Vacation Policy

Vacation leave is paid time off from work. The amount of vacation time earned is determined by several factors which include employment type and the number of scheduled weekly hours in Workday associated with the employee’s primary position.

This policy is designed to outline the calculation of vacation available to employees and the process for utilizing their vacation days. Bargaining unit members should refer to the terms in their contracts.

Scheduled Annual Hours – the number of hours budgeted for a particular position on an annual basis.

Scheduled Weekly Hours – the number of hours budgeted for a position on an annual basis divided by the number of weeks per year associated with the position. Most positions are 12-month positions. Scheduled weekly hours for partial-year positions are determined based on the number of weeks of coverage.

Daily Value – the value of a day is calculated based on the employee's scheduled weekly hours in the system divided by 5.

Regular Schedule – the employee’s predictable weekly schedule. Recognizing there are occasional variances, every employee should have a regular schedule.

Partial-year – refers to positions that are less than 12 full months.

Accrual Rates

Regular employees who hold positions with scheduled hours of a minimum of 910 hours per year and scheduled weekly hours of 17.5 hours are eligible for vacation time accrual. Temporary and on-call employees are not eligible for vacation accruals.

Regular full-time employees accrue vacation per the following schedule:

	Budgeted Schedule	Accrual Rate per Pay Period	Accrual Rate Per Year	Maximum Carryover
Full-time Exempt	35 hrs/wk	11.67 hrs	140 hrs (4 wks)	56 hrs
Full-time Non-Exempt	35 hrs/wk 40 hrs/wk	5.38 hrs 6.15 hrs	140 hrs (4 wks) 160 hrs (4 wks)	56 hrs 64 hrs

Vacation time for non-exempt, hourly paid employees, accrues in hours at the end of each bi-weekly pay period. Vacation time for exempt employees accrues in hours at the end of each monthly pay period, i.e., the last day of the month.

Partial Year and Part-Time Employees:
Employees who hold positions of less than 12 months per year do not receive vacation time accruals during periods in which the employee does not work. For example, a non-exempt employee with 35 scheduled weekly hours who works a partial year (22 pay periods) will receive 5.38 (accrual rate) hours x 22 (pay periods worked) = 118.36 hours per year, and a 35 hour per week exempt employee who works a partial year (10 months) will receive 11.67 hours per month during the 10 working months, but receive no accruals during the 2 monthly pay periods in which no work was performed.

The accrual rates for part-time employees is prorated based on the full time equivalent (FTE) of their position. For example, a non-exempt employee who works 4 hours per day, 5 days per week (50% FTE) will have a vacation accrual of 80 hours per year (6.15 x .50, or 3.08 hours per bi-weekly pay period). Also, a 17.5 hour per week exempt employee will have a vacation accrual of 11.67 x .50, or 5.83 hours per monthly pay period (70 hours per year).

Vacation Requests and Scheduling

Employees are encouraged to begin discussion of their vacation scheduling with their supervisors as far in advance as possible, as supervisory approval is required. In scheduling vacations, every effort will be made to accommodate the desires of the employee in the context of the needs of the workplace. Supervisors are not required to approve vacation requests that would result in staffing shortages or impaired operational services.

All vacation requests must be submitted to the supervisor in Workday for approval as early as possible in advance of the vacation time. Formal requests and approvals of vacation time are entered in Workday and the supervisor’s decision (approval or denial) is recorded in the system.

Vacation Usage and Recording of Time

For the purposes of this policy, the value of a day is calculated based on the employee’s scheduled weekly hours in the system divided by 5. For example, if a part-time employee’s standard weekly hours are 20, when divided by 5, the employee’s standard workday is 4 hours. The standard workday hours are defaulted in the ‘Time Off’ worklet (icon on the Workday home page) when requesting vacation time. The employee should change the hours to reflect their actual scheduled hours for that day. See below.

Non-Exempt (Hourly Paid) Employees

Non-exempt employees record vacation time in Workday in hours based on the number of hours worked when considering their regular schedule (typically 7 or 8 hours for a full-time employee). Employees should enter the number of hours in accordance with their regular schedule. For example, an employee who works four (4), ten (10) hour days Monday – Thursday should enter 10 hours when taking a vacation day Monday through Thursday and zero hours on Friday since no scheduled hours are expected on Friday. The minimum amount of vacation time that may be entered in Workday is .25 hours.

Exempt (Salary Paid) Employees

For exempt employees, the minimum increment for reducing paid time off (vacation) balances is half days. Full-time exempt staff who are absent for 3.5 or more hours in a workday, but less than a whole day, must record 3.5 hours. Full-time exempt employees who take off less than 3.5 hours are expected to make up the time such that the duties of the position are fully met. Part-time exempt employees who are absent for part of their regular workday must record absences using the same method. For example, a part-time exempt employee works 4 hours on Monday. If that employee is absent for more than 2 hours on Monday, but less than a whole day, the employee must record 2 hours. Part-time exempt employees who take off less than half of their scheduled time for that day are expected to make up the time such that the duties of the position are fully met.

If an exempt employee is out of vacation time, RISD may not reduce pay for an exempt employee in increments less than whole days in accordance with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). When an exempt employee has exhausted available vacation (and personal) time and is absent from work for one or more whole days, pay should be reduced in whole day increments for those full day absences. The manager must contact their HR Partner if pay is to be reduced.

General Information

Newly hired employees begin accruing vacation immediately, but generally no vacation may be taken in the first 3 months of employment. This general approach is to support a successful orientation and review (probationary) period. For purposes of calculation, a person who begins work before the 16th of the month is entitled to a full pay period of credit toward vacation accrual. A person who begins work on or after the 16^th of the month does not accrue vacation time for that pay period.

Employees accrue their annual vacation time allotment on a pay period basis over the entire fiscal year. Because RISD enables employees to borrow vacation time up to their annual allotment, vacation time taken in excess of time accrued will appear as a negative balance. The negative balance is reduced as time accrues each pay period. Employees can see their projected balances through the Time Off worklet in Workday.

No vacation time accrues during a pay period in which the employee does not receive pay unless the employee is on an approved FMLA or RIPFMLA and/or paid leave. This includes unpaid leaves of absence and pay periods in which the employee is not scheduled to work and is not receiving other forms of pay such as sick leave or personal time, etc.

Carry Over

Any balance, less than or equal to eight (8) times the daily value based on the employee’s scheduled weekly hours, of unused accrued vacation time will automatically carry over into the new fiscal year. The maximum amount of carry over vacation in any given fiscal year is the equivalent of 8 days. For example, if an employee’s regularly scheduled workweek is 35 hours, then 56 hours is the maximum carry over for that employee.

Separation of Employment

Upon separation of employment for any reason, an employee will be paid for any vacation accrued but not taken. In general, vacation time may not be used as a bridge to the last active day of employment. Employees will not be paid for any time accrued beyond the maximum allowable total.

In the event that more time has been taken than has been accrued as of the separation date, the employee owes the un-accrued time taken to RISD. For example, an employee with 140 hours (4 weeks) of annual vacation time resigns as of December 31^st. The employee has taken 105 hours (3 weeks) of vacation time and has accrued 70 hours (2 weeks) by their resignation date. The employee owes RISD 35 hours (1 week) of un-accrued (negative balance) vacation time. The employee will be made aware of their negative vacation balance and repayment options. Once a resignation of employment has been submitted, vacation requests that would result in a negative balance will generally be denied.

Note: For purposes of calculation, a person who separates employment before the 16^th of the month does not receive vacation accrual for that calendar month. A person who separates employment on or after the 16th of the month is entitled to a full month’s accrual toward vacation.

Employees hired prior to January 1, 1991 are entitled to the fiscal year’s vacation allotment as of July 1^st each year. For these employees, vacation awarded on July 1^st was accrued in the prior fiscal year. Therefore, upon leaving RISD these employees will be paid for any carry over time plus any unused time accrued for the current fiscal year.

This policy was last reviewed/modified on: 7/8/2019

This policy was last reviewed/modified on: 7/20/2021

Next scheduled review: As necessitated by law.

Issuing Office

Human Resources

Responsible Officer

Vice President for Human Resources

Individuals/offices required for review and changes

Director of Employment

Vice President for Human Resources