University announces summer 2023 bonus PTO pilot program 'Five Fours'
The following message was sent to 51社区 administrative and classified staff on May 31, 2023.
Following a recommendation from the University Employee Morale Task Force, University leadership will provide administrative and classified staff with the opportunity to take an additional 20 hours of paid time off during the summer of 2023. The additional time is intended to provide flexibility during the summer months when there is less activity on campuses.
The pilot program is being referred to as 鈥淔ive Fours鈥 as it will enable employees to take five half days off to extend their summer weekends. However, employees may use the time in any desired increments they choose, such as working shorter days during the summer to meet family obligations or extending an already-planned vacation. Employees should work with their supervisors to ensure their requested time off equally considers departmental needs, and supervisors are encouraged to provide as much flexibility as possible to allow employees to enjoy this benefit.
The University Employee Morale Task Force was organized by Administrative Senate Chair Jennifer Bennett and includes representatives from Faculty Senate, Administrative Senate and both the AFSCME 3200 and AFSCME 1699 Unions.
All administrative and classified staff, including employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement, active in the system as of June 1, 2023, and currently eligible for vacation benefits will receive the extra 20 hours. Hours provided to part-time employees will be pro-rated based on their FTE. The hours are available to be used from June 16 through August 15 for employees paid on a semi-monthly cycle and from June 18 through August 12 for employees paid on a bi-weekly cycle. Any unused hours will expire on August 16 for semi-monthly paid employees and on August 13 for bi-weekly paid employees. Unused hours are not subject to the University鈥檚 vacation payout policy upon termination or any payout provision in any collective bargaining agreement. The hours may be used in hourly increments and must receive the pre-approval of the employee鈥檚 supervisor through the appropriate leave request process. These hours are not counted as time worked to determine overtime pay and can only be used when the employee is otherwise scheduled to work.
The "Five Fours鈥 hours will appear as a new PTO option labeled 鈥淓xtra PTO鈥 and is not used or added to any existing vacation balance in determining vacation hour maximums. Employees are encouraged to use these additional PTO hours before using any regular vacation or personal days. The use or non-use of these hours does not affect any vacation carry-over hours that may be available after June 30, 2023. For more information about the annual vacation carry-over hour limits, please visit Policy: 41.001.