PURPOSE

This policy provides general guidelines for accruing, using and reporting vacation leave for benefit eligible part-time and full-time Professional Staff Members.

APPLICABILITY

This policy applies to all eligible Professional Staff Members.

IMPLEMENTATION

Implementation of this policy is the responsibility of the immediate supervisor with guidance as needed from the supervisor’s HR Partner.

ADMINISTRATIVE OVERSIGHT

The President of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University is the official responsible for the administration of this policy.

POLICY

The Academy provides eligible Professional Staff Members with the opportunity to earn paid time off for rest, relaxation and other personal reasons.

DEFINITIONS

Exempt Professional Staff Member is defined under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) as a Professional Staff Member holding a bona fide executive, administrative or professional position that is not subject to the overtime provisions of the Act.  Exempt Professional Staff Members are considered salaried and cannot be docked for anything less than a full day’s work.

Full-time Professional Staff Member is a Professional Staff Member who is regularly scheduled to work 40 hours per week.

Non-exempt Professional Staff Member is defined under the FLSA as a Professional Staff Member holding a position that is subject to the provisions of the Act.

Part-time Professional Staff Member is a Professional Staff Member who is regularly scheduled to work at least 20 but fewer than 40 hours per week.

Professional Staff Member is defined as an individual employed in any non-faculty category by the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, including an individual who is deemed to be either exempt or non-exempt under the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and/or applicable state law.

Vacation Leave is the amount of paid vacation time off a Professional Staff Member may accrue and use based upon regularly-scheduled work hours, standards under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA or Act), job classification and years of service.

PROCEDURES

1. Vacation Leave Accrual and Calculation
   1. Vacation Leave accrual is defined in the tables below for Full-time Exempt and Non-exempt Professional Staff Members. Accrual for Part-time Professional Staff Members is pro-rated based on the number of hours per week the Professional Staff Member is regularly scheduled to work in relation to the standard 40 hour work week. For example, a Professional Staff Member who is regularly scheduled to work 20 hours per week (50% of the standard work week) will accrue 50% of the full-time rate of accrual.
   2. Vacation Leave is accrued during any period in which a Professional Staff Member is in an active pay status.
       
   3. Vacation Leave will not accrue while a Professional Staff Member is in an inactive pay status.
   4. The Vacation Leave accrual rate will be adjusted in accordance with length of service provisions, as necessary, at the beginning of the pay period following the applicable anniversary date.
   5. A Professional Staff Member is eligible to use Vacation Leave during the same pay period in which it accrues.
   6. The maximum amount of Vacation Leave that may be accrued by and Professional Staff Member is 160 hours in a calendar year.
   7. Vacation Leave is not included in the determination of overtime compensation.
   8. Effective May 1, 2022, the maximum amount of Vacation Leave that can be carried over from year to year is 320 hours. Once a Professional Staff Member’s Vacation Leave bank reaches the maximum carryover allowance accruals will stop until Vacation Leave falls below that maximum.
   9. Effective July 1, 2020, the maximum amount  of accrued and unused vacation leave that will be paid out upon separation from employment is 100 hours.
   10. The immediate supervisor is responsible for maintaining attendance records and for ensuring proper recording of Vacation Leave on payroll timesheets or leave reports, as applicable.

       NON-EXEMPT PROFESSIONAL STAFF MEMBERS
       Length of Service Completed	Time Accrued
       0-5 years	4.62 hours per bi-weekly pay period or 15 days per year
       Over 5 years	6.15 hours per bi-weekly pay period or 20 days per year

       EXEMPT PROFESSIONAL STAFF MEMBERS
       Length of Service Completed	Time Accrued
       At Hire	13.34 hours per monthly pay period or 20 days per year

2. Scheduling Vacation Leave
   1. Requests for Vacation Leave are approved at the discretion of the Professional Staff Member’s immediate supervisor.  Vacation Leave should be requested in advance in a manner consistent with departmental instructions and procedures.  The immediate supervisor should make a reasonable effort to accommodate a Professional Staff Member's request for Vacation Leave. 
   2. The immediate supervisor is responsible for ensuring proper staffing levels when approving Vacation Leave requests.  Occasions will arise such that the needs of the department or an emergency situation may require the supervisor to deny the request and for the Professional Staff Member to reschedule Vacation Leave.
   3. The use of Vacation Leave for unscheduled absences is discouraged, and requires the approval of the immediate supervisor.
   4. Vacation Leave may be approved in no less than one-hour increments for Non-exempt Professional Staff Members.   Exempt Professional Staff Members must be paid a full day for any portion of a day that they work.  Use of leave is at the discretion of the immediate supervisor.
3. Compensation
   1. Vacation leave is paid according to a Professional Staff Member's base hourly rate and the number of hours he or she is regularly scheduled to work at the time the vacation leave is taken.
   2. Vacation leave taken by Exempt Professional Staff Members will be charged in minimum units of one half day of work (four hours).  Absences of less than four hours will not be counted against an Exempt Professional Staff Member’s leave balance, except that exempt Professional Staff Members on approved Family and Medical Leave may use vacation leave on an hourly basis for intermittent leave or reduced schedules. 
   3. Exempt Professional Staff Members may not be docked for anything less than a full day’s work.
   4. Vacation leave for Non-exempt Professional Staff Members should not be charged in less than quarter hour increments. 
   5. After the first anniversary, Professional Staff Members are required to take a minimum of one week (continuous) vacation leave each fiscal year. Continuous vacation leave can be Monday through Friday, Wednesday through Tuesday, etc.
4. Holidays

   When an officially recognized Academy holiday occurs during scheduled Vacation Leave, Professional Staff Members will be paid Holiday Leave time instead of Vacation Leave for that day, for the number of hours they are normally scheduled to work on the holiday, at the regular rate of pay at the time of the holiday. A more detailed version of the Holiday Policy can be found on Drexel’s Human Resources website.

5. Illness during Scheduled Vacation

   In the event a Professional Staff Member becomes ill or is injured during Vacation Leave, the Professional Staff Member should notify their immediate supervisor as soon as possible and may request that Sick Leave be applied to the time away from work in place of Vacation Leave.  The immediate supervisor, at his or her discretion, has the authority to deny or approve the request and may request medical documentation (e.g., a note from a health care provider).  A more detailed version of the Sick Leave Policy can be found on Drexel’s Human Resources website.

6. Leave of Absence

   The Professional Staff Member may substitute paid short-term disability (if applicable) for Vacation Leave.  Should the Professional Staff Member exhaust his or her accrued sick and/or vacation time, the remainder of the leave, if any, will be unpaid.

7. Separation from Employment
   1. If a Professional Staff Member has given notice of resignation, Vacation Leave is discouraged during the notice period unless the vacation was scheduled and approved in advance.
   2. Effective July 1, 2020, Professional Staff Members will receive payment for accrued, unused Vacation Leave up to a maximum of 100 hours.

AT-WILL EMPLOYMENT NOT AFFECTED

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary stated in this policy, nothing herein is intended to alter the at-will status of any Professional Staff Member. The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University retains the right to terminate any Professional Staff Member at any time for any lawful reason, or for no reason at all.