Legal Public Holidays



PAID TIME OFF BENEFITS

MGMT 139B, Section 1

By: Soraya Montgomery

Nick Ionashku

Daniel Thai

Tri Phan

Executive Brief

Every organization must be prepared for their employee’s being absent for one reason or another. Whether it’s due to an illness or a vacation, a plan must be in place to cover both the employer and the employee. First, the employer must understand what a paid time off benefit is. In short, paid time off is any time not worked by an employee where their regular rate of pay is accrued and paid to them. Although some paid time off benefits are mandated, most employers offer these employee friendly benefits to be competitive. The list of paid time off benefits is long, and getting longer due to new innovations. It is important for an employer to have the most up to date knowledge of the programs and what they offer. We have complied a report of the most popular paid time off benefits for your review. Read them, study them, but most importantly, implement them. They are a huge part of the success your company will have in attracting and retaining competent employees.

Legal Public Holidays

Although there is no standard, many organizations give their employees nine to ten days off a year as public holidays. Federal holidays, or legal public holidays, are recognized by Congress but are not recognized by all employers. Legal public holidays consist of the following:

• New Year's Day, January 1

• Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the third Monday in January

• Washington's Birthday, the third Monday in February

• Memorial Day, the last Monday in May

• Independence Day, July 4

• Labor Day, the first Monday in September

• Columbus Day, the second Monday in October

• Veterans Day, November 11

• Thanksgiving Day, the fourth Thursday in November

• Christmas Day, December 25

In addition to federal holidays, some employers also observe state and local holidays. For example, in California we recognize March 31st as Cesar Chavez Day. Many companies reserve the right to schedule work hours during holidays. This is particularly true in organizations such as hospitals, law enforcement, and emergency agencies. Those scheduled to work on these days may be compensated at a premium or ‘holiday pay’ rate.

Paid holidays have a positive affect on the employer even though they are the ones paying out the wages. These paid days off help boost employee morale, and often serve as a much needed ‘mini’ break. Holidays also offer employee’s extra time to spend with their friends and family. Rest and relaxation are good ingredients for increased productivity and a harmonious work environment. In addition, offering these paid holidays are a good way to attract and retain employees.

Jury Duty

Jury duty is considered a civic responsibility. Most organizations allow employees to take paid time off if they are called for jury duty. The length of time granted varies depending on the jurisdiction and the case. It could take only a few hours, several days, a week, or longer. Even though courts provide a small amount of compensation for jury service, companies customarily compensate employees at their regular base rate of pay. Employers may require verification from the court that their employee has served on jury duty. If the employee’s jury is excused earlier than the close of business, the employer could require them to report to work.

Jury duty can have a positive affect on employers by showing their employee’s support. Often times, the employee may not want to serve on jury duty. The fact that they do not need to worry about financial strain is comforting. It also gives the employee a sense of stability knowing that they have the support of their employer when they need it.

Maternity Leave

On September 23, 2002, the State of California enacted the first-in-the-nation paid family leave. Beginning on July 1, 2004, nearly all non-governmental employees in California will be eligible to receive up to six weeks of Family Temporary Disability Insurance (FTDI) benefits over a 12-month period. These benefits will replace wages to cover periods where a worker is unable to work to care for an ill child, spouse, parent or domestic partner, or for the birth, adoption or foster care placement of a child. Employees are immediately eligible for the program upon hire and can begin to receive benefits following a seven-day waiting period.

Under Paid Family Leave, employers must provide a brochure to new employees who start after January 1, 2004 and persons who request Paid Family Leave after July 1, 2004. FTDI benefits will be funded through increased employee payroll deductions, beginning in January 2004 (six months before any employees are eligible to receive benefits). These deductions will be based on a payroll tax schedule and are estimated to average $27 per employee per year. Currently, the top contribution is capped at $70 for those earning $72,000 or more a year. California workers will be able to collect as much as 55 percent of their salary, up to a maximum of $728 per week.

Employers with fewer than 50 workers are not subject to the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) or the California Family Rights Act (CFRA), so they have no legal obligation to provide employees with a leave of absence or hold their jobs open simply because these workers are receiving FTDI benefits. While the new program provides paid benefits to employees taking leave to care for a registered domestic partner or to care for a child born to a registered domestic partner, neither the FMLA nor the CFRA has been amended to guarantee employees the right to such a leave. Although employees may be entitled to paid leave in these situations, employers do not have to grant the leave or guarantee those workers a job once their leave is completed. Additionally, an employee must verify that he or she is the only person who will be caring for a family member or domestic partner. Finally, employees must be off work for at least seven days before FTDI benefits are available and employers may require employees to use up to two weeks of earned vacation leave prior to receiving FTDI benefits. If an employer requires that an employee take earned vacation leave, up to seven days of the vacation leave may be applied to the seven-day waiting period.

Employers are preparing themselves for the affects of this new act. For example, because more workers will now take family leave, employers are likely to incur additional costs. Overtime costs may rise because those employees not out on leave will have to pick up the slack for their absent co-workers. Employers will face expenses relating to locating, hiring and training replacement or temporary workers. There also will be additional costs for administering the program, such as verifying the medical reasons for the leave. It may not be practical for employers to verify that the employee is the only person who can care for a family member or domestic partner, or whether the ill person even is a family member or domestic partner.

Positive aspects of this act are that it is another way the employer essentially takes care of their employees. Being able to take needed time off, and not having to worry about job stability is a comforting thought to many employees. Offering this benefit may assist in the recruitment and retention of employees.

Sick Leave

One of the most common types of paid time off is sick leave. Employers allow sick leave days to be used for personal medical needs, to take care of a family member, or for adoption related purposes. Regarding personal medical needs, there are three main categories, one of which the employee must fall under in order to use his or her sick leave day. When using sick leave under the first category, an employee must be unable to perform his or her regular tasks and procedures due to physical or mental illness, injury, pregnancy, or childbirth. Under the second category the employee must be receiving a medical, dental or optical examination or treatment. The employee may also use sick leave under the third category, when their presence at work jeopardizes the health of others, which must be prescribed by a doctor.

Employees may also use their sick leave to take care of their family members who need medical care. A family member is considered to be a spouse, child, adopted child, parents and parents of spouse, brother and brother of spouse, sister and sister of spouse and any individual related by blood to the employee.

Regular full-time and part-time employees are eligible to accrue and use paid sick leave. Often part-time employees accrue sick leave at a prorated rate. This means that a part timer would earn less sick leave days per one day of work compared to a full time employee. The more an employee works the more sick days he or she accrues and may use.

California employers don’t have to offer sick leave, but if they do, they will have to comply with the requirements of a fairly recent law that went into effect on January 1, 2000. The new measure, A.B. 109, requires employers to allow employees to use sick leave not only when they are ill, but also to care for a sick child or other immediate family member, as mentioned earlier. The law applies to all private, state and municipal employers regardless of the number of people employed.

A demonstration calculator can be found at: . This calculator can help employers figure out the number of family related sick leave days that they need to be ready to provide their employees. In addition, the employees can figure out approximately how many days they can use for family related medical care.

Utilization of Sick Leave

According to a survey done by Hewitt Associates in 1997, “45 percent of responding firms did not keep track of utilization of sick leave by their employees in 1997. The average number of sick days used per year by a salaried exempt employee was 3.8 days; salaried nonexempt employees used 5.6 days; nonunion hourly employees used 4.8 days; and union hourly employees used 5.5 days.” Based on this study we could estimate that an average employee will use 5 sick leave days per year. The question remains, will those days really be used for personal medical needs, to take care of family members and for adoption related purposes?

According to a survey done by ComPsych Corporation on March 9, 2004, “About 77% of employees say they show up at work when ill.” According to the survey, the reasons why some employees take their sick leave days when ill, and others do not are as follows:

• 33% said they come to work sick because their workload does not permit them take a sick day.

• 26% said they feel the risk of taking off in the current work environment.

• 18% said they save their sick leave days for children related activities.

• 23% said they take their sick leave days because they treasure their health.

Based on this study we can see that 77% of employees misuse their sick leave days. Employees come to work when they are sick and when they do use their sick leave days they use it to take care of their personal needs.

Funeral Leave

Employees may be approved for leave with pay in cases of death of a spouse, parent, parent-in-law, step-parent, child, step-child, grandchild, brother, sister, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, grandparent or person regarded as member of employee's immediate family. Some employers will even cover traveling expenses if the funeral service is not local. A typical employee is allowed three funeral leave days in order to make arrangements and attend the funeral.

Utilization of Funeral Leave

According to a survey by EBRI done in 1997, among full-time employees in medium and large private establishments, “81 percent were eligible to participate in paid funeral leave.” Today it is one of the more common or standard paid time off benefits that employers are offering.

Vacation Time

Vacation time off with pay is a benefit that is usually available to eligible

employees to provide opportunities for rest, relaxation, and personal pursuits. Although

it is not required, employees are encouraged to use their available paid vacation.

Paid vacation time is a voluntary benefit that organizations offer to employees. There are no federal regulations requiring employers to provide vacation days, but it has become common business practice to do so.

Employees accrue hours of paid vacation time at a certain rate for each day worked. Different employers use different formulas to calculate vacation time. For example, an employee with 15 days of paid vacation time at one company may or may not enjoy the same number of paid vacation days after changing jobs.

Generally speaking, the amount of paid vacation time depends on the length of service and the level in the organization. Usually, companies have some scale that decides how many paid vacation days an employee will receive. Four or five weeks of vacation is not unlikely for an employee who remains with a company for more than 15 years, although that's typically the upper limit for vacation benefits in the United States.

Average number of vacation days in the United States

|Years of service |Average days per year |

|Less than 1 year |9.7 |

|1 year of service |9.9 |

|2 years of service |10.8 |

|3 years of service |11.4 |

|4 years of service |11.7 |

|5 years of service |13.7 |

|6 years of service |14.5 |

|7 years of service |15.0 |

|8 years of service |15.3 |

|9 years of service |15.5 |

|10 years of service |16.8 |

|11 years of service |17.5 |

|12 years of service |17.6 |

|13 years of service |17.7 |

|14 years of service |17.8 |

|15 years of service |18.8 |

|More than 15 years of service |20.2 |

Some employers base vacation days on the employment anniversary date, while others use the calendar year to keep track. Exempt employees should receive the same salary pay rate for vacation days. For example, if an exempt employee takes two weeks of paid vacation, they should receive a paycheck for the same amount of salary for the two weeks as if they had worked.

Some companies let employees carry unused vacation days over to the next calendar year. Policies differ, but typically employees may carry over five days. Not all companies pay cash for vacation days that are not taken by the end of the calendar year. If an employee leaves the company, the company is required to compensate for those unused vacation days in cash. Some companies use a prorated payout that is in accordance with the number of months of accrued service in a given year.

Part-time employees are often granted some paid vacation days as well. However, the pay rate may be different from these employees' base pay rate. Vacation time, like everything else, is negotiable. Employees may have to forego other forms of compensation in exchange for more vacation time.

Military Leave

A military leave of absence is granted to employees who are absent from work because of service in the U.S. Uniformed Services in accordance with the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). Advance notice of military service is usually required, unless military requirements make it impossible to do so. Vacation, sick leave, and holiday benefits will continue to accrue during a military leave of absence.

As employees are being called into active military duty, employers must become familiar with laws surrounding military leave and the impact the leave has on employee benefit plans. Employees are protected by the Uniformed Services Employment & Reemployment Rights Act of 1994, commonly known as USERRA, and the Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act of 1940. As employees transition to their military service and back to employment again both employers and employees should become acquainted with obligations and rights regarding military duty and their impact on retirement and health plans.

An employer cannot deny any person who is a member of, applies to be a member of, performs, has performed, applies to perform, or has an obligation to perform in a uniformed service the following:

▪ Initial employment

▪ Reemployment

▪ Retention in employment

▪ Promotion

▪ Any benefits of employment

Uniformed Services include military branches such as the:

▪ Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force or Coast Guard

▪ Army Reserve, Naval Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, Air Force Reserve or Coast Guard Reserve

▪ Army National Guard or Air National Guard

▪ Commissioned corps of the Public Health Service, and

▪ Any other category of persons designated by the President in time of war or

emergency

There are requirements for the employees when they return to work. The timing for reporting to work or submitting an application for reemployment with the civilian employer depends on the duration of an individual’s military service. The individual must report to the employer for reemployment if military leave is less than 31 days. If military leave is more than 30 days but less than 181 days, the individual must submit an application for reemployment not later than 14 days after completion of military service. The individual must submit an application for reemployment no later than 90 days after completion of military service if the military leave is longer than 180 days. A longer period, not exceeding two years, can apply if the person becomes ill or is injured while serving and needs extended leave to recover, but if the military leave is longer than five years, the individual has no reemployment rights under USERRA.

There are other benefits that are being affected by USERRA such as health plans. Employees absent due to military service who were participating in a health plan who would otherwise lose coverage can elect COBRA-like coverage for themselves and their dependents. This coverage continues for a period ending on the earlier of 18 months or the day after the employee fails to return to employment.

Employers can charge employees absent for more than 31 days no more than 102 percent of the full premium under the plan. Employees absent less than 31 days will pay the same as employees who remained actively at work. The returning employee is entitled to reinstated health coverage with no waiting periods.

Employees are given protection if they enter military service. Employers should become aware of who is affected and be informed of what their obligations are. By having a good handle on the impact of USERRA and the Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act of 1940, employers can help their employees have a smooth transition into military service as well as a smooth transition back into civilian life.

Voting

While there is no federal statute on voting leave, many states have passed laws that require employers to grant employees time off to vote. Under these laws, employers must provide employees time off to vote in state, national and local elections and establish a procedure for reporting the time missed from work. The supervisor may specify the hours during which the employee may be absent to vote, and the time off may not exceed the specified hours. Employers generally allow some leeway in employee arrival or departure on days when a national election or important state, city, or county election is held. Usually, pay is not deducted for missed work time.

The issue of getting paid or not is governed by state law, so it depends on where your workplace is. Almost half of the states require employers to provide a few hours of paid leave to allow their employees to vote. Generally, paid leave is required only if the employee would have insufficient time to vote without taking time off. In most of these states, if the polls will be open for a few hours while the employee is off duty before a shift begins or after it ends, the law will presume that the employee will be able to vote without missing work and the employer will not have to pay for leave.

Even if you live in a state that does not require paid leave for voting, the employer must not punish any employee for taking time off to cast a ballot. Almost every state prohibits employers from firing or disciplining an employee for taking leave to vote.

Leave Banks as an Innovation

A leave bank is a pooled fund of annual leave established by the department of justice. An employee who is a member of their company’s voluntary leave bank, may receive annual leave from the leave bank if they experience a personal or family medical emergency and have exhausted his or her available paid leave.  The company’s leave bank board operates the leave bank and determines how much donated annual leave an employee may receive from the leave bank.  Any unused donated annual leave is returned to the leave bank.

Under the leave bank programs, members have a central bank of leave to draw upon in time of need. Donors can give leave either to the general fund or request that their donated leave is given to specific recipients.

Leave received under the leave bank programs depends upon the level of leave in the bank. The amount of leave is constantly monitored. There is usually an open enrollment period each year. A leave contributor becomes a member for the current leave year if he or she contributes at least the minimum amount of annual leave during an open enrollment period. Only a leave bank member can apply to become a leave bank recipient. In addition, to be eligible for leave bank recipient status, you must be a member of the leave bank at the time of the medical emergency.

The "Federal Employees Leave Sharing Amendments Act of 1993", dated October 8, 1993, established a permanent leave sharing program for Federal employees. The leave sharing programs authorized by this law are the Voluntary Leave Transfer Program, and the Voluntary Leave Bank Program. In early 1989, personnel offices throughout the Department of Justice implemented the Voluntary Leave Transfer Program (VLTP) for their employees. In 1994, the department established a Voluntary Leave Bank Program (VLBP) to work in conjunction with the existing leave transfer programs in the department. The Leave Bank accepts membership contributions of annual leave, and makes annual leave available to qualified members.

Short Term Disability (STD)

Disability is a condition that prevents one from performing the essential functions of their full-time or part-time job. Short Term Disability (STD) pays a percentage of your salary if you become temporarily disabled, meaning that you are not able to work for a short period of time due to sickness or injury. This does not include on-the-job injuries, which are covered by workers compensation insurance. Employees generally start receiving money from their STD policy within one to 14 days after becoming sick or disabled. The actual time for coverage to kick in depends on whether they suffer an illness or injury. If they suffer an injury, their benefits will be paid immediately. If they suffer an illness, it may take longer because there needs to be enough time to show that the illness is grave enough to be disabling. Additionally, employers may require their employees to use all of their sick days before they begin receiving payments from their STD policy. Employees may continue to receive benefits from their STD plan as long as they are still eligible, and did not recover from their disability or become self-employed.

There are many reasons for STD plans to deny the payment for temporarily disabled employees. For example, actively participating in an unlawful act, such as a riot, may be grounds to deny a STD claim. Additionally, violating health or safety regulations by abusing alcohol or drugs may pose problems collecting STD payments. However, benefits would be paid during the absence if the employee were receiving professional treatment for alcohol or drug abuse.

In general, a typical STD plan will pay the employee 100 percent of their salary or prior year's W-2 earnings, whichever is greater for the first 15 days and 66.7 percent of their salary up to a maximum of 165 days. The plan might cover a maximum of 180 days or 26 weeks for each period of continuous disability.

STD insurance is important for employers who want to maintain a productive workforce. It protects employees against the short-term loss of income due to injury or illness. It also shields employers from having to pay an employee's wages while the employee is disabled. Instead, this money can be redirected to pay overtime or temporary workers.

Short-term disability insurance is a more common benefit than long-term disability insurance because the chance of an employee being unable to work for a short period is much higher. Although STD insurance can help employers save money and maintain a productive workforce, not all employers offer the coverage. According to Fairview Insurance Agency Associates, it is a disturbing fact that “…only approximately 40 percent of companies with 100 employees or more offer disability coverage. Less than 19 percent of companies with less than 100 employees provide this coverage.”

Floating Holidays

There are certain days during the year that may be significant to an employee, such as their birthday. All of these days may not be covered under a company’s paid holiday policy. To compensate for this, many employers offer one or two Floating Holidays or Personal Days with pay. The employee gets to choose a paid day off at their discretion. As with vacation leave, advance notice is usually required. This benefit was a great innovation. Instead of having to conform to the given holidays a company had to offer, employees can now choose their own special paid day off.

Extended Illness Leave

To qualify for extended illness or injury leave, an employee must be absent because of an accident or illness and they must have exhausted all sick leave, vacation, compensatory overtime, or other available paid leave. The employee also needs to provide proof of their illness or injury by a licensed physician that is acceptable to the employer.

An employee who is eligible for extended illness or injury leave will get a paid rate of 50 percent of his/her regular salary up to a maximum of 800 hours or simply 100 working days per fiscal year. The company shall pay 50 percent of the insurance premiums for the employee while they are on the extended illness leave. The employee will be responsible for the other half of the insurance premiums.

The Benefit Wheel

Paid time off benefits are directly related to the external and internal portions of the Benefit Wheel. Beginning with external factors, such as inflation, employers need to consider current economic conditions and make any needed adjustments regarding the benefits they offer. If inflation is on the rise, it may be necessary to reduce paid time off benefits in order to adjust for unexpected expenses. Employers should also stay current on the legal requirements and new laws that are being passed that may affect them. Legislation, such as the A.B. 109, should be researched and carefully implemented in order to avoid unnecessary lawsuits. Employers need to be familiar with taxation laws to comply with and receive maximum tax write-offs. In addition, employers should be aware of what the competition is doing and what innovative paid time off benefits they are offering. For example, leave banks may be a benefit that more employers could offer in order to gain a competitive advantage and be able to attract and retain quality employees.

Internal factors also affect paid time off benefits. For example, an employer needs to ask his or her employees what type of paid time off benefits they want, and then see if it is a realistic option. Perhaps employees would like two additional floating holidays. The employer then needs to weigh the pros and cons to see if the new requested benefit could work. Cost should be considered before implementing a new benefit program. Employee benefits should be reviewed on a cost basis periodically. A current benefit may cost more than a newly requested benefit, but may bring less satisfaction to the employees. Employers should consider established human resources management philosophy to see how much of their employees ‘wants’ should be met. Furthermore, by reviewing their company’s business objectives, employers can decide if they need to add or delete benefits. If reducing costs is an objective, then perhaps the employer should look at cutting a luxurious benefit such as a floating holiday. Reviewing a company’s total compensation strategies can give an employer an idea if their combined salary, paid time off benefits and other benefits are competitive enough in the market. In conclusion, external and internal factors, and their relationship to the benefit wheel, should be reviewed by employers when deciding what type of paid time off benefits should be offered.

Although most paid time off benefits are not mandated, they play an important role in the success of a company. Employees recognize these benefits as a stabilizing force, as well as an outlet for relaxation and personal pursuits. There are several types of paid time off benefits that employers can offer. Each benefit has its own distinct advantages. The biggest impact these benefits will have on a company is their ability to attract and retain well-qualified employees.

Works Cited

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PAID TIME OFF OUTLINE

Overview

❑ What are paid time off benefits?

▪ Paid time off is any time not worked by an employee in which the regular rate of pay is accrued and paid to the employee.

❑ Why are paid time off benefits important?

▪ According to EBRI, “Paid leave is one of the most common benefits offered by

employers. In 1997, 89 percent of full-time employees in medium and large private

establishmentsa were eligible to participate in paid holidays; 95 percent in paid

vacation leave; and 56 percent in paid sick leave.”

❑ Are they mandated benefits?

▪ Paid time off is not a mandated benefit. Employers offer this employee friendly benefit to be competitive in attracting and retaining employees. Employers benefit from offering paid time off by keeping their employees happy. By doing so they hope their employees will be more productive.

❑ Who qualifies to receive paid time off?

▪ Paid time off benefits vary by employer. Some employers require you to accrue a certain amount of time before allowing their employees to exercise their paid time off benefit. In many cases, full time employees have more paid time off than part- time employees.

Types of Paid Time Off

Soraya

❑ Legal Public Holidays

▪ Most organizations provide nine or ten days a year as public holidays. Congress recognizes federal holidays, or legal public holidays, but not all employers observe them. These holidays include the following:

New Years Day Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Washington’s birthday

Memorial Day Independence Day Labor Day

Columbus Day Veterans Day Thanksgiving Day

Christmas Day

❑ Jury Duty

▪ Many organizations allow their employees paid time off if they are called for jury duty. The length of time varies depending on the case and the jurisdiction. Although the courts provide a small compensation, employers usually pay their employees at their regular rate of pay.

❑ Maternity Leave

▪ Leave: The period of time during which you're disabled due to pregnancy and childbirth, up to a maximum of four months.

▪ Paid Family Leave (CASDI)

Paid family leave is unemployment compensation disability insurance paid to workers who suffer a wage loss when they take time off work to care for a seriously ill family member or bond with a new child.

▪ September 23, 2002 Family Temporary Disability Insurance (FTDI)

Nick

❑ Sick Leave

▪ Regular full-time and part-time employees are eligible to accrue and use paid sick leave. Often Part-time employees accrue sick leave at a prorated rate. The more an employee works the more sick days he or she accrues and may use. 

▪ California employers don’t have to offer sick leave, but if you do, you’ll have to comply with the requirements of a new law that goes into effect on January 1, 2000. The new measure, A.B. 109, requires you to allow workers to use sick leave not only when they are ill, but also to care for a sick child or other immediate family member. The law applies to all private, state and municipal employers regardless of how many employees you have.

▪ Demonstration Calculator

Utilization

▪ According to the survey by Hewitt Associates in 1997, “45 percent of responding firms did not keep track of utilization of sick leave by their employees in 1997. The average number of sick days used per year by a salaried exempt employee was 3.8 days; salaried nonexempt employees used 5.6 days; nonunion hourly employees used 4.8 days; and union hourly employees used 5.5 days.”

▪ According to a survey done by ComPsych Corparation on March 9, 2004, “About 77% of employees say they show up at work when ill.”

• 33% said they come to work sick because there work load does not permit them take a sick day.

• 26% said they feel the risk of taking off in the current work environment.

• 18% said they save there sick leave days for children related activities.

• 23% said they take there sick leave days because they treasure there health.

❑ Funeral Leave

▪ Employees may be approved for leave with pay in cases of death of the following: spouse, parent, parent-in-law, step-parent, child, step-child, grandchild, brother, sister, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, grandparent or person regarded as member of employee's immediate family. Some companies will even traveling expanse if funeral service is not local.

Utilization

▪ According to EBRI “In 1997, among full-time employees in medium and large private establishments, 81 percent were eligible to participate in paid funeral leave.”

❑ Leaves of Absence

Daniel

❑ Vacation

▪ Vacation time off with pay is a benefit that is usually available to eligible employees to provide opportunities for rest, relaxation, and personal pursuits. Although it is not required, employees are encouraged to use their available paid vacation.

▪ Leave Banks as an Innovation:

An employee who is a member of his or her agency's voluntary leave bank, may receive annual leave from the leave bank if the employee experiences a personal or family medical emergency and has exhausted his or her available paid leave.  The agency's leave bank board operates the leave bank and determines how much donated annual leave an employee may receive from the leave bank.  Any unused donated annual leave is returned to the leave bank.

(More information to follow)

❑ U.S. Military Leave

▪ A military leave of absence is granted to employees who are absent from work because of service in the U.S. uniformed services in accordance with the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). Advance notice of military service is usually required, unless military necessity prevents such notice or it is otherwise impossible or unreasonable. Vacation, sick leave, and holiday benefits will continue to accrue during a military leave of absence.

❑ Voting

▪ Providing employees time off to vote in state, national and local elections and to establish a procedure for reporting the time missed from work. The supervisor may specify the hours during which the employee may be absent to vote, and the time off may not exceed the specified hours.

Tri

❑ Short Term Disability

▪ A doctor's note usually is required for you to be paid for time off due to illness.

Disability due to a non-work-related illness or injury, or pregnancy. Maximum of 26

weeks (includes a one-week waiting period). Short-term disability benefits, by

definition, are intended to be temporary. Generally, the amount of disability benefits

you receive depends on how long you have worked for your employer. All regular, full-

time employees with an appointment of four months or longer. Benefits begin after a

one-week waiting period.

❑ Extended Illness Leave

▪ An employee who is absent from work due to an extended illness documented by

her/his physician may be granted extended illness leave if an amount of sick leave has

been used equal to that amount accumulated in the 12-month period prior to the illness.

Extended illness leave is limited to 20 days each fiscal year.

❑ Personal Time / Paid Birthday

▪ Beginning January 1, 2004, a floating holiday is available January 1 of the calendar year and can be taken any time within that calendar year, with

supervisory approval.

Possible Sources:

Employee Benefits Research Institute;

International Foundation – Education, benefits & Compensation;

Benefits News;

Benefits Link;

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