FOR ALL RESEARCH FOUNDATION EMPLOYEES PURPOSE

Transcription

1 POLICY 506-E TIME AND LEAVE BENEFITS FOR ALL RESEARCH FOUNDATION EMPLOYEES PURPOSE Describe time and leave benefits for Foundation employees consistent with funding agency policy and state and federal laws. Explain eligibility for time and leave benefits. Establish procedures for implementing this policy. APPLICABILITY This policy applies to all employees of the Research Foundation of The City University of New York unless otherwise provided for in collective bargaining agreements. It does not apply to students on stipends or on the CUNY College Work Study Program or to foreign nationals employed outside the United States, its territories, or Canada. Any deviations from this policy must be approved in writing by the President of the Research Foundation. DEFINITIONS The following definitions are essential for understanding applicability of time and leave benefits. Job Classification (as determined by the Personnel Action Form) Full-Time Employees Full-Time Instructional (non-credit bearing courses) and Non-Instructional - employees scheduled to work at least 70 hours per bi-weekly pay period. Part-Time Employees Part-Time Instructional and Non-Instructional - employees scheduled to work less than 70 hours per bi-weekly pay period, including Part-Time A (more than 38 but less than 70), and Part- Time B (38 or fewer hours per bi-weekly pay period). As used in this policy, "project director" includes the director or administrator of any university and college facility employing Research Foundation personnel as well as directors of individual projects. Project directors share the responsibility for advising employees of time and leave benefits, but must keep accurate records, and make sure all provisions of this policy are uniformly enforced. See Benefit Policy (507-F) for related information. POLICY

2 The normal work week for full-time employees consists of five seven-hour days, plus one hour each day for lunch, for a total of 35 working hours, calculated from 12:00 AM Monday through midnight the following Sunday. However, specific schedules are determined by the project director. The project director may excuse lateness, absence, or early departure due to weather, transportation, or other major public emergencies. In such situations, employees who report to work despite emergency conditions may be granted compensatory time off at the discretion of the project director. The Research Foundation's policies provide for annual leave, temporary disability leave (sick leave), leave under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), child care leave, military leave, military caregiver leave, miscellaneous leave, leave without pay, and holidays under the Operating Guidelines. At the discretion of the project director, and in consideration of local customs, employees in foreign locations may be granted leave benefits in accordance with the Operating Guidelines. Credit for leave of any type, unscheduled holidays, and compensatory time earned while employed on one project or college earnings account may not be carried over to another project (i.e., different account number). The continuation of a project under the same project director with funding from the same source does not constitute a termination. Therefore, when permitted by the funding agency, unused annual leave, not to exceed 35 days, can be carried over. For leave without pay, the employee should be advised by the project director of Policy No F (Benefit Programs for all Research Foundation Employees), especially since benefits may be terminated. A summary of time and leave benefits follow: OPERATING GUIDELINES Effective July 1, 2002, the following time and leave eligibility rules and accrual rates apply to all full-time and part-time Research Foundation employees, unless otherwise provided for in an applicable collective bargaining agreement. 1. Job Classification Full and Part Time Instructional** and Non-Instructional Employees Annual and Sick Leave Eligibility Rules and Accrual Rates* Years of Service Annual Leave Accrual Rates days/year hrs/hr worked Sick Leave Accrual Rates days/year hrs/hr worked 0-3yrs yrs yrs

3 The above accrual rates are based on a 35-hour workweek and are to be pro-rated for part-timers. In order to determine the amount of leave accrued by a part-time employee, multiply the number of hours worked by the appropriate factor (based on years of service). For example, a part-time employee with one year of service who works 20 hours per week (40 hours per pay period) will accrue 2.31 hours of annual leave per pay period (40 hours x hours/hour worked = 2.31 hours). Over 26 pay periods, that part-time employee will accrue 60 hours of annual leave. * A lapse in employment by the Research Foundation lasting more than four (4) months constitutes a break in service for purposes of leave accrual rates. ** Part-Time Instructional employees accrue no annual leave. Full and part-time employees may be granted annual leave only after three months of continuous service. When an individual is transferred from one Research Foundation account to another without interruption, the three-month waiting period will be waived if already satisfied. A. Annual Leave Annual Leave is to be used for vacation, personal business, family illness or other family emergencies, religious holidays, days of special observance, etc. It is earned according to the following schedule of time worked. 1. No annual leave accumulates while an employee is on leave without pay or after the last day actually worked before resignation, retirement or termination. 2. Scheduling Annual Leave - all annual leave must be approved in advance by the project director. With a written request to the project director by a full-time employee, annual leave may be advanced for special or emergency situations, including religious observances occurring before completion of three months service. Effective immediately, the Project Director shall meet with the employee within 30 days of the employee's appointment or re-appointment start date to schedule the employee's annual leave during the appointment or re-appointment period. The use and scheduling of all annual leave must be approved in advance in writing by the employee's Project Director. Employees must be scheduled to take all accrued annual leave before their appointment end date unless other arrangements are made for its use or payment. Where the Project Director requires that the employee work a schedule which makes use of all or part of the employee's annual leave not feasible, the Project Director shall permit the employee to carry over to the next calendar year no more than a total of 245 hours of annual leave and/or arrange for the employee to be paid for such unused annual leave where grant funds are available, and where sponsor regulations permit. All carryover or payment arrangements must be put in writing before the end of the appointment period. Any such

4 agreed-upon payments must be made, at the latest, within 30 days after the employee's break-in-service of more than 120 days. If an employee takes all unused leave the month before the termination date, he/she will earn annual leave during that month. However, under no circumstances does an employee earn annual leave after termination. For example, a person with 10 days of accumulated leave as of June 1, who is to terminate June 30, will be advanced the two days additional leave he/she will be accumulating during that last month provided that he/she remains on the payroll until June 30. This would bring to 12 the total number of days to be taken as leave in the month of June. LEAVE NOT TAKEN MAY BE FORFEITED IF ARRANGEMENTS HAVE NOT BEEN MADE FOR PAYMENT. 3. Maximum Accrual of Leave - No more than 35 days of annual leave may be carried over from one calendar year to the next. The payout of accrued and unused annual leave at termination is subject to the availability of funding. 4. Charging Time Against Annual Leave: o The minimum unit charged against annual leave is one hour, with additional leave charged in multiples of one-quarter hour. o Authorized holidays during a full-time employee's authorized annual leave will o not be charged against annual leave. If a physician's or hospital certificate supports a report of illness during an employee's authorized annual leave, those days of illness may be converted to temporary disability leave. 5. Advancement of Annual Leave - Where the Research Foundation has advanced payment for annual leave, all arrangements, including arrangements for reimbursement if the individual's employment terminates before accruing the leave advanced, must be in writing. B. Sick Leave Sick Leave shall be used for the employee's personal illness, medical diagnosis or treatment, disability related to pregnancy, miscarriage, abortion, childbirth, etc. It is not to be used for illness of another family member. The minimum unit which may be charged against Sick Leave is one hour, and then in multiples of one-quarter hour. If an employee is absent from work for more than five consecutive working days because of illness or injury, he or she should call his/her Client Services Representative for information on filing for New York State disability payments. This should be done whether the individual is on leave with pay or on leave without pay. A certification from a health practitioner must be presented by an employee after an absence of five consecutive days for disability. The employee should forward the certificate to the Foundation's Office of Client Services. A certification from a health practitioner may be required for an absence of one or more days in cases of documented excessive absenteeism. In

5 such instances, the project director should consult with the Office of Employment Policy and Practice. For FMLA qualifying absences for medical reasons, employees' should consult the Foundation's FMLA procedure. A mandatory leave of absence shall not be required unless individual medical or job characteristics so necessitate. Where a personal illness results in absence from work beyond the sick leave allowance, an employee may take time from earned annual leave. Advancement of Sick Leave - with written request of a full-time employee, the project director may advance sick leave up to an amount proportionate to the expected length of employment. For example, if full-time employment of six months is anticipated, an advance of up to 10 days of sick leave may be requested in writing by the employee. If at termination, the employee has not earned sufficient sick leave to cover this advance, the project director will charge the remaining balance against unused annual leave or against the employee's final paycheck. Maximum Accrual of Sick Leave - Sick Leave may be accumulated up to 160 work days. One-Time Cash Payment on Retirement (Option B) - Employees eligible for the Research Foundation Retirement Benefit have the option of receiving a one-time cash payment equal to one-half of their accumulated, unused sick leave balance as of the last day actually worked. The maximum payment permitted is six days for each 12 full months of continuous service, not to exceed a maximum payment of 80 days. No such payment will be made when an employee is terminated or resigns. (See Retirement Policy No. 508-F for options and details.) C. Leave under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ELIGIBILITY: An Employee must 1) have worked for the Foundation for a total of at least 12 months, and 2) have worked at least 1,250 hours over the previous 12 months. Eligible employees may take up to 12 work weeks of leave, paid or unpaid, during any 12-month period. The 12-month period is a rolling period measured backward from the date an employee uses any FMLA leave. The leave can be used for one or more of the following reasons: birth or placement of a child for adoption or foster care (all such leave must conclude within 12 months of the birth or placement); to care for a spouse, child or parent with a serious health condition; to take medical leave when the employee is unable to work due to a serious health condition and absence is expected to continue or has extended beyond three (3) calendar days. For additional information, go to FMLA web page. D. Extended Temporary Disability Leave (with or without pay) Granting of Leave - Extended Temporary Disability Leave is permitted for illnesses that necessitate a lengthy absence from work. It is granted for up to three months from the first day of disability to any full-time employee with 12 months of uninterrupted service (14 months for employees on a 10-month academic schedule). A certificate from a health practitioner must be

6 presented to the project director, and a claim for New York State Disability should be filed through the Foundation's Office of Client Services. If the employee is unable to return to work within the three-month period, termination will be effected. However, if the disability continues beyond this period and proper medical documentation is presented to the project director and Research Foundation Client Services Representative, up to an additional three months leave may be granted. In no case will Extended Temporary Disability Leave exceed the project or Personnel Action Form expected termination date of the employee. In these instances termination will be effected. Leave With or Without Pay - Extended Temporary Disability Leave may be with or without pay, depending on the amount of available accrued leave on the current project. When all available accrued leave is exhausted, the employee will be on leave without pay for the rest of the approved Extended Temporary Disability Leave period. Time and Leave Benefits - When an employee uses available accrued leave earned on a current project, he or she continues to accrue leave benefits (annual leave, sick leave and holidays). After an employee has exhausted all available leave earned on the project, no additional leave benefits accrue during the remaining time spent on Extended Temporary Disability Leave; nor does this time count toward salary benefits. Insurance Coverage During an Authorized Extended Temporary Disability Leave (with or without pay) -The Research Foundation will continue insurance coverage for up to the first three months of an approved Extended Temporary Disability Leave, with or without pay. Should the disability continue and the leave be extended beyond three months, benefits will be provided as follows: If any of the Leave is with pay as a result of the use of accrued sick leave, annual leave or holidays, the Foundation will continue benefits during the paid leave. If any of the Leave is without pay, benefits will be continued at the rate of one month of coverage for each two years of employment with the Foundation. E. Child Care Leave Child Care Leave (which may include sick leave for the period of a certified disability and/or annual leave) is granted for a period of up to six months from an infant's date of birth. It may not extend beyond the project or Personnel Action Form expected termination date. To be granted this leave, the employee (male or female) must have legal responsibility for the care and/or support of the child, have been employed full-time by the Foundation for at least one year before the requested leave, and apply in writing to the project director for such leave. Documentation of legal responsibility may be required. During a period of approved Child Care Leave without pay, fringe benefits may be retained, not to extend the leave period, if employee pays the Foundation for costs of continued coverage. Employee should contact their Client Services Representative to arrange payment for benefits. (See Benefits Policy 507-F for details.)

7 During such period where there is leave without pay, annual and sick leave and holidays will not accrue, nor will more than 30 days in this status be credited toward salary increases. F. Military Leave In accordance with the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994, employees may take military leave without pay provided such duty does not go beyond the project or Personnel Action Form expected termination date. Employees on military leave may, but are not required to, substitute their accrued paid leave time for unpaid leave. The Foundation will continue benefits for a period up to 30 days during such leave, beyond which employees may elect to continue coverage at their own expense, the premium to be calculated in the same manner as that required by COBRA, for up to 24 months. Upon reinstatement, a returning employee is entitled to reinstate the health coverage that he or she had prior to the military leave. During the time that an employee is on leave for qualified military service, pension contributions, benefits and service credit will be provided in accordance with Section 414(u) of the Internal Revenue Code. A copy of military orders must be presented to the project director and sent to the Research Foundation Office of Client Services before the scheduled date of duty. A returning employee whose military service was for 30 days or less must return to work on the next regularly scheduled workday. A returning employee whose military service was for more than 30 days must submit an application for reemployment within 14 days after the completion of their service and provide documentation within two weeks of his/her return showing that (i) the notice of or application for reemployment was timely; and (ii) he or she received a certificate of completion of military service under honorable conditions. A returning employee generally has a right to return to the same position he or she held prior to the leave or to a position with like status and pay that the employee is qualified to perform, provided that the appointment period from which the employee took military leave has not ended. G. Military Caregiver Leave/Qualifying Exigency Leave In accordance with the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (NDAA), an eligible employee who is the spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin (nearest blood relative) of a covered servicemember who is recovering from a serious illness or injury sustained in the line of duty on active duty is entitled to up to 26 weeks of leave in a single 12-month rolling period to care for the servicemember. This military caregiver leave is available during a single 12-month rolling period during which an eligible employee is entitled to a combined total of 26 weeks of all types of FMLA leave. Effective October 28, 2009, FMLA leave for qualifying exigencies is available to employees whose spouse, child or parent is in the Reserves or National Guard and who is ordered to active duty as part of a contingency operation and to members of the regular Armed Forces on active

8 duty and who is deployed overseas. Qualifying exigencies include, but are not limited to, time to prepare for short notice deployment, arranging for child care, updating financial or legal arrangements, attending counseling, time for rest and recuperation, and post-deployment activities. H. Miscellaneous Leave with Pay Miscellaneous leave with pay shall be granted full-time and part-time exempt employees for the purposes listed below. The project director may request evidence of the need for such leave. Miscellaneous Leave Jury Duty (a copy of the jury notice must be shown to the project director and sent to the Research Foundation Office of Client Services before the date of jury duty. Compensation received for jury duty, except for reasonable travel expenses, must be turned over to the project director to be sent to the Research Foundation. Employees on jury duty during annual leave or on holidays shall not be required to remit any compensation to the Foundation.) Part-time employees may be permitted, at the discretion of the principal investigator and consistent with the needs and resources of the project, to make up on another day those lost work hours spent serving on jury duty. In no event, however, will the first forty dollars ($40) of such part-time employee's wages be withheld during the first three days of jury service. Court Attendance Under Subpoena (Provided employee does not have an interest in the case.) A copy of the subpoena must be shown to the project director and sent to the Foundation's Office of Client Services. Death in Immediate Family (Spouse, domestic partner, parent, child, brother, sister, father-in-law, mother-in-law, relative residing in household.) Grandparent: Health Department Quarantine - A copy of the Department of Health notice must be sent to the project director to be forwarded to the Foundation's Office of Client Services. Authorized Length of Absence Up to two weeks, unless the additional service is nonvoluntary. Length of participation in proceedings. Four days. One day. Length of quarantine. I. General Leave Without Pay This leave may be granted at the discretion of the project director, up to three months, for any reasons not covered under existing leave benefits. Such leave may not go beyond the completion of a grant or contract, or the expected termination date of employment. Annual and Temporary Disability Leave and holiday benefits will not accrue while an employee is on leave without pay,

9 nor will such leave of more than 30 days be credited toward salary increases. Insurance coverage by the Foundation will normally be cancelled, unless it is continued at the employee's expense by arrangement with the Department of Client Services. (See Policy No 507-F, Benefits Program.) The project director should notify their Client Services Representative, in writing, before the start of a project employee's leave without pay, stating the reason for such leave. This information is essential to give proper coverage to eligible employees and to prevent unnecessary depletion of benefit funds by paying insurance premiums for ineligible employees. J. Holidays Holidays are scheduled annually for the fiscal year. There are usually 17 holidays each year, including unscheduled holidays (see below). If an employee is on leave without pay both the day before and the day after a holiday, he or she is not entitled to receive pay for any of those days including the holiday. Terminating employees are not paid for any holiday that occurs after the last day actually worked. Eligibility for paid holidays is determined by classification based on work scheduled as follows: Full-Time All Part- Time Scheduled and unscheduled holidays listed on Research Foundation holiday schedule issued annually. No holiday benefits. Unscheduled Holidays - Full-time employees earn at least two unscheduled holidays each fiscal year (July 1st - June 30th), according to the annual holiday schedule issued by the Research Foundation each fiscal year. These days can be used for vacation, personal or family business, religious or other special observance, etc. To be eligible, an individual must have been employed full-time on the same Research Foundation account for three (3) consecutive months prior to the first day of the month of the calendar quarter. If an individual is transferred from one Research Foundation account to another without a 30-day break in service, an additional three-month waiting-period is not required. Unscheduled holidays are to be authorized in advance by the employee's supervisor and must be taken during the fiscal year in which they were earned and before the date of termination or else forfeited. Alternate Scheduled Holidays - If an employee works on a Research Foundation scheduled holiday because the project director required his/her services, the employee is entitled to both regular pay for the time worked and a substitute day off which may be taken at any time during employment under that Research Foundation Account as arranged with the project director. K. Overtime & Compensatory Time DEFINITIONS Exempt Employee: Exempt employees are salaried employees whose position and salary place them outside the scope of the FLSA (i.e., exempt from overtime provisions). [Exception: Employees in Exempt Instructor or Teacher titles may be paid on a non-salaried basis (hourly)

10 and still remain classified as Exempt.] Exempt employees are paid the same predetermined salary each week AND earn a weekly salary that is not less than the legally mandated minimum weekly salary, whether full time or part time. [Currently, the minimum weekly salary is $ per week.] Non-Exempt Employee: Non-Exempt employees are employees whose position and salary place them within the coverage of the FLSA (i.e., eligible for overtime). Note: All employees who are paid an hourly wage or earn less than the legally mandated minimum weekly salary for Exempt employees, whether full time or part time, regardless of position, will be classified as Non- Exempt. Position: A position is classified as Exempt or Non-Exempt by matching the actual work performed by the employee with the job descriptions established by the Research Foundation. The Research Foundation's job descriptions indicate whether the position is either Exempt or Non-Exempt. Work Week: The work week begins at 12:00 a.m. on Monday morning and ends at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday night. Although employees are normally scheduled to work a 35 hour work week (not including unpaid time for a meal period of not less than thirty (30) minutes each working day in which an employee works six (6) consecutive hours or more), overtime payments do not commence until an employee exceeds 40 hours actually worked in a work week. Non-Exempt employees will receive their straight time rate of pay for any hours worked between 35 and 40 hours in a work week. Overtime: Non-Exempt employees are eligible to receive overtime pay at a rate of one and onehalf times their regular pay for time worked in excess of 40 hours per week. Compensatory Time for Non-Exempt Employees: In special circumstances, there may be a need for a Non-Exempt employee to work hours beyond the employee's regular schedule. In that event, in lieu of being paid for such hours the employee may be granted compensatory time off ("comp time"). Comp time must be scheduled, with prior approval, within two (2) weeks of when the extra hours were worked. Compensatory Time for Exempt Employees: Exempt employees do not receive overtime or compensatory time off for working additional time on regularly scheduled work days. However, should they work on Saturdays, Sundays, Holidays or other days when an office is normally closed, they may be granted comp time equal to the time worked. Comp time is to be taken with the approval of the Project Director before their appointment end date. OPERATING GUIDELINES Upon entering employee hiring data into the PAF system, the Project Director selects the Research Foundation position that most closely represents the work the employee is actually performing, as described in the most applicable job description. The classification of either Exempt or Non-Exempt is designated in each job description. Both the position and the weekly salary level are considered to determine the overtime pay practices applicable to each employee.

11 Guidelines that pertain to Non-Exempt Employees The Project Director must compensate the employee in cash at the employee's straight time rate of pay for work up to forty (40) hours in a week. For work over forty (40) hours in any given week, cash payment must be made at time and onehalf (1.5) the employee's straight time rate of pay. Note: the 40 hours must be time actually worked, not merely hours paid (which might include annual leave, temporary disability leave, compensatory time or holidays). For non-exempt employees who have multiple appointments where the combined hours total more than 40 hours in one week, overtime will be paid and charged to the grant and respective encumbrance(s) that contributed to and, therefore, caused the total hours worked to exceed 40 hours in one (1) week. The allocation of the overtime premium will be assigned to each contributing grant based on the proportion of the grant's actual hours submitted for the week. Guidelines that pertain to Exempt Employees Exempt employees do not receive overtime or compensatory time off for working additional time on regularly scheduled work days. However, should they work on Saturdays, Sundays, Holidays or other days when an office is normally closed, they may be granted comp time equal to the time worked. Comp time is to be taken within two (2) weeks of when it is earned with the approval of the Project Director. With a few exceptions, Exempt employees must be paid their regular salary for a particular day as long as they work any amount of time on that day. [Contact your Client Services Representative for more information.] On those partial days worked, the hours not worked should be charged in accordance with the time and leave policies of the Research Foundation (i.e., charges should be made to accrued leave). Please note that deductions (e.g., leave without pay) may not be made from an Exempt employee's salary for a partial day of absence. Accordingly, if there is no available accrued leave, an Exempt employee must be paid in full for the day. Such hours will be assigned by the time and leave system as "FLSA" hours. However, leave accruals are not earned on such FLSA hours. For absences of one or more FULL DAYS for personal or medical reasons, once all sick and annual leave has been exhausted, the Research Foundation has the right to make full day salary deductions (e.g., leave without pay). The Research Foundation reserves the right to require Exempt employees to take full days off (instead of partial days). Time sheets for Exempt employees will be used to record "time and effort" for Grants & Contracts reporting purposes and to manage accruals ONLY. Guidelines that pertain to Exempt and Non-Exempt Employees

12 All overtime worked must be pre-approved by the Project Director. Employees who work unauthorized overtime may be subject to discipline. However, Non-Exempt employees who do work overtime, whether authorized or not, must be compensated in accordance with this policy. Leave accruals are earned on the hours worked up to and including seventy (70) hours per pay period. Leave accruals are not earned on hours worked over 70 hours in a pay period. Leave accruals are not earned on "FLSA" hours. All hours worked by Exempt and Non-Exempt employees should be recorded on the timesheet in accordance with the provisions of this policy and the processes of the Foundation's electronic timekeeping systems. L. Time and Leave Records The project director is responsible for accurately recording days worked, and annual leave, sick leave and other leave used by employees in the e-timesheet system. The cumulative balances for the various types of leave should be checked after each pay period. The e-timesheet system contains the official records that are the basis for certifying time worked and leave taken by an employee on a project. M. Termination Termination includes a change from one Research Foundation account to another even if there is no break in employment, as well as resignation, retirement, termination of grant/contract, scheduled termination of employment, or involuntary termination. At the end of each project or of an individual's employment on that project (account), the project director will review each employee's Time and Leave balances in the e-timesheet system with the employee, and submit a Personnel Action Form on which the project director indicates any annual leave to be carried over to a continuing grant/contract or college earnings account and the amount of such leave up to 35 days, or whether the employee's unused annual leave is to be paid for and charged against the project account number under which it was earned. It is the employee's responsibility to make sure that he/she receives full credit for unused annual and sick leave. IMPLEMENTATION The provisions of this policy were updated on June 1, THE BENEFITS OR POLICIES STATED HEREIN ARE NOT INTENDED TO BE CONTRACTUAL IN NATURE. THEY DO NOT CONFER ANY RIGHT OR PRIVILEGE, BUT ARE INFORMATIONAL ONLY. THE RF RETAINS THE ABSOLUTE RIGHT TO AMEND OR TERMINATE ANY BENEFIT OR POLICY AT ANY TIME.