(a) An employee who is entitled to time off with pay on days observed as holidays by the State as an employer shall be granted compensatory time off when any such holiday falls on a Saturday, provided, however, that employees scheduled or directed to work on any such Saturday may receive additional compensation in lieu of such compensatory time off in accordance with Section 7.15 of this Agreement. The State may designate a day to be observed as a holiday in lieu of such holiday which falls on Saturday.

(b) The following holidays will be observed by all employees within this unit eligible to observe holidays unless otherwise specified by mutual agreement between the parties:

1. New Year’s Day 7. Columbus Day

2. Lincoln’s Birthday 8. Veterans’ Day

3. Washington’s Birthday 9. Thanksgiving Day

4. Memorial Day 10. Christmas Day

5. Independence Day 11. Election Day

6. Labor Day 12. Martin Luther King Day

(c) When December 25 and January 1 fall on Sundays and are observed as State holidays on the following Mondays, employees whose work schedule includes December 25 and/or January 1 shall observe the holiday on those dates, or if required to work, may receive additional compensation or compensatory time off in accordance with Section 7.15 of this Agreement. In such event, for these employees, December 26 and January 2 will not be considered holidays.

(d) The State, at its option, may designate up to two floating holidays in each contract year (April-March) in lieu of two of the holidays set forth in Article 12.1(b), such that employees shall have the opportunity to select, on an individual basis, the dates upon which such floating holidays will be observed by them, consistent with the reasonable operating needs of the State. The State’s designation of the holidays to be floated shall be announced in April of the contract year. Employees shall be credited with up to 7 ½ or 8 hours of floating holiday leave credits as appropriate. If an employee’s basic work week changes from 37 ½ hours to 40 hours, or 40 to 37 ½ hours, any floating holiday leave credit balance will be adjusted to reflect the new workweek. Floating holiday leave credits may be used in such units of time as the appointing authority may approve, but the appointing authority shall not require that floating holiday leave credits be used in units greater than one-quarter hour. This provision shall not supersede any local arrangements which provide for liquidation in smaller units of time.

12.2 Determination of Holiday Shifts

For purposes of determining the holiday shift when the work shift spans two (2) calendar days, the holiday shift shall be that shift which begins 11:00 p.m. or later on the day before the holiday. A shift which begins 11:00 p.m. or later on the holiday itself shall not be considered to be the holiday for purposes of this Article.

12.3 Holiday Accrual

Compensatory time off in lieu of holidays earned after the effective date of this Agreement shall be recorded in a leave category to be known as Holiday Leave.

12.4 Vacation Credit Accumulation

(a) Effective April 1, 1995, annual leave shall be credited in accordance with the New York State Attendance Rules.

(b) Vacation credits may be accumulated up to 40 days; provided, however, that in the event of death, retirement or separation from service, an employee compensated in cash for the accrued and unused accumulation may only be so compensated for a maximum of 30 days.

(c) An employee’s vacation credit accumulation may exceed the maximum, provided, however, that the employee’s balance of vacation credits may not exceed 40 days on April 1 of any year.

12.5 Additional Vacation Credit

(a) The State agrees to grant employees having 20 or more years of continuous State service and who are entitled to earn and accumulate vacation credits additional vacation credit as follows:

Completed Years of Additional Vacation

Continuous Service Credit

20 to 24 l day

25 to 29 2 days

30 to 34 3 days

35 or more 4 days

(b) Eligible employees shall receive additional vacation credit on the date on which they would normally be credited with additional vacation in accordance with the above schedule and shall thereafter be eligible for additional vacation credit upon the completion of each additional 12 months of continuous State service. Continuous State service for the purpose of this section shall mean uninterrupted State service, in pay status, as an employee. A leave of absence without pay, or a resignation followed by reinstatement or reemployment in State service within one year following such resignation, shall not constitute an interruption of continuous State service for the purposes of this section; provided, however, that leave without pay for more than six months or a period of more than six months between resignation and reinstatement or reappointment, during which the employee is not in State service, shall not be counted in determining eligibility for additional vacation credits under this provision.

(c) Nothing contained herein shall be construed to provide for the granting of additional vacation retroactively for periods of service prior to the effective date of this Agreement.

12.6 Vacation Scheduling

(a) Assignment of vacation time off shall be made at the times desired by an employee to the extent practicable in light of needs of the department or institution involved to provide the service it is charged to provide. In the event that more employees request the same vacation time off than can be reasonably spared for operating reasons, vacation time off will be granted in accordance with Article 25.

(b) In lieu of scheduling vacation in order of seniority as provided above, departments, agencies, or institutions may, by mutual agreement with PEF, provide that in the event some employees have accumulated vacation credits in excess of 35 days, these employees shall be given preference on requested assignment of vacation time off.

(c) To assist in the scheduling of such vacation time off, departments, agencies, institutions or other local operating units may establish an annual date or dates or period or periods by which or within which employees must request a block of time in order to have their seniority considered.

(d) Establishment of such dates or periods shall be worked out in understandings between such departments, agencies, institutions or other local operating units and the appropriate designee of PEF unless they mutually agree that such dates or periods are unnecessary or undesirable.

12.7 Vacation Use

(a) Vacation credits may be used in such units of time as the appointing authority may approve, but the appointing authority shall not require that vacation credits be used in units greater than one-quarter hour. This provision shall not supersede any local arrangements which provide for liquidation in smaller units of time.

(b) An employee’s properly submitted written request for use of accrued vacation credits shall be answered within a reasonable period of time. If an employee’s properly submitted request for use of accrued vacation credits is denied or cancelled, the employee shall receive, upon written request, a written statement of the reasons for such denial or cancellation. Such written statement of the reasons for such denial or cancellation shall be provided within three days of receipt of the written request for it.

12.8 Sick Leave Accumulation

(a) Sick leave shall be credited in accordance with the New York State Attendance Rules.

(b) Employees who are entitled to earn and accumulate sick leave credits may accumulate such credits up to a total of 200 days, provided, however, no more than 165 days of such credits may be used for retirement service credit. Effective April 2, 2003, employees shall have the opportunity to use up to a total of 200 days for retirement service credit. Employees shall have the ability to use up to 200 days of such credits to pay for health insurance in retirement.

12.9 Use of Sick Leave

(a) Sick Leave credits may be used for scheduled medical or dental appointments with the advance approval of the appointing authority or the authority’s designee.

(b) Sick Leave credits may be used in such units of time as the appointing authority may approve, but the appointing authority shall not require that sick leave credits be used in units greater than one-quarter hour.

12.10 Personal Leave Accumulation

Effective April 1, 1995, personal leave shall be credited in accordance with the New York State Attendance Rules.

12.11 Use of Personal Leave

(a) The State shall not require an employee to give a reason as a condition for approving the use of personal leave credits, provided, however, that prior approval for the requested leave must be obtained, that the resulting absence will not interfere with the proper conduct of governmental functions, and that an employee who has exhausted personal leave credits shall charge approved absences from work necessitated by personal business or religious observance to accumulated vacation or overtime credits.

(b) Personal leave credits may be used in such units of time as the appointing authority may approve, but the appointing authority shall not require that personal leave credits be used in units greater than one-quarter hour. This provision shall not supersede any local arrangements which provide for liquidation in smaller units of time.

12.12 Accounting of Time Accruals

The State shall prepare and distribute to employees forms for maintaining leave records on a self-accounting basis. Employees shall be advised of the leave accruals to their credit on official records at least once each year.

12.13 Absence - Extraordinary Circumstances

(a) Employees who have reported for duty and, because of extraordinary circumstances beyond their control, are directed to leave work, shall not be required to charge such directed absence during such day to leave credits.

(b) In those instances in which the Governor declares a state of emergency in a specified geographic area, based on circumstances which affect travel, and directs that employees whose official duty stations are within the specified geographic area not to report to work, such absences shall be excused with no charge to leave credits.

12.14 Tardiness for Members of Volunteer Fire Departments, Volunteer Ambulance Services and Enrolled Civil Defense and Civil Air Patrol Volunteers

An appointing authority shall excuse a reasonable amount of tardiness caused by direct emergency duties of duly authorized volunteer firefighters, members of volunteer ambulance services and enrolled civil defense and civil air patrol volunteers. In such cases, the appointing authority may require the employee to submit satisfactory evidence that the lateness was due to such emergency duties.

12.15 Leave for Professional Meetings

Subject to prior approval by the appointing authority, each employee will be allowed a maximum of three (3) days per year without charge to leave credits to attend (a) conferences or seminars of recognized professional organizations, such conferences or seminars to be directly related to the employee’s profession or professional duties; and/or, (b) programs which are necessary for the employee to maintain or obtain licensure or accreditation in the employee’s position with the State. Absences under this provision may be restricted to five percent of the profession in the operating unit (e.g., institution, hospital, college, main office or other appropriate facility). Approval of such leave shall be at the discretion of the appointing authority. Such approval will be based on a determination by the appointing authority that (1) the activity to be undertaken will directly benefit the agency, and (2) the absence will not interfere with the proper conduct of governmental functions. Such leave shall not be cumulative and if not used shall be cancelled at the end of each year of this Agreement. Unused leave shall not be liquidated in cash at the time of separation, retirement or death.

12.16 Leave for Professional Examinations

(a) Upon proper advance notice, employees may absent themselves from duty without charge to leave credits for the purpose of participating in one professional examination each year in their discipline. In the event such examination is administered in several parts, the several parts shall be considered a single examination. Absence required for travel shall be charged to appropriate leave credits.

(b) If an employee is scheduled to work on a shift which ends within eight hours of commencement of such professional examination, reasonable efforts will be made to adjust the employee’s work schedule or, to the extent practicable in light of the agency’s or institution’s need to provide services, to approve the absence charged to appropriate leave credits.

12.17 Maintenance of Time Records

No employee in this unit shall be required to punch a time clock or record attendance with a timekeeper. All employees in this unit shall be required to keep daily time records showing actual hours worked and shall maintain a daily record of absences and leave credits earned and used in accordance with the Attendance Rules on forms to be provided by the State, subject to review and approval by the supervisor.

12.18 Leave for Bereavement or Family Illness

(a) Employees shall be allowed to charge absences from work in the event of death or illness in the employee’s immediate family against accrued sick leave credits up to a maximum of 15 days in any one calendar year.

(b) Requests for leave for family illness shall be subject to approval of the appointing authority; such approval shall not be unreasonably withheld.

12.19 Part-time, Per Diem and Hourly Employees

(a) Part-time employees covered by the New York State Attendance Rules who are compensated on an annual salary basis shall be eligible to earn and accumulate, or be credited with vacation, sick or personal leave credits on a prorated basis if they are employed on a fixed schedule of at least half-time.

For the purpose of crediting vacation and personal leave for such employees in State service on the effective date of this section, their anniversary dates shall be determined in a manner consistent with their total State service.

To determine if a part-time employee meets the requirement of at least half-time, fixed schedule employment with up to a maximum of two appointing authorities may be counted. Employees who qualify as half-time by counting part-time employment with two appointing authorities shall be subject to such special attendance reporting requirements as the State may establish, and shall be limited to use earned leave credits from each appointing authority in the same proportion as the leave credits are earned from each appointing authority.

(b) Employees covered by the New York State Attendance Rules who are compensated on a per diem or hourly basis shall be eligible for vacation, sick and personal leave benefits on a prorated basis if they are employed on a fixed schedule of at least half-time and are so employed continuously for nine (9) months without a break in service exceeding one full payroll period.

(c) Part-time employees covered by the New York State Attendance Rules are eligible to observe holidays that coincide with days on which they are regularly scheduled to work or actually do work. In the event a holiday falls on a Saturday and another day is not designated to be observed as the holiday, employees eligible to observe holidays who are employed on a fixed schedule of at least half-time, and for whom Saturday is not a regular workday but who are scheduled to work on the Friday immediately preceding such Saturday holiday, shall be granted holiday leave. The amount of holiday leave granted shall be equivalent to the number of hours the employee is regularly scheduled to work on that preceding Friday but not to exceed one-fifth (1/5) the number of hours in the normal workweek of full-time State employees.

(d) Nothing contained herein shall be construed to provide for the granting of paid leave benefits retroactively for periods of service prior to the effective date of this Agreement.

12.20 Sick Leave at Half-Pay

(a) An appointing authority shall grant such leave at half-pay for personal illness to a permanent employee eligible for such leave and subject to the following conditions:

(1) The employee shall not have less than one cumulative year of State service;

(2) The employee’s sick leave, vacation credit, overtime credits, compensatory credits and other accrued credits shall have been exhausted; the employee shall be deemed to have exhausted his/her accrued credits when the sum of the employee’s remaining credits, in the aggregate, is less than the number of hours in the employee’s normal workday; such credits as are remaining shall be retained by the employee;

(3) The cumulative total of all sick leave at half-pay granted to an employee during his/her State service shall not exceed one payroll period for each completed six months of State service;

(4) (a) Sick leave at half-pay shall be granted immediately following exhaustion of leave credits except to employees who have been formally disciplined for leave abuse within the preceding year;

(b) Employees who have been formally disciplined for leave abuse within the preceding year shall be granted sick leave at half pay following ten consecutive workdays of absence, unless such waiting period is waived by the appointing authority;

(c) For purposes of this subsection, an employee is deemed to have been formally disciplined for leave abuse if any of the following conditions occurred: a time and attendance notice of discipline was settled within one year preceding the request for sick leave at one half pay, or the employee has been found guilty of the time and attendance charges contained within a notice of discipline served within one year preceding the request for sick leave at half pay or the employee did not contest the time and attendance notice of discipline served within one year preceding the request for sick leave at half pay. It does not include notices of discipline regarding issues other than time and attendance or those dismissed by an arbitrator or withdrawn by the appointing authority;

(5) Satisfactory medical documentation shall be furnished and continue to be periodically furnished at the request of the appointing authority; and

(6) (a) Such leave shall not extend a period of appointment or employment beyond such date as it would otherwise have terminated pursuant to law or have expired upon completion of a specified period of service.

(b) Nothing contained herein shall supersede the continuous absence provisions of the Civil Service Law, Rules and Regulations.

12.21 Maternity and Child-Rearing Leave

(a) Maternity and child-rearing leave shall be granted as provided in the Attendance Rules. However, where the child is required to remain in the hospital following birth, the seven month mandatory child care leave shall, upon employee request, commence when the child is released from the hospital. If a child is required to be admitted to a hospital for treatment after child care leave has commenced, upon employee request, child care leave shall be suspended during a single continuous period of such hospitalization and that period shall not count toward calculation of the seven month period. In such cases, any entitlement to mandatory child care leave expires one year from the date of birth of the child.

(b) In cases of legal adoption under Article 7 of the Domestic Relations Law, leave for child-rearing purposes shall be granted as provided in the Attendance Rules. However, if a child is required to be admitted to a hospital for treatment after child care leave has commenced, upon employee request, child care leave shall be suspended during a single continuous period of such hospitalization and that period shall not count toward the calculation of the seven month period. In such cases, any entitlement to mandatory child care leave expires one year from the date the child care leave originally commenced.

12.22 Voluntary Reduction in Work Schedule Program

The Voluntary Reduction in Work Schedule Program (VRWS), as described in the Program Guidelines reproduced in Appendix IV, shall be continued. Disputes arising from the denial of VRWS requests shall be reviewed only in accordance with the procedures established in Paragraph 12 of the Guidelines, and not under Article 34. Other disputes arising in connection with this provision shall be subject to review through the procedure established in Article 34, Section 34.1(b) of this Agreement.

12.23 Leave Donation/Exchange Program

The Leave Donation/Exchange Program, as described in the Memorandum of Understanding reproduced in Appendix III, shall be continued.

12.24 Telecommuting Program

The Telecommuting Memorandum of Agreement, as reproduced in Appendix III, shall be continued.

Go to Appendix III

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