (PTO) for Exempt staff and Non-Exempt Non-Union PAO and PAU staff. This amount serves as the beginning balance.
      1. If the balance exceeds the maximum usage amount allowed, the excess time is carried over as PTO, but it must be used or transferred to the PTO sick leave account by the end of the following year. The limit on the maximum usage of PTO in a year is waived during this period, subject to management scheduling. The 96 hours maximum amount of PTO that can be transferred to the PTO sick leave account is waived at the end of the first year and the end of the following year.
9. When an employee transfers from an Exempt staff or Non-Exempt PAO and PAU staff to a Non-Exempt (excluding PAO and PAU) staff:
   1. The PTO balance is transferred to a vacation time account.
   2. The PTO sick leave account balance is transferred to an income protection time account.
   3. Any previously accrued honorary vacation is transferred to the vacation time account.
10. When an employee transfers to an academic position, they receive payment for accumulated vacation time as presented in this policy.

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Sanctions

Managers, supervisors, and employees who violate this policy are subject to corrective action, up to and including separation.

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History

March 2021
IU HR completed a full and substantive review to assess the ongoing need and effectiveness. Removed the six-month service requirement to be eligible for the separation payment of unused vacation time.

February 2021
Updated the staff employee group terms due to the Job Framework Redesign Project.

July 2019
Updates made to CWA procedures based on union discussions.

April 2018
Updated wording to clarify how full time equivalent (FTE) impacts vacation accruals.

February 2016
Replaces all or most of the following policies:

Replaces parts of the following policies:

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