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The University of Wisconsin System
Staff Benefits and Payroll Policy
PO Box 8010 / 780 Regent Street, Suite 237
Madison, Wisconsin 53708-8010

UNCLASSIFIED LEAVE BENEFIT OPTIONS: QUESTIONS & RESPONSES

Personal Holiday Allocation, ALRA Banking, 25 Year Vacation Cash Option

PERSONAL HOLIDAY:

1. Q: Who is eligible for the Unclassified Personal Holiday benefit?

R: Unclassified staff who are appointed to annual (‘A’) pay base who are otherwise eligible for annual vacation are entitled to the Personal Holiday Benefit.

2. Q: Is an Unclassified employee eligible for the full entitlement of Personal Holiday irrespective of when they begin employment in the FY?

R: Yes. Personal Holidays hours are not pro rated due to employment begin date.

3. Q: Is the Unclassified Personal Holiday allocation pro rated for an employee whose appointment is less than 100%?

R: Yes. The pro rated allocation is based on the percent of appointment. Multiply 28 hours times the appointment percent and round to the next tenth.

4. Q: If an employee terminates employment prior to the end of the year in which the Personal Holiday is earned, is the employee entitled to the full Personal Holiday allocation?

R: Yes. Personal Holidays hours are not reduced due to employment termination date.

5. Q: An employee is granted a leave of absence from a permanent Classified position to accept an Unclassified, Acting or Interim appointment on a temporary basis. Is the employee eligible for the Personal Holiday entitlement from the Classified and the Unclassified position in the year they accept the limited Unclassified position?

R: To accommodate the difference in the Classified year (calendar) and the Unclassified year (fiscal) leave accounting, the policy is as follows: If the Unclassified acting appointment is effective between July 1 and December 31, the employee would receive the 28 hours of Unclassified personal holiday. If the Unclassified acting appointment is effective between January 1 and June 30, the individual would not receive the 28 hours Unclassified personal holiday until July 1 of the following fiscal year. If the employee returns to Classified service, DER rules will apply.

6. Q: Would a Classified employee (State or University) who terminates employment and accepts an Unclassified position with the UW System, be entitled to the Unclassified Personal Holiday allocation if the events occur within the same calendar year?

R: Yes. An employee who accepts an Unclassified appointment is entitled to the leave benefits provided by the Board of Regents Policy.

7. Q: A new unclassified employee begins on July 1 at 80% time. The appointment increases to 100% on January 1, 2000; should the employee receive the remainder of the Personal Holiday entitlement to equal 28 hours for the remainder of the FY? If the appointment is at 100% at the beginning of the FY and later is reduced is the FY Personal Holiday entitlement reduced?

R: For equity and ease of administration, the Personal Holiday protocol is to be modeled as much as possible on the Classified benefit provisions. The employee would be granted entitlement appropriate to the percent level at the start of their appointment and an adjustment in Personal Holiday hours with the increase in appointment percent. If the appointment percent is reduced during the FY no adjustment is made in the FY entitlement.

ALRA BANKING:

8. Q: Are rehired annuitants eligible to bank vacation in ALRA? Are they eligible to exercise the vacation cash option?

R: Yes. If the appointment qualifies for annual leave benefits and the employment contract does not mandate use of earned leave during the term of the employment contract.

9. Q: If eligible for the cash payment option and ALRA, but an employee chooses not to elect payment, may the employee bank more than 40 hours in the FY?

R: No. The cash payment option and ALRA banking privilege are mutually exclusive programs.

10. Q: ALRA and Non-renewal notice. Academic staff who are notified that their appointments will not be renewed are often notified that they must use earned leave before the end of the appointment. May the department require the employee to use the ALRA rather than reserve it for a payment at termination?

R: No. The ALRA balance is protected from this type of directive. [UPG 9.07]

11. Q: In order to qualify for ALRA, and the option to receive a cash payment for unused vacation, reference is made to continuous service to the State of Wisconsin in appointments earning vacation, or as Unclassified University participants in the Wisconsin Retirement System. How is continuous service defined?
    
    R: Continuous service, as it applies to ALRA and the cash payment option, UPG 9.03, shall be defined as service to the State of Wisconsin in appointments earning vacation or as Unclassified University participants in the Wisconsin Retirement System without a break in service of greater than 3 years consistent with UWS 19.03, Wisc. Administrative Code. Years of continuous service are not prorated based on the percentage of appointment.
    
    25 YEAR VACATION CASH OPTION:
    
    
12. Q: If an employee elects a cash payment option, is the payment considered earnings for WRS purposes?

R: No. Statute (s. 40.02(22) (b)) specifically excludes this type of payment from the definition of earnings eligible for WRS service credit.

13. Q: What is the formula used to calculate the value of an hour of accrued leave (vacation, Personal Holiday, Floating Holiday, etc.)?

R: The formula is found in FPPP #29. The full time monthly rate is divided by 176 (average work hours in a month): $45,000 (annual rate) divided by 12 months = $3,750 divided by 176 = $21.307 per hour.

14. Q: How do we determine the number of hours to be paid for staff who have a varying appointment percent during the fiscal year?

R: Use the average FTE for the fiscal year. This is the criterion applied for the Classified cash payment, as well as ALRA.

15. Q: May an employee apply carryover vacation to the cash payment or is the payment limited to current FY vacation? For example, if an employee has 40 hours of carryover vacation can that be paid in the current FY?

R: Yes.

Prepared by the UW System Administration Office of Staff Benefits and Payroll Policy (11/29/01)