Accruals (OPI)

Johnson School
Cornell University

Accruals (OPI)

Vacation and Sick Leave accruals begin on the employee's first day of work. Vacation cannot be taken before it is accrued. Staff members may use accrued vacation after six months employment with the supervisor's approval - and, at the Johnson School, with an executed Vacation Usage Consent Form filed in the Administrative Service Center. If termination of employment occurs prior to completing one year of service, the amount of vacation used will be deducted from the employee's final paycheck.

Vacation time must be requested and scheduled in advance at a time agreeable to both the employee and the supervisor. Should a scheduled University Holiday fall within a staff member's vacation leave, time for that day is considered as Holiday Pay, not vacation leave. If a staff member is on vacation when the University declares an unscheduled day off (e.g. due to inclement weather) the staff member's time for that day will continue to be classified as vacation leave and the employee will not be given an additional day off.

If you transferred to the Johnson School, it is necessary that you arrange to have your former Supervisor provide the Administrative Service Center with your accrued Vacation and Sick, including Health and Personal Leave, balances in writing. Those balances will then be added to the accruals maintained on your behalf by the Administrative Service Center.

Vacation and Sick Leave balances including Personal and Health Care Leave are available by contacting the Administrative Service Center.

Professional Leave Accrual System

Each college or department maintains a formal leave accrual system for Professional Staff (overtime pay ineligible). The Professional Leave Accrual System at the Johnson School is outlined below:

1. Within the first ten (10) days of each new month, OPI employees are provided with accrued balances and a turnaround document that can be used to submit time taken in the subsequent month. All time taken should be recorded in days and will be tracked and reported accordingly. OPI employees are not hourly employees and it is inappropriate to think of time taken or accrued in hours. All entries on accrual sheets must be recorded in at least half-day increments when time is taken. Fractions of days are not tracked.

2. The leave information should be completed, signed by both the employee and the employee's supervisor, and returned to the Administrative Service Center. Joint signatures are required before the information can be accepted.

3. The executed information is requested by the end of the month.

4. If an executed accrual usage form is not returned, vacation and sick time will not accrue for that month. It is not automatic. The accrual is triggered by information inputted for the preceding month. If you misplace your form, please submit a memo indicating the time used for the month, and submit it with both your signature and that of your supervisor to the Administrative Service Center.

Sample Accrual Sheet

Click here for an example of an accrual sheet. The "As Of" date reflects the last month you turned in a sheet. The accruals following that sentence are as of that date. The "For the month of" date reflects the current month and you should record vacation and/or sick leave taken during this month on this sheet.

Vacation Accruals

Vacation accruals are as follows:

Vacation Time Accumulation in Years Based on a One Month Period
DAYS PER MONTH	YEARS	DAYS PER YEAR
1.25	1 but less than 10	15
1.33	10 but less than 11	16
1.42	11 but less than 12	17
1.50	12 but less than 13	18
1.58	13 but less than 14	19
1.67	14 years or more	20

Maximum accumulations for regular, full-time employees are as follows:

Credited Service	Exempt Maximum Accumulation (Approximate Days)
Less than 10 years	30
10 but less than 11 years	32
11 but less than 12 years	34
12 but less than 13 years	36
13 but less than 14 years	38
14 years or more	40

Change in Standard Hours

If a staff member changes his or her standard hours of appointment during the fiscal year (July 1 - June 30), either voluntarily or involuntarily, the maximum accumulation balance will not be adjusted until the first pay period following July 1, the start of the new fiscal year. At that time the maximum balance will be reset based upon his or her new standard hours of appointment. Any time accrued over the new maximum accumulation amount will be forfeited.

If the change in standard hours occurs at a point during the fiscal year that doesn't realistically provide time for the staff member to use up accrued time over the new maximum (adjusted at the beginning of the next fiscal year) an exception to the maximum accumulation provision may be considered. Exceptions should be considered on a case-by-case basis by the unit department head, with the stipulation that accruals must be brought within the maximum by June 30 of the next fiscal year. Exceptions will not be granted in two consecutive years. The intent is for supervisors and staff to work together to proactively plan and balance business and personal needs to allow adequate time away and avoid the loss of accruals.

Although vacation payouts at retirement or termination cannot exceed the maximum during the fiscal year, vacation-eligible staff may accrue in excess of their maximum accumulation. This excess is not carried over into the next fiscal year. At the end of the fiscal year, leave balances that exceed the maximum are automatically adjusted to the appropriate maximum in accordance with the information above. Requests for exceptions on maintaining accruals beyond the provisions of the policy may be considered only if staff members are specifically requested to forego taking vacation due to pressing business needs; i.e. the PeopleSoft implementation was a prime example. Pay in lieu of vacation is prohibited. University Policy prohibits paying for more than fifty-two (52) weeks of work and vacation in one year.

When an employee retires or terminates, accrued vacation up to the maximum accumulation allowed based on credited years of service will be paid in a lump sum in the last scheduled check.

Sick Leave Accruals (Personal Leave, Health Care Leave)

Sick Leave accruals begin immediately upon employment. Leave cannot be taken before it is accrued. Sick leave is available for illness or medical emergencies that prevent the employee from reporting to work, or for planned, routine medical or dental appointments needed to maintain the individual's good health. The procedure for routine dental and medical appointments is that the employee submits a written leave request to the supervisor as far in advance of the appointment as possible. Prior approval is not required for sick leave taken for illness and medical emergencies.

Regular full time, benefits' eligible employees accrue at 3.6 hours per pay period or twelve (12) days a year. This is based on ten (10) working days and seventy-eight (78) total hours per pay period. The maximum Sick Leave accrual is 702.0 hours or ninety (90) days.

Personal and Health Leave are deducted from Sick Leave balances.

Personal Leave: Personal leave allows employees time off from work with pay for personal business reasons and emergencies. Regular staff may take up to three working days of personal leave in a fiscal year if an equal amount of sick leave is accrued. Regular staff with twenty (20) or more years of continuous service may take up to five working days of personal leave each year. When personal leave is used in an emergency; e.g. sudden illness in the family, a personal crisis or inclement weather, advance permission is not required. If the employee intends to use personal leave for purposes other than an emergency, permission must be obtained at least twenty four (24) hours in advance. Personal leave does not accumulate. Any portion of personal leave not used during the fiscal year remains as unused accrued sick leave.
Health Care Leave: Health care provides employees three working days, with pay, to care for a member of their immediate family, a dependent or a member of their immediate household. The time is charged against sick leave and may only be taken if an equal amount of sick leave has accrued. As with personal leave, health care leave does not accumulate. Any part of health care leave not used during the fiscal year remains as unused accrued sick leave.

When a nonacademic employee is on a paid leave other than vacation (e.g. Sick Leave, Short-Term Disability, Workers' Compensation) for more than twenty (20) consecutive calendar days, Vacation and Sick Leave cease to accrue. The twenty (20) consecutive calendar days are counted from the first date of absence.

Click here for the University's Payroll Processing Manual. This reference clearly speaks to all University policies and is available for your perusal at any time. Specifically, the Time Away from Work Policy provides additional information on accruals, leaves, etc.

Last Modified: June 7, 2004