Classified & Operational Leave

Annual Leave

Provided to employees for vacation and other personal purposes. Leave is earned for each semi-monthly pay period and posted around the 10th and 25th of the month following payroll completion. The accrual rate is dependent on the length of state service. Leave is pro-rated for employees working less than 40 hours per week.

Effective January 10, 2023, length of state service includes prior military, National Guard, or Reserves. To request inclusion of military service, veteran employees should update their veteran status in Banner Self-Service (my.wm.edu) and [[AskHR,submit Form DD-214 to AskHR]]. Please redact your Social Security number from the form prior to sending.

Using Annual Leave

Annual leave may be used however you wish, including vacations and other personal purposes, or to cover other kinds of leave for which you have zero balance. Future leave not yet accrued may not be "borrowed" for present use. No annual leave accruals will be given for any pay period during which an employee is on leave without pay.

Accruals At the End of the Leave Year

During the last pay period of the leave year (December 25 - January 9), leave taken is removed from the leave balance and the carryover limits are applied. After that, the leave accrual for the pay period is credited and available for use on the first day of the new leave year. This means that an employee's starting leave balance may exceed the previous year's carryover limit.

Virginia Sickness and Disability Leave (VSDP)

This program provides employees supplemental or replacement income during periods of partial or total disability.

Who Is Covered

Effective January 10, 2003, all active employees were converted to VSDP unless they opted out. (Employees hired after January 1, 1999, were automatically enrolled in this program. Active employees were given the option to opt into this program until April 24, 1999.)

See the VSDP Handbook for details.

Effective Coverage Dates

The effective coverage date is the first day of employment and includes sick leave, family and personal leave, short-term and long-term disability coverage for work-related illnesses or injuries and long-term care benefits.

If you were hired or rehired effective July 1, 2009, you must complete one year of continuous employment before becoming eligible for short-term and long-term disability coverage for non-work related illnesses or injuries. 

New Employee Sick and Family/Personal Leave

This leave does not carry over. The following set hours will be initially credited on your first day of employment.

Full-Time or Quasi Full-Time:

Part-Time:

Annual Renewal of Sick and Family/Personal Leave

This leave does not carry over. VSDP leave is credited as follows on January 10 each year.

Full-Time or Quasi Full-Time:

Part-Time:

When to Use Sick Leave vs. Family and Personal Leave

Sick leave may be used if you are sick or injured, or for medical appointments. Your supervisor may request the proof of any illness requiring the use of sick leave. Family and personal leave can be used for any reason, such as but not limited to vacation, personal sickness, or sickness or death of a family member.

When to Use Disability Leave

A VSDP eligible employee may qualify for short term disability benefits if they experience an illness, surgery or accidental injury that requires the employee to be absent from work more than seven (7) calendar days.

Note: Employees with VSDP must call Alight at 877-928-7021, the state disability administrator to initiate disability benefits as well as University Human Resources to complete forms. To schedule an appointment with University Human Resources regarding your absence, please contact AskHR@wm.edu.

Parental Leave

Provided to employees who are enrolled in VSDP or in the Traditional Sick Leave Program (applicable to some classified employees only) upon the birth or placement of a child to allow time for bonding. Up to 320 leave hours may be available for eligible full-time employees to use within 6 months of the birth or placement. Detailed information about the program is available on the parental leave frequently asked questions page.

Compensatory Leave

Provided to employees as compensation for having worked additional hours in a work week in which leave has been taken, on a holiday, or on an official closing day. Accrued compensatory leave lapses after 12 months from the date earned.

Overtime Leave

Eligible employees may elect to earn overtime leave instead of overtime compensation for having worked more than 40 hours in any work week.

The Federal Fair Labor Standards Act allows state universities to offer overtime leave in lieu of overtime pay for non-exempt employees working over 40 hours in a work week.

If an employee has a current overtime leave balance, they will retain that leave and be able to continue using it until the leave is exhausted. If an employee leaves employment and has an overtime leave balance, they are eligible to receive a payout of that leave.

Administrative Leave (Civil and Work-Related Leave)

Provided to employees for these purposes:

• as required by a summons to jury duty
• to appear as a crime victim or as a witness in a court proceeding or deposition as compelled by a subpoena or summons
• to accompany the employee’s minor child when the child is legally required to appear in court
• to serve as an officer of election
• to serve as a member of a state council or board
• to attend their own naturalization ceremony
• to interview for other state positions
• to participate in resolution of work-related conflicts or of complaints of employment discrimination
• to attend work-related administrative hearings as a party or witness
• to attend one initial session with the Employee Assistance Program per qualifying incident. Employees who are not eligible for the EAP because they have waived state health coverage may
  consult the third-party administrator to obtain a referral to other behavioral health resources

Administrative leave will not be granted for use by an employee:

• who is a defendant in a criminal matter, where criminal matter means either an alleged misdemeanor or felony
• who has received a summons to appear in traffic court (except as a witness)
• who is a party to a civil case, either as a plaintiff or defendant, or who has any personal or familial interest in the proceedings

Documentation (summons, subpoena, letter from State agency verifying interview, approval from the Chief Human Resources Officer for resolution of work-related problems, or any other documentation verifying compliance with this leave policy) must be provided to your supervisor in order for him or her to verify that the absence qualifies for the use of administrative leave.

To use administrative leave for jury duty, an employee must surrender the jury duty pay to his or her supervisor, who will then submit it to the Bursar’s Office. If an employee chooses to keep the jury duty pay, then he or she must use another type of leave for their absence from work. If an employee serves on a Virginia Circuit Court jury, then he or she may keep the jury duty pay and use administrative leave for the absence from work.

Community Service Leave (School Assistance and Volunteer Service Leave)

Provides employees 16 hours of paid leave for services within their communities through school assistance or as a volunteer member of a community service organization.

For school assistance, employees may:

• meet with a teacher or administrator of a public or private preschool, elementary school, middle school, or high school concerning their children, step-children, or children for whom the employee has legal custody
• attend a school function in which such children are participating
• alternatively, employees may perform school-approved volunteer work to assist any public preschool, elementary, middle, or high school

For homeschooling, employees may be granted paid leave under this policy to assist in the education of their child (or step-child or child for whom the employee has legal custody) in state-approved home education curricula, including meetings with local school board officials and required field trips.

For volunteer service, employees may be granted paid leave under this policy to provide voluntary service as part of an organized service project sponsored by a community, national or other service organization. Some examples include:

• deliver meals to the elderly or to needy community citizens through an organization such as Meals on Wheels
• attend non-profit boards and committee meetings (Scouts, Big Brother/Big Sister, Red Cross, etc.)
• participate in activities directly related to non-profit fundraising (e.g., set up/take down, registration, answering phones, recruiting/organizing/training volunteers)
• do yard work, painting, cleaning, maintenance through a non-profit organization
• volunteer for Scouts, Big Brother/Big Sister, or other non-profit organization

Employees with reduced appointment receive hours proportionate to the percentage of hours they work in a full 40-hour workweek.

• Example: Employees working 32 hours per week are entitled to 12.8 hours (32 / 40 = 80% appointment * 16 hours) of community service leave.

Leave to Donate Bone Marrow or Organs

Provides eligible employees with an additional 30 workdays of paid leave to donate bone marrow or organs. Medical certification is required for approval.

Military Leave

Provides employees with paid leave (15 workdays) or unpaid leave for active or reserve duty in the armed forces of the United States, or the Commonwealth's militia (National Guard, Naval Militia and Virginia State Defense Force).

Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) (pdf) is a law entitling eligible employees to take unpaid leave in certain situations where the employee, or a member of the employee’s immediate family, suffers a qualifying injury or illness. An eligible employee is an employee who has been employed for at least one year, and who has worked 1,250 hours within the previous 12-month period. The required 1,250 hours do not have to be worked during consecutive months. The hours of work requirement applies to the 12 months immediately preceding the start of leave date.

Eligible employees are entitled to 12 weeks of unpaid FMLA leave, which is equivalent to 480 work hours, or 60 workdays.

Holiday Leave

Employees receive 13 paid holidays per year. For the most current information, please visit the Provost's Faculty & Staff Holiday Schedule.

• New Year's Day - January 1
• Martin Luther King, Jr. Day - Third Monday in January
• George Washington Day - Third Monday in February *
• Memorial Day - Last Monday in May
• Juneteenth - June 20
• Independence Day - July 4
• Labor Day - First Monday in September
• Indigenous Peoples' Day/Columbus Day - Second Monday in October *
• Election Day - Tuesday following the 1st Monday in November
• Veteran's Day - November 11 *
• Thanksgiving Day - Fourth Thursday in November
• Day after Thanksgiving
• Christmas Day - December 25

* The university shifts these state holidays to the winter break (Christmas through New Year's) to enable the university to close during that period. Essential personnel may be required to work during these times. This leave is non-cumulative and no severance payments are made with respect to unused holiday leave.