David Lechner, vice president for business and finance at the University of Nebraska, has provided the following information regarding the recent change in employee vacation and sick leave.
On March 9, the University of Nebraska Board of Regents revised the university’s vacation and sick leave policies. Campus human resources directors asked that we alert you to these changes.
Vacation
New policy: The amount of vacation time that can be accumulated at the University of Nebraska effective April 1, 2007, is 280 hours. Employees who have accrued vacation balances in excess of 280 hours as of April 1, 2007, will not lose those hours of unused vacation. However, effective April 1 he or she will not accrue any additional vacation leave until his or her balance drops below 280 hours.
Background: The policy change was necessary in order to comply with the Nebraska Supreme Court decision last year in the Roseland v. Strategic Staff Management case. The Court ruled that vacation benefits granted by an employer are like an earned wage, which cannot — once earned — be forfeited by an employer’s policy (the “use it or lose it” rule).
Previously employees were allowed to accumulate and carry over a certain number of vacation hours from one year to the next: 200 for Office/Service Staff and 192 for Academic/Administrative and Managerial/Professional Staff. At the end of the calendar year anything above that amount was lost.
Employees may check their current vacation balance by reviewing their pay advice or by accessing the “Employee Self-Service” (ESS) Web Site at http://esshelp.nebraska.edu.
Sick leave
New policy: There is also a change in sick leave policy that only impacts Office/Service Staff. The new policy caps sick leave accumulation at 1,440 hours (180 days) at all times.
Background: This change also was necessary to comply with the Roseland ruling. Previously employees could accumulate above the maximum limit of 1,440 hours throughout the year, but the balance was adjusted back to 1,440 at the end of each calendar year.
Note: Office/Service staff who retire (or their beneficiaries) will continue to receive a supplemental salary payment equal to one-fourth of their accumulated sick leave up to a maximum of 360 hours. The change in policy merely re-labels the payment. Instead of calling it a payment for sick leave, it will be called “a supplemental payment equal to one-fourth of their unused accrued sick leave up to a maximum of 360 hours.”
If UNMC employees need additional information, contact 559-7460.