Table of Contents

Holidays
Vacation
Sick Time
Sick Time Donation (Catastrophic Leave)
Short Term Disability Benefits

Holidays

Paid holidays and seasonal/staff appreciation days for regular full‐time and part‐time benefit eligible staff members vary between campuses. Due to operational needs, some staff members may be required to work on either a paid holiday or a seasonal/staff appreciation day. Eligible part‐time staff members shall be paid for the holiday on a pro‐rated basis.

Non‐exempt staff members shall be paid time and one‐half when required to work on a paid holiday and will receive regular pay when required to work on a Pacific seasonal/staff appreciation day.

Exempt and non‐exempt staff members required to work a paid holiday or seasonal/staff appreciation day have two options with supervisory approval:

1. Within three (3) months of working the holiday or seasonal/staff appreciation day staff members will receive an additional day off for working the holiday or seasonal day/staff appreciation day; or
2. Be  paid  for  the  holiday  or  seasonal/staff appreciation day  at  the  appropriate  rate,  in addition to the actual hours worked on the holiday or seasonal/staff appreciation day.

Paid holidays or seasonal/staff appreciation days falling on Saturday or Sunday will be observed on either the Friday before or Monday after the holiday weekend.

To be eligible for holiday and seasonal/staff appreciation pay, regular staff members must be in a paid or active status on the workday before and the workday after the holiday(s) and/or seasonal/staff appreciation day(s).  An unpaid leave will not be considered a paid or active status.

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Vacation

Pacific offers staff members accrued paid vacation hours to provide an opportunity for rest and relaxation.  Vacation eligibility depends upon an exempt or non‐exempt classification, regular full‐ or part‐time position and status.

Vacation scheduling must have the approval of a supervisor so that academic programs and staffing/operational needs are met. Accrued vacation hours may not be used without supervisory approval, including situations when accrued sick leave has been exhausted, except in cases of approved leave of absences.  Vacation requests will generally not be approved unless at the time of the request, there are enough accrued vacation hours to cover the length of time anticipated to be gone.

For regular full‐time staff members, vacation accrual is based on hours worked and years of service. Vacation accrual for regular part‐time staff members is based on years of service and prorated in accordance with the number of hours in their regularly scheduled workday.

Accruals for Non- Exempt Staff:

Accruals for Exempt Staff:

Staff members may continue to accrue vacation hours to a maximum equivalent of twenty‐five (25) working days or 200 hours, the lesser of the two. For eligible part‐time staff members, the accrual maximum will be pro‐rated based on the staff member's full‐time equivalency. Staff members who have reached his or her maximum accrual of unused vacation automatically cease accrual of any additional vacation hours. The accrual will not begin again until the accrued hours fall below the allowable maximum.  It is the staff member's responsibility to request vacation leave so as to avoid cessation of accrual after reaching the maximum allowed. Staff members should refer to the Staff Handbook, his or her pay stub or employee self‐service to view current accrual rate and balances.

Staff members will not be paid for vacation in lieu of taking vacation time off.  Should a department within the University deem that, due to business necessity and staff shortage, a staff member is unable to use their vacation hours and the staff member is at his/her maximum accrual, the department administrator must contact Human Resources for assistance.

Upon termination or retirement, staff members will be paid all accrued and unused vacation hours.

Any staff member in a position of fiscal trust is required to take a minimum of five (5) consecutive work days of vacation (not including holidays) at least once every fiscal year.  For these identified positions, vacation time cannot be combined with other forms of paid leave (i.e., sick, extenuating circumstance, holidays, etc.) in order to meet this requirement.

Fiscal trust is defined as a position or assignment which requires an employee to receive or disburse monies; reconcile or journalize accounts, process payroll transactions, or purchase goods or services on behalf of the University. These positions will be identified by the President, Vice Presidents, Provost and Campus Dean in consultation with advice from Internal Audit and the University's external audit firm.

Any staff member in a position of fiscal trust required to take mandatory vacation under this guideline, if hired after December 1 of a fiscal year, will not be required to take a mandatory vacation until after September 1 of the next fiscal year.

Should a staff member in a position of fiscal trust not have the required accrual to take the minimum of five (5) consecutive work days of vacation, the circumstances must be discussed with Human Resources.

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Sick Time

Staff members will continue to accrue sick time until the staff member reaches the maximum accrual. For  eligible  part‐time  staff  members,  the  accrual  maximum  will  be  pro‐rated  based  on  the  staff member's full‐time equivalency.  If a staff member receives State Disability Insurance benefits during an illness, Pacific shall integrate these benefits with any accrued sick time. Staff members who have reached his or her maximum accrual of sick leave will cease to accrue any additional hours. The accrual will not begin again until the accrued hours fall below the allowable maximum.

Staff members shall use accumulated sick time for their own or an immediate family member's illness or injury. Time off for medical and dental appointments for staff members or their immediate family members will also be treated as paid sick time.  "Immediate family member" includes the staff member's spouse, children and step‐children, parents and step‐parents or registered domestic partner.

Except in an emergency, medical and dental appointments should be scheduled to create the least disruption to a department's operations. Medical or dental appointments may be scheduled during work hours with consideration for operational needs and with supervisory approval. Staff members shall notify their supervisor of appointments as soon as possible or at least two (2) working days in advance of the scheduled appointment.  The University may require medical verification of injury or illness.

If a staff member is absent due to an illness or injury for more than seven (7) calendar days, Human Resources must be notified and short‐term disability forms must be completed. Staff members may not return to work without first providing Human Resources with proof of medical clearance.

Paycheck stubs include a record of accrued sick time that is available for use.  In order to ensure that accurate time records are kept, all sick time taken must be reported to Payroll on a timesheet.  Accrued but unused sick time shall not be paid out upon termination.

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Sick Time Donation (Catastrophic Leave)                                         

University staff members may donate accumulated sick time to another staff member at Pacific who is in need of additional paid time due to their own catastrophic, serious and/or extended illness. Time will be donated to the recipient in increments equivalent to the donor's regularly scheduled workday. Donors may contribute a maximum of five (5) days to each recipient in any year. A recipient may receive a maximum of twenty (20) days for their own catastrophic, serious and/or extended illness and must have qualified for Short‐term Disability.  An employee will be eligible to receive the maximum of twenty (20) days of sick leave donation one time per year on a rolling calendar year basis. The rolling calendar begins on the date that the staff member receives the first sick leave donation and ends twelve (12) months later. Pacific shall integrate donated time with other forms of wage replacement benefits. Human Resources will coordinate, review and approve the process of catastrophic sick leave donations including eligibility and coverage.

Staff members are eligible to receive the donation of sick time if they satisfy the following criteria:

• Must be a catastrophic, serious and/or extended injury or illness
• Must be on an approved leave of absence
• Must not be on worker's compensation
• Must be on leave for 60 days or more
• Must have exhausted all of their accrued sick/vacation time

Once sick time donation is credited, it may not be retrieved for any reason. Each donating staff member must retain at least the equivalent of two (2) years accrued sick time (based on his or her average work hours) after any donation.

Staff members leaving employment at Pacific cannot make a donation from any remaining accrued sick leave.

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State Disability Insurance Benefits

Staff members are required to participate in California's State Disability Insurance (SDI).

California State Disability Insurance (SDI) is a partial wage-replacement insurance plan for California workers. The SDI program is state-mandated and funded through employee payroll deductions. Workers covered by SDI have two benefits available to them: Disability Insurance (DI) and Paid Family Leave (PFL). SDI benefits pay 60% of earnings up to the defined weekly benefit (which can be found here).

Disability Insurance (DI) is a component of the State Disability Insurance (SDI) program, established in 1946, to provide partial wage replacement benefits to eligible California workers who are unable to work due to a non-work-related illness, injury, or pregnancy.

Paid Family Leave provides benefits to individuals who need to take time off work to care for a seriously ill child, parent, parent-in-law, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, or registered domestic partner. Benefits are also available to new parents who need time to bond with a new child entering their life either by birth, adoption, or foster care placement.  Paid Family Leave Insurance (PFL) provides income for up to six (6) weeks within any twelve (12) month period.

To receive benefits, you must:

• File a claim for benefits using SDI Online or a paper claim form.
• Serve a seven-day, non-payable waiting period (DI only).
• Have at least $300 in wages that were subject to SDI contributions during your 12-month base period.
• Have your physician/practitioner certify to your disability by completing the "Physician/Practitioner Certification" or
• Provide proof of relationship for bonding claims (birth certificate or record, adoption paperwork, etc.) or
• Have the care recipient's physician/practitioner certify to the need for care by completing the "Physician/Practitioner's Certification" for care claims.

All staff members are automatically enrolled in California's State Disability Insurance Plan. Staff members may be eligible for continuation of pay through the various types of leave and can choose to use his or her accrued sick and/or vacation time to supplement SDI benefits.

Staff members applying for Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) or California Family Rights Act (CFRA) or Organ and Bone Marrow Donor Leave are required to apply for SDI or PFL benefits upon commencement of continuous leave, if applicable.  Unless a staff member qualifies for leave under the FMLA/CFRA or Organ and Bone Marrow Donor Leave Policy, he or she will have no right to continued employment and/or reinstatement.

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For additional information please refer to Sectin 6 of the Staff Handbook.