Vacation time for non-exempt employees accrues in hours at the end of each biweekly pay period.

• During the First Two Years of Employment. During the first two years of employment, non-exempt employees working full time (37.5 hours per week, 12 months per year) accrue 75 hours (10 days) of vacation time per year. The accrual rate is 2.885 hours per biweekly pay period. Non-exempt employees working 40 hours per week accrue 3.077 hours per biweekly pay period.
• After the First Two Years of Employment. After two years of employment, non-exempt employees working full time (37.5 hours per week, 12 months per year) accrue 180 hours (24 days) of vacation time per year. The accrual rate is 6.924 hours per biweekly pay period. Non-exempt employees working 40 hours per week accrue 7.385 hours per biweekly pay period.

Vacation time for non-exempt employees accrues in hours at the end of each biweekly pay period in which an employee works.

• During the First Two Years of Employment. Part-time non-exempt employees during the first 2 years of service working 12 months per year and at least 50% full-time equivalent (FTE) receive prorated accruals equal to 2.885 hours per biweekly pay period multiplied by the FTE. For example, an employee who works 6 hours per day, five days per week (i.e. 80% FTE) will have a vacation accrual of 2.885 x .80, or 2.31 hours per biweekly pay period (which is 60 hours annually).
• After the First Two Years of Employment. Part-time non-exempt employees with more than 2 years of service working 12 months per year and at least 50% full-time equivalent (FTE) receive prorated accruals equal to 6.924 hours per biweekly pay period multiplied by the FTE. For example, an employee who works 6 hours per day, five days per week (i.e. 80% FTE) will have a vacation time accrual of 6.924 x .80, or 5.5392 hours per biweekly pay period (which is 144 hours annually).

Part-time non-exempt employees who work less than 12 months per year do not receive vacation time accruals during periods in which the employee does not work. For example, a 37.5 hour/week employee with more than two years of service who works 10 months per year will receive 180 x (10/12) = 150 vacation time hours per year or 6.819 hours for each of the 22 bi-weekly pay periods worked and receive no accruals during 4 bi-weekly pay periods in which no work was performed.

Departments are required to manually adjust accruals to zero during off periods for employees who work less than 12 months per year.

Vacation time continuously accrues and is not based on a calendar year. Non-exempt fulltime staff can accrue up to a maximum of 165 hours (22 days). Once a staff member reaches the accrual maximum:

• No further vacation accruals will occur until vacation time is used;
• Any missed accrual cannot be earned back later in a subsequent period;
• Employees and managers are encouraged to routinely monitor these accruals to ensure proper usage.

These maximums are pro-rated for part-time employees and for employees working less than 12 months per year.

 Vacation time for exempt employees accrues in days at the end of each monthly pay period.

• Exempt staff working full time (37.5 weekly scheduled hours, 12 months per year) accrue 24 days of vacation time per year. The accrual rate is 2 days per monthly pay period.

 Part-time exempt employees working 12 months per year and at least 50% FTE accrue vacation days at the rate of 24 days per year times the FTE rate in a calendar year. The accrual rate is 2 days per pay period (monthly) times the FTE rate.

• The value (equivalent hours) of a vacation day for a part-time exempt employees is calculated based on the staff member’s scheduled weekly hours in Workday divided by 5. Workday considers this a “standard workday” for that employee.
• For example, if an exempt employee’s weekly scheduled hours equals 30, when 30 is divided by 5 the hours equivalent (or standard workday) for the accrued vacation day is 6 hours.

Part-time exempt employees working less than 12 months per year do not receive vacation time accruals during periods in which the employee does not work.

• For example, an exempt staff member with 37.5 weekly scheduled hours, who works 10 months per year will receive 2 vacation days during the 10 working months, but receive no accruals during the 2 monthly pay periods in which no work was performed.
• Departments are required to manually adjust accruals to zero during off periods for employees who work less than 12 months per year.

Vacation time continuously accrues and is not based on a calendar year. Exempt full-time staff can accrue up to a maximum of 22 days. Once a staff member reaches the accrual maximum:

• No further vacation accruals will occur until vacation time is used;
• Any missed accrual cannot be earned back later in a subsequent period;
• Staff and managers are encouraged to routinely monitor these accruals to ensure proper usage.

These maximums are pro-rated for part-time staff and for staff working less than 12 months per year.

• Non-Exempt Employees: Non-exempt employees report vacation time taken into Workday in hours based upon the number of hours expected to be worked that day (e.g. 7.5 hours per day for a full-time employee, 3.75 hours for a half day, etc). The minimum vacation time that may be entered into Workday is .25 hours. However, departments may elect to impose higher minimum increments based on business needs.
• Summer Hours: Vacation time used during summer hours, when the employee is paid for 37.5 hours per week while working 35 hours, should be reported using 7.5 hours vacation time for a full day and 3.75 hours for a half day.
• Exempt Employees: Staff working in exempt positions are required to work the number of hours per week necessary to perform the duties of the position. Under the requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the department may not reduce pay for an exempt employee in increments less than whole days if an employee is out of work in excess of vacation time accrued. When an exempt employee has exhausted accrued vacation time off and is absent from work for one or more whole days, pay should be reduced for those full day absences.

For the purpose of maintaining vacation time balances for staff in exempt positions the minimum increment for reducing balances is half days, however pay may only be reduced in full days.

• For exempt employees who do not work a standard workweek, vacation time off days will have to be converted into hours, but submitted and tracked in Workday as days. This may require some record-keeping outside the Workday system. The Staff member’s Supervisor or Absence Partner should be consulted for proper system usage and tracking.

• Vacation time may be used by a new employee at the supervisor’s discretion during a probationary period.
• Vacation time must be earned before it is used; no borrowing is permitted.
• All vacation requests are expected to be submitted to the supervisor for approval in advance, and supervisors are not required to approve vacation requests that would result in staffing shortfalls.
• Departments may develop their own guidelines for approving time off and, based on business needs, may require employees to take vacation at a certain time or not.
• No vacation time can accrue during a pay period in which the employee does not receive pay. This includes:
  • Unpaid leaves of absence;
  • Pay periods in which the employee is not scheduled to work and is not receiving sick or vacation pay in lieu of regular pay.

An employee who completes 25 years of service is awarded an additional 10 days of vacation time (prorated for employees working less than 100% time) on a one-time-only basis.  Recipients may use the additional days at any time, with their supervisor’s approval, and the days do not have to be taken all at once. Bonus vacation time that is unused is payable at termination of employment.

Vacation (and sick) time accrued prior to the start of a medical leave of absence may be used during that leave to continue pay and is to be used in a continuous manner from the first day of leave. Vacation time may not be sporadically requested over the duration of the leave of absence.

Employees on approved Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) / Rhode Island Parental and Family Medical Leave Act (RIPFML) and/or paid leave will accrue vacation time while on a leave of absence; however, they will not be eligible to use those accrued days until after the return to work.

• Accrued unused vacation time is paid out when:
• Employment terminates;
• The employee is transferred to a position that is less than 50% time;
• The employee is transferred to a bargaining unit position with a different vacation accrual policy;
• Employees do not accrue vacation time for the period in which he/she terminates.

An employee transferring to a different position covered by this policy takes accrued vacation time with him or her to the new position.