Holiday and Accrued Time Off

Each year, the Division of Human Resources announces the specific calendar days on which holidays will be observed. The university holidays are:

• Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
• Memorial Day
• Juneteenth (June 19)
• Independence Day
• Labor Day
• Thanksgiving Day
• Friday following Thanksgiving Day
• Winter Holidays (includes six paid days off from December 25 through January 1)

All regular full- and part-time nonacademic staff members, and benefits-eligible temporary employees, are eligible to receive holiday pay.

All regular full- and part-time, non-academic staff members and benefits-eligible temporary employees will receive holiday pay at their regular rate of pay equal to 1 /5 (one-fifth) of their scheduled weekly hours (as defined in Workday) for each university holiday.

Employees who are absent from work either the day before a holiday, the day after a holiday, or both days, will receive holiday pay provided that the absence is due to a preapproved vacation, short-term disability leave, or health and personal leave.

Terminated employees do not receive holiday pay unless they work the day after the holiday.

Nonexempt employees who are required to work on a university holiday will be paid two-and-one-half times their regular rate of pay for all hours worked on the holiday and their regular rate of pay for the balance of the hours, if any, not worked on the university holiday.

Note: Although university holidays are always designated Monday through Friday, when July 4, June 19,  December 25, and/or January 1 fall on a Saturday or Sunday, nonexempt employees who are required to work will be paid one-and-one-half times their regular rate of pay for all hours worked on any of these dates.

Cornell University provides paid health and personal leave, with supervisory approval, to eligible staff members when they are unable to work for the following reasons:

• To tend to their own medical needs such as mental or physical illness or injury, including medical or dental appointments
• To give their full attention to the health-related care of family members*
• To tend to personal matters such as personal business that cannot otherwise be accomplished outside of the workday. Examples include, but are not limited to, legal or financial appointments, house closings, municipal office visits, and home maintenance appointments. Other examples of when health and personal leave is appropriate include school conferences, community volunteerism, inclement weather, and personal family needs, including unforeseen child or eldercare needs.
• To avail themselves or a family member of services or assistance including, but not limited to:
  • Obtaining services from a domestic violence shelter, rape crisis center, or other shelter or services program for relief from a family offense matter, sexual offense, stalking, or human trafficking;
  • Participating in safety planning, temporarily or permanently relocating, or taking other actions to increase the safety of the employee or employee's family members from future family offense matters, sexual offenses, stalking, or human trafficking;
  • Meeting with a civil attorney or other social services provider to obtain information and advice on, and to prepare for or participate in any criminal or civil proceeding, including, but not limited to, matters related to a family offense matter, sexual offense, stalking, human trafficking, custody, visitation, matrimonial issues, orders of protection, immigration, housing, discrimination in employment, housing, or consumer credit;
  • Filing a domestic violence complaint or domestic incident report with law enforcement;
  • Meeting with a district attorney's office about domestic violence, family offense, sexual offense, stalking, or human trafficking;
  • Enrolling children in a new school because of domestic violence, a family offense, sexual offense, stalking, or human trafficking; or
  • Taking other actions necessary to maintain, improve, or restore the physical, psychological, or economic health or safety of the employee or the employee’s family member to protect those who associate or work with the employee.

The primary purpose of health and personal leave is to provide paid time off due to a staff member’s own medical needs. To that end, one very important perspective on the purpose of health and personal leave is that it is “insurance” for the staff member in the event they are unable to work for an extended period of time due to their own medical problem. If, for example, a staff member is on short-term disability pursuant to the Medical Leaves section of the Time Off and Leaves Program, health and personal leave can be used as a supplement to the half-pay, short-term disability benefit. Therefore, it is crucial that staff members use health and personal leave wisely. Staff members are accountable to exercise good stewardship over the use of their leave accruals and to work with their supervisors to proactively balance time away from work with the business needs of the unit.

When a staff member requests health or personal leave, supervisors are responsible for managing absenteeism to properly apply appropriate leave policies during the staff member’s absence. This includes, but is not limited to, proper management of absences that may be covered under New York Paid Family Leave, the Family and Medical Leave Act, short-term disability, and workers’ compensation laws. As part of the approval process, it is appropriate and, in some cases, expected that supervisors make reasonable inquiries as to the reasons for requesting health and personal leave. Supervisors may not ask staff members for a medical diagnosis or for any specific medical information. If supervisors are unclear about what constitutes a reasonable inquiry relative to managing medically related absenteeism, they should consult with their college/unit HR representatives or with Medical Leaves Administration (MLA).

Note: Health and personal leave is not intended to be used as vacation. For example, time off greater than one day in a calendar week due to scheduled local school district closures are expected to be covered through the use of vacation.

*Family member: A spouse, partner (same-sex and opposite-sex), parent, child, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, child or parent of an employee’s spouse or domestic partner, or any person who is dependent upon the staff member for care. A “parent” is a biological, foster, step- or adoptive parent, or a legal guardian of an employee, or a person who stood in loco parentis when the employee was a minor child. A “child” is a biological, adopted or foster child, a legal ward, or a child of an employee standing in loco parentis.

All regular full-time, regular part-time, and benefits-eligible temporary staff are eligible to accrue health and personal leave.

Health and personal leave (HAP) is also used in conjunction with various medical and family leaves, including but not limited to, short-term disability, parental leave, family health leave, and military family leave. Refer to the Medical and Family Leaves section of the Time Off and Leaves Program for a full description of such leaves.

Nonexempt Staff

For nonexempt staff, health and personal leave accruals are based upon the total number of hours paid (to a maximum of 80 hours during a biweekly pay period, but no more than 40 hours per week) multiplied by the health and personal leave accrual factor.

To determine the health and personal leave hours accrued for a payroll period, multiply the total hours paid (up to 80 hours) during a biweekly period by the constant health and personal leave accrual factor of .04615. For example, if a full-time staff member is paid for 80 hours during a payroll period, they will earn 3.7 hours of health and personal leave for that particular payroll period. If a part-time staff member is paid for 45 hours during a payroll period, they will earn 2.08 hours of health and personal leave for that particular payroll period.

Exempt Staff

Exempt full-time staff members accrue 1.0 days of health and personal leave a month. Exempt part-time staff members accrue a pro rata of the 1.0 days, based on the part-time staff member's standard part-time appointment.

Endowed

Endowed nonexempt and exempt staff members are permitted to accrue a maximum of 702.0 hours (90 working days) of health and personal leave. For nonexempt staff in positions that have been approved for a 40-hour workweek, the maximum accumulation is 720 hours.

Contract College

Contract college nonexempt and exempt staff members are permitted to accrue a maximum of 90 days of regular health and personal leave, and an additional 110 days of banked health and personal leave (up to a maximum of 200 days). For nonexempt staff in positions that have been approved for a 40-hour workweek, the maximum accumulation is 720 regular hours, plus 880 banked hours for a total of 1600 hours, or 200 days.

Note: In the case of a staff member employed in both endowed and contract college units, maximum accrual is prorated for benefits-eligible part-time employees.

For staff members on paid leave (other than vacation), health and personal leave ceases to accrue on the first day of the leave after any required waiting periods.

Accruals will begin again on the first day of return from the leave. Health and personal leave does not accrue during unpaid leave.

Staff members involved in any accident for which they are compensated by an insurance company for loss of wages may use this compensation to repurchase their health and personal leave accruals used during their absence.

Nonacademic Staff

Nonacademic staff members transferring to new units retain their accumulated health and personal leave if they are transferring into another benefits-eligible position and/or remain benefits-eligible. The new unit is responsible for providing funds to cover the transferred health and personal leave up to the allowable maximum accumulation.

Academic Staff

When an employee in an academic position that accrues health and personal leave transfers to a staff position that accrues health and personal leave, the balance that had accrued in the academic position is transferred to the staff position. The new unit is responsible for amending the records accordingly.

When an employee in an academic position that accrues sick leave (per the Sick Leave (New York State) section below) transfers to a staff position that accrues health and personal leave, the sick leave balance that had accrued in the academic position is transferred to the staff position, up to the health and personal leave maximum. (See Maximum Accrual section). The new unit is responsible for amending the records accordingly.

When a nonacademic staff member transfers to an academic position, they should refer to University Policy 6.2.1, Leaves for Professors and Academic Staff, for information on academic leaves.

Temporary Staff

When a temporary employee becomes benefits-eligible, the sick leave balance (per the Sick Leave (New York State) section of the Time Off and Leaves Program) that had accrued prior to the change in status is transferred to the benefits-eligible position, up to the health and personal leave maximum. (See Maximum Accrual section above.) Upon becoming benefits-eligible, the employee will begin to accrue health and personal leave.

Upon termination of employment, health and personal leave balances are cancelled. Health and personal leave may not be taken after the last day worked. For more information, refer to University Policy 6.12, Separations, Voluntary and Involuntary (Including Layoff).

Cornell may have different legal obligations under different state laws related to health and personal leave balances at the time of employment termination. HR representatives who process an employment termination for an out-of-state employee should first obtain guidance from Staff and Labor Relations to understand whether state law alters the standard cancellation of the employee’s health and personal leave balance at the time of separation.

Units and departments may implement reasonable procedures concerning notice and use of health and personal leave, and failure to comply with these procedures may be cause for disciplinary action. Such disciplinary action should be discussed with the staff member and might include the requirement of a certification from a health care provider or other certification as verification of a staff member’s absence for an authorized purpose before health and personal leave is paid. Continued failure to comply with the reasonable procedures may result in disciplinary action including suspension or dismissal. For more information, refer to University Policy 6.11.3, Employee Discipline (Excluding Academic and Bargaining Unit Staff).

Requesting Health and Personal Leave

Health and personal leave accruals begin immediately upon employment. Health and personal leave cannot be taken before it is accrued. Nonexempt staff members may use health and personal leave by the hour; exempt staff members should normally use it in increments of half-days.

Employees must follow the procedures for the use of health and personal leave. Therefore, in foreseeable circumstances, such as for routine medical and dental appointments, it is expected that staff members request approval from the supervisor with as much advance notice as possible and in accordance with unit practice, to allow the supervisor to plan accordingly. In cases such as unforeseen illness or emergency, the staff member should notify the supervisor in accordance with unit practice.

Retaliation

Employees will not be subject to retaliation or discriminatory treatment for their use of health and personal leave.

Recordkeeping

The payroll system is the official accrual record for exempt and nonexempt staff.

Unit management (e.g., supervisors, payroll representatives, HR representatives) should inform exempt and nonexempt staff members as to how to record the use of accruals and how to access their leave balance information. Management and staff members are both responsible to be aware of the health and personal leave balance and for periodically reviewing it as needed to verify that balances are accurate.

To officially correct a staff member's health and personal leave balance, the correction must be made in accordance with the university payroll system/time collection requirements.

Cornell University provides paid vacation, with supervisory approval, to eligible staff members for rest, relaxation, and renewal. In order for business needs to be accomplished, and to protect the interests of both the institution and its staff members, vacation time must be approved and recorded in an appropriate and compliant manner.

All regular full-time, regular part-time, and benefits-eligible temporary staff members are eligible to accrue vacation time.

For nonexempt staff members, vacation time accruals are based upon the total number of hours paid (to a maximum of 80 hours during a biweekly pay period, but no more than 40 hours per week) multiplied by the appropriate vacation factor (see Table 1-a and Table 1-b).

Table 1-a. – 39-Hour Workweek

Example: If a nonexempt staff member has a credited service date that indicates 11-1/2 years of service, and was paid for 70 hours this past pay period, the staff member would accrue 4.5766 hours of vacation for this pay period (70 X .06538=4.5766). 

Table 1-b. – 40-Hour Workweek

For exempt staff members, vacation accrual rates vary according to credited service and are reflected in Table 2. The value of one vacation day is determined by the staff member’s standard weekly hours of appointment.

Table 2

Vacation accruals begin on the staff member's first day at work. Vacation leave may not be taken before it is accrued.

When a staff member changes from temporary to regular employment status with no break in continuous service, vacation accruals are retroactive to the staff member's original hire date in accordance with the accrual charts above. Changes in the rate of accrual are made effective the first day of the pay period in which the anniversary date occurs.

Note: The term “continuous service” is distinguished from the term “credited service” which is used elsewhere in the Time Off and Leaves Program and Procedures.

Maximum vacation time accumulation is based upon standard hours of appointment. The tables below reflect the maximum accumulation allowed for nonexempt and exempt staff members with standard hours of 39 and 40, according to their credited service. The maximum accumulation for staff with standard hours other than 39 or 40 is calculated on a prorated basis.

Table 3

Table 4

Although vacation payouts at retirement or termination will not exceed the maximum (or the cap for contract college employees), vacation-eligible staff members may accrue in excess of their maximum accumulation based on credited years of service. This excess is not carried over beyond December 31 of any given year. Each year, as of December 31, leave balances that exceed the maximum are automatically adjusted to the appropriate maximum in accordance with the Maximum Accumulation tables for those staff members with appointments of 39 or 40 standard hours. For other eligible staff members, their maximum balances are prorated based upon their standard hours of appointment.

Accumulation Over the Maximum – Exception In the Form of a Rollover or Payout

Requests for exceptions to the above, in the form of a rollover or a payout of the excess vacation (or a combination of the two), may be considered only if staff members had been specifically requested to forego taking vacation due to pressing and unusual business needs, thereby causing the vacation balance to exceed the maximum. Routine day-to-day work at a high volume is not considered unusual and will not trigger an exception to the maximum accumulation. Rollovers, payouts, or a combination thereof should be considered on a case-by-case basis by the unit head, with the stipulation that accruals must be brought within the maximum by December 31 of the next year. Exceptions cannot be granted in two consecutive years. Supervisors and staff members should work together to proactively plan and balance business and personal needs to allow adequate time away and avoid the loss of accruals.

Note: Departments are responsible for funding any payouts that are approved.

Sponsored and Federally Appropriated Projects

Positions that are supported by any amount of sponsored or federally appropriated funding are ineligible for the vacation payout provisions of this section of the program.

For staff members on paid leave (other than vacation), vacation time ceases to accrue on the first day of the leave after any required waiting periods. Accruals will begin again on the first day of return from the leave. Vacation does not accrue during unpaid leaves.

If changes occur to a staff member’s standard hours, either voluntarily (for example, phased retirement) or involuntarily, the maximum accumulation balance is reset based on their new standard hours of appointment, effective on the first pay period following the change in standard hours. At that time, accruals in excess of the maximum accumulation are paid out by the department.

Exceptions may be considered in the form of a rollover of the excess vacation, or a combination of a rollover and a payout. Exceptions are evaluated on a case-by-case basis at the sole discretion of the unit head, with the stipulation that accruals must be brought within the maximum by December 31 of the next year, or they will be paid out at that time. Exceptions cannot be granted in two consecutive years. Supervisors and staff members should work together to proactively plan and balance business and personal needs to allow adequate time away and avoid the loss of accruals.

Note: If the change in standard hours is occurring as a result of a transfer to a different department and the maximum accumulation is exceeded, the excess vacation will be paid out to the staff member by the former department at the time of transfer (see the Transfers section).

Sponsored and Federally Appropriated Projects

Positions that are supported by any amount of sponsored or federally appropriated funding are ineligible for the vacation payout provisions of this section of the program.

Staff members will retain their accumulated vacation time if they are transferring from one benefits-eligible position to another. Accumulated vacation is transferred up to the allowable maximum accumulation based on the standard hours of appointment of the new position. When an employee transfers from a paid, benefits-eligible, academic position that does not accrue vacation to a staff position, they are credited with one day of vacation leave for every year of prior continuous service, up to the allowable maximum. The new unit is responsible for providing funds to cover the transferred vacation time up to the allowable maximum accumulation based on the standard hours of the new position.

If a transferring staff member’s vacation balance exceeds the maximum accumulation at the time of transfer, then the former department pays out the excess to the staff member at the time of transfer.

Sponsored and Federally Appropriated Projects

Positions that are supported by any amount of sponsored or federally appropriated funding are ineligible for the vacation payout provisions of this section of the program.

Should a scheduled university holiday fall within a staff member's vacation period, time for that day should be classified as holiday pay, not vacation pay. If a staff member is on vacation when the university declares an unscheduled day off (for example, due to inclement weather) the staff member's time for that day continues to be classified as vacation time and the staff member is not given an additional day off.

An active staff member may not receive pay in lieu of vacation except under the provisions in this program describing when a rollover or payout of accruals exceeding the maximum accumulation would apply.

Endowed

When a staff member retires from the university, accrued vacation up to a maximum accumulation based on standard hours of appointment and credited years of service is paid in a lump sum in the last scheduled check. Supervisors should inform the staff member of this procedure when notice of retirement is given.

Contract College

When a staff member retires from the university, accrued vacation up to a maximum of 30 days is paid in a lump sum in the last scheduled check. Supervisors should inform the staff member of this procedure when notice of retirement is given.

Endowed

When a staff member terminates employment, accrued vacation up to a maximum accumulation based on standard hours of appointment and credited years of service is paid in a lump sum in the last scheduled check, provided that the staff member has completed one year of continuous service. The supervisor should inform the staff member of this procedure when notice of termination is given.

Contract College

When a staff member terminates employment, accrued vacation up to a maximum of 30 days is paid in a lump sum payment in the last scheduled check, provided that the staff member has completed one year of continuous service. The supervisor should inform the staff member of this procedure when notice of termination is given.

Sponsored and Federally Appropriated Projects

Staff members on term appointments that are supported by any amount of sponsored or federally appropriated funding may, at the discretion of the college or funder, be ineligible for the vacation payout provisions of the Retirement and Terminations sections. If ineligible, the employee will be notified, in writing at the time of initial appointment or appointment extension, that accrued vacation must be taken during the employee’s period of active employment; any vacation balance remaining at the end of employment will be forfeited. Supervisors and staff members should work together to proactively plan and balance business and personal needs, allowing adequate vacation time away from work during terms of employment to avoid the loss of accruals.

Requesting Vacation Time

Employees are encouraged to take their earned vacation time for periods of rest, relaxation, and renewal. Staff members must obtain supervisory approval for the use of vacation time in accordance with unit practice, ideally with as much advance notice as possible to allow supervisors to plan for adequate staffing coverage. Supervisors should make efforts to schedule vacation to accommodate the preferences of their employees whenever possible. The university, however, reserves the right to deny vacation requests for business reasons.

Nonexempt staff members may use vacation by the hour. If the staff member takes a day of vacation, the number of hours used will be equal to the number of hours that the staff member was scheduled to work on that day. Exempt staff members should normally use vacation in increments of half days.

Recordkeeping

The payroll system is the official accrual record for exempt and nonexempt staff.

Unit management (for example, supervisors, payroll representatives, HR representatives) should inform exempt and nonexempt staff members as to how to record the use of accruals and how to access their leave balance information. Management and staff members are both responsible to be aware of the vacation balance and for periodically reviewing it, as needed, to verify that balances are accurate and to discuss whether the balances are at or nearing the maximum accrual.

To officially correct a staff member’s vacation balance, the correction must be made in accordance with the university payroll system/time-collection requirements.

Note: In contract colleges, exempt staff members are required to report vacation usage in the payroll system when such accruals are used. Failure to report vacation usage will result in the forfeiture of eligibility for payment of accrued vacation upon termination or retirement. Unit policies may be more restrictive.

Paid sick leave can be used for the following reasons:

• For a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition of the individual or the been diagnosed or requires medical care at the time that the individual requests such leave;
• For the diagnosis, care, or treatment of a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition of, or need for medical diagnosis of, or preventive care for, the individual or the individual’s family member*;
• When the individual or the individual’s family member has been the victim of domestic violence, a family offense, sexual offense, stalking, or human trafficking, for the individual to avail themselves or a family member of services or assistance including, but not limited to:
  • Obtaining services from a domestic violence shelter, rape crisis center, or other shelter or services program for relief from a family offense matter, sexual offense, stalking, or human trafficking;
  • Participating in safety planning, temporarily or permanently relocating, or taking other actions to increase the safety of the individual or individual’s family members from future family offense matters, sexual offenses, stalking, or human trafficking;
  • Meeting with a civil attorney or other social services provider to obtain information and advice on, and to prepare for or participate in any criminal or civil proceeding, including, but not limited to, matters related to a family offense matter, sexual offense, stalking, human trafficking, custody, visitation, matrimonial issues, orders of protection, immigration, housing, discrimination in employment, housing, or consumer credit;
• Filing a domestic violence complaint or domestic incident report with law enforcement;
• Meeting with a district attorney’s office about domestic violence, family offense, sexual offense, stalking, or human trafficking;
• Enrolling children in a new school because of domestic violence, a family offense, sexual offense, stalking, or human trafficking; or
• Taking other actions necessary to maintain, improve, or restore the physical, psychological, or economic health or safety of the individual or the individual’s family member to protect those who associate or work with the individual.

Note: Sick leave is intended to be used in the place of hours that would otherwise have been scheduled as part of the individual’s appointment and will be limited to hours of the appointment. Sick leave is not permitted to extend the term of appointment.

*Family member: An employee's child, spouse, domestic partner, parent, sibling, grandchild, or grandparent; and the child or parent of an employee’s spouse or domestic partner. A "parent" is a biological, foster, step, or adoptive parent, or a legal guardian of an employee, or a person who stood in loco parentis when the employee was a minor child. A "child" is a biological, adopted or foster child, legal ward, or a child of an employee standing in loco parentis.

Individuals on the bi-weekly payroll (non-exempt; paid hourly) accrue sick leave at a rate of 1 hour earned per every 30 hours worked, effective September 30, 2020. Individuals on the semi-monthly payroll (exempt) accrue 0.2917 days per pay period, effective September 30, 2020.

Note: Sick leave accrues on each eligible position.

Service Requirement

There is no minimum service requirement to be eligible to start accruing sick leave.

The maximum usage is up to 56 hours or 7 days of paid sick leave each calendar year, and only paid sick leave accrued may be used.

There is no maximum number of paid sick leave hours that can be accrued. Usage per calendar year is capped pursuant to the "Maximum Usage" section above.

All paid sick leave hours not used in the previous calendar year may be carried into the next calendar year. Usage per calendar year is capped pursuant to the Maximum Usage section above.

The university encourages individuals to provide advanced notice of the need for the leave, if possible. Supervisors cannot ask for a medical diagnosis or for any specific medical information. If supervisors are unclear about what constitutes a reasonable inquiry relative to managing medically related absenteeism, they should consult with their college/unit HR representatives or with Medical Leaves Administration.

After an individual has been absent for three consecutive days, units and departments can require medical or other verification in connection with the use of sick leave. They can require verification in the form of an attestation from the individual regarding eligibility for the leave. They cannot require verification, including that from a medical professional, that discloses the reason for the leave, except as required by law, but such verification can include the amount of leave needed and a date that the individual can return to work. Individuals who use sick leave and fail to comply with these procedures may be subject to disciplinary action.

Individuals will not be subject to retaliation or discriminatory treatment for their use of paid sick leave under the Time Off and Leaves Program.

Paid sick leave may also be used in conjunction with various medical and family leaves available to qualified employees, including, but not limited to, federal Family and Medical Leave, New York State Paid Family Leave, New York State short-term disability, and New York State Workers’ Compensation. Refer to the Medical and Family Leaves section of the Time Off and Leaves Program for a full description of such leaves.

Upon termination of employment, paid sick leave balances are canceled. Paid sick leave may not be taken after the last day worked. For more information, refer to University Policy 6.12, Separations, Voluntary and Involuntary (Including Layoff).

When an individual transfers to a position that is eligible for health and personal leave (HAP), the sick leave balance that had accrued is transferred to the HAP-eligible position. Refer to the Health and Personal Leave section above. When an individual transfers from a HAP-eligible position to a position eligible for sick leave, the HAP balance that had accrued is transferred to the sick leave-eligible position.

The payroll system is the official record. Unit management (for example, supervisors, payroll representatives, HR representatives) should inform individuals who are eligible for paid sick leave how to record the use of paid sick leave and how to access their paid sick leave balance information. Management and individuals are both responsible for periodically reviewing this information as needed to verify that balances are accurate.