Paid Annual or Vacation Leave for OPEIU Employees

Annual leave is to be used for absences for vacation purposes.  Annual leave must be scheduled in advance and shall be granted for periods of time requested by the employee subject to management's responsibility to maintain efficient operations. 

Earning Paid Annual Leave

OPEIU employees earn paid annual leave on a biweekly basis as a percentage of regular hours paid. To earn annual leave, employees must be permanent or, if temporary, must have worked at least 750 hours in the leave calendar year. The leave calendar year is defined as the first full pay period in January through the pay period that includes December 31. Temporary employees who meet the 750-hour threshold will be notified in writing at the time eligibility is met.

The percentage of annual hours earned per biweekly pay depends on the employee’s leave service credit and most recent date of hire. Leave service credit includes all periods of service in an active pay status (paid at least one hour in a pay period) as a State System and/or Commonwealth Employee. 

Hired On or After July 1, 2012:

• For the first year of service, annual leave is earned at a rate of 2.69 percent or regular hours paid, or 2.15 hours per pay for full-time employees working a 40.00 hour week/80 hours biweekly work schedule.
  
• More than one year to three years of service, annual leave is earned at a rate of 3.85 percent of regular hours paid.
• More three years of service, annual leave is earned at a rate of 5.77 percent of hours paid.
  

Hired Prior to June 30, 2012:

• For the first year of service, annual leave is earned at a rate of 4.00 percent of regular hours paid, or 3.20 hours per pay for full-time employees working a 40.00 hour week/80 hours biweekly work schedule.
• More than one year to 15 years of service, annual leave is earned at a rate of 6.00 percent of hours paid.
• More than 15 years to 25 years of service, annual leave is earned at a rate of 8.00 percent of hours paid.
• More than 25 years of service, annual leave is earned at a rate of 10 percent of hours paid.

Using Paid Annual Leave

• All requests for paid annual leave must be made through Employee Self-Service (ESS).
  
• Employees must have at least 30 calendar days of service before paid annual leave can be used.
• Employees with less than one year of service may only request to use paid annual leave that has been earned to date. 
• Employees with more than one year of service may request and be approved to use paid annual leave that is expected to be earned in the current leave calendar year.  
  
• Requests to use paid annual leave must be made in advance of the absence unless the employee has been approved to use annual leave as FMLA Leave.
  

Carry-Over and Payment of Unused Paid Annual Leave

• Unused annual leave may be carried over from one leave calendar year to the next up to a maximum of 45 days.
• Annual leave in excess of 45 days that is not used within the first seven pay periods of the new leave calendar year is converted to sick leave up to the maximum sick leave accumulation.
• Employees who retiree, resign, or otherwise separate from the university are entitled to receive a payout of unused annual leave. The payout is based on the number of days available on the last day of employment and the employee’s salary at the time of separation.

Additional Information on Paid Annual Leave

• Additional information on paid annual/vacation leave is outlined in the OPEIU Collective Bargaining Agreement, Article 10: Vacations.