[Important Information for Employees] Take a Vacation! (but not immediately prior to separation)

[Administration & Finance]

SENT ON BEHALF OF HUMAN RESOURCE SERVICES

The last year has required substantial commitment and sacrifice from our
employees in order to meet the demanding and ever-changing needs of our
campus.  We did what needed to be done and we are now beginning to see some
normalcy on the horizon.  Since many people haven’t had the opportunity to
use very much accrued leave, now is the time to talk to your supervisor
about the best time to take a vacation!  For some departments, summer might
not be the best time to take a vacation, but talk to your supervisor to
make a plan.

Vacation time can assist in reducing employee stress and burnout, thereby
contributing to an employee's mental and physical well-being.  As such,
supervisors should be encouraging employees to use vacation time throughout
the year so their balances stay below the maximum accrual amount. Vacation
time is a valuable and necessary benefit which employees are entitled to
use. However, the right of the employee to use leave benefits must be
balanced with the need of the State to efficiently conduct business and
provide services.

At separation, employees are paid for up to 30 days of unused vacation
time.  It has come to our attention that supervisors are approving requests
for blocks of time immediately prior to their separation date.  This is
problematic for many reasons.

   - The department is unable to appoint a new employee to this position
   until the line is vacant.
      - For example, if an employee’s retirement date is August 1, but the
      supervisor has approved vacation time beginning July 15, a new person
      cannot be appointed until at least August 1.  This means that
there will be
      no one in that position for over two weeks (7/15-8/1).
   - It is an additional cost to the College.
      - If an employee is making $50,000/year at separation, a payout of 30
      days of vacation equals $5,747.  If a supervisor approves two weeks of
      vacation prior to separation, the College is paying an
additional $1,915 in
      salary unnecessarily.
   - The employee could be putting themselves in a difficult situation.
      - If an employee separates from the College to begin a new position
      and is technically employed and receiving wages from two organizations
      simultaneously, this could be problematic in regards to employee benefits
      (Workers Compensation, FMLA, PFL, etc.).

Therefore, we recommend that supervisors monitor the leave accruals of all
employees that report to them and encourage vacation time when those
accruals approach the 30-day mark.  Vacation time should be planned in
advance so the operational needs of the department can be balanced with the
needs of the employees to have a well-deserved break.  However, this
vacation time should not be approved immediately prior to the separation
date for the reasons listed above.

*This message is directed to professional and classified employees, not
teaching faculty*
Additional information regarding the appropriate use of leave accruals can
be found in the Employee’ and Supervisors’ Guide to Leave Benefits
<https://www.plattsburgh.edu/_documents/human-resources/sup-guide-classified-leave-benefits-2020.pdf>
.

*ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE*
Kehoe Building

101 Broad Street

Plattsburgh, NY 12901
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