Holidays
Generally, the college observes the following holidays each calendar year:
- New Year’s Day
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
- President’s Day
- Memorial Day
- Independence Day
- Labor Day
- Thanksgiving Day
- Christmas Day
On these holidays, campus is closed to students and staff. Campus will also be closed the day after Thanksgiving and either the day before or the day after Christmas. Staff will be required to use vacation leave or a floating holiday on these days. If one of these holidays falls on a Sunday, it will be observed on the following Monday. If the holiday falls on a Saturday, the preceding Friday will be the substitute holiday.
Additionally, the college recognizes Juneteenth, Columbus Day and Veteran’s Day as holidays, but campus is open. Full time staff, excluding faculty, who work a full day on these holidays will earn one full day of floating holiday for each holiday worked.
Holiday pay. Full-time, benefit eligible staff, excluding faculty, are eligible for holiday pay. Employees are eligible for holiday pay immediately upon employment. Part-time and temporary employees, including summer employees, are not eligible for holiday pay.
Holiday pay shall be at the employee’s regular straight-time rate, inclusive of shift premiums, times the regularly scheduled hours.
A holiday shall be considered as one full workday of hours worked for the purpose of computing overtime.
To receive holiday pay, an eligible employee must be at work or taking an approved absence on the workdays immediately preceding and immediately following the day on which the holiday is observed. An approved absence is a day of paid vacation or paid sick leave. If an employee is absent on one or both of these days because of an illness or injury, CEI may require verification of the reason for the absence before approving holiday pay.
Holiday pay is not granted if an employee is on special leave or if the employee works no hours/has no wages during the pay period in which the holiday falls.
Religious observances. Employees who need time off to observe religious practices or holidays not already scheduled by CEI should speak with their supervisor. Depending upon business needs, the employee may be able to work on a day that is normally observed as a holiday and then take time off for another religious day. CEI will seek to reasonably accommodate individuals’ religious observances.
Vacation
College of Eastern Idaho recognizes the importance of time off from work to relax, spend time with family, and enjoy leisure activities. CEI provides paid vacation time to all benefit eligible employees, excluding faculty. For new employees, vacation leave begins to accrue on day one (1) of employment; however, vacation leave may not be used until after successful completion of the 3 month probationary period. Employees who do not successfully complete their probationary period will not be eligible for vacation leave payout. Vacation leave accrues as described below:
|
Years of Service |
Yearly Vacation Accrual |
Per Pay Period Accrual (based on 8 hour work day) |
|
0-2 years |
15 days |
5 hours |
|
2 years-6 years |
18 days |
6 hours |
|
6 years-10 years |
21 days |
7 hours |
|
10 or more |
25 days |
8.33 hours |
Accrued vacation leave may be carried over from year to year. However, vacation leave will only accrue up to a maximum of 240 hours. When the maximum accrual is reached, no further leave will accrue until the employee uses vacation leave and falls below the maximum. Employees are encouraged to take at least five consecutive days of vacation, excluding weekends and holidays, each fiscal year.
Upon separation of employment, unused accrued vacation leave will be paid in a lump-sum payment at the employee’s current hourly rate of pay. Employees may not use vacation hours after their termination date, which will be the last day worked.
Employees who are at the maximum accrual of vacation leave may elect to donate leave to the leave bank in order to avoid a stop in their vacation accrual. Donated hours will be placed in a leave bank to be distributed on an as needed basis and at the discretion of human resources to employees requesting leave donations.
Vacation leave must be scheduled in advance and with the consent of the employee’s immediate supervisor. Efforts will be made to accommodate the employee’s vacation schedule, but first priority will be the orderly functioning of affected departments.
Vacation leave may not be used in lieu of sick leave unless an employee has first exhausted all accrued sick leave. Use of vacation leave for purposes outlined under the sick leave portion of this policy may result in disciplinary action.
Employees do not accrue vacation during periods of leave without pay, Workers Compensation, unpaid FMLA, or Short-Term disability leave. In other words, the above accrual rates assume the employee works his/her full workweek. Vacation and sick leave are considered time off with pay and will be added to hours worked to determine vacation accruals. Overtime and time worked in addition to regular budgeted workweek hours will not increase vacation accruals.
Sick Leave
Paid sick leave is available to all benefit eligible employees, including faculty. Eligible employees accrue sick leave at a rate of .04615 x hours worked or paid in the pay period.
Sick leave accrual begins on the first day of employment for new employees; leave may be used when accrued. Sick leave shall accrue without limit and while on approved leave with pay, approved vacation leave, approved military leave with pay, and on approved sick leave. Employees do not accrue sick leave during periods of leave without pay, or during Worker's Compensation, unpaid FMLA or Short-Term Disability leave. In other words, the above accrual rates assume the employee works his or her full workweek.
Sick leave shall be used only in cases of actual illness or disability, other medical and/or health reasons necessitating the employee’s absence from work, or in situations where the employee’s personal attendance is required or desired because of the serious illness, disability, death, and/or funeral within the employee’s immediate family. “Immediate family” is defined as an employee’s spouse, domestic partner, parents, stepparents, siblings, children, stepchildren, grandparent, father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, or grandchild.
Employees using sick leave should notify their immediate supervisor by phone call at least one hour before their scheduled shift start time, or as soon as practicable in the event of an emergency. If the immediate supervisor does not answer the phone call, the employee should first attempt to leave a voicemail before using other methods of communication such as texting or email.
Employees may be asked to provide documentation that sick leave was used for a permissible reason. Sick leave absence in excess of three days requires a physician’s note in order for the employee to return to work. Additionally, sick leave that is deemed chronic in nature will require submission of a physician’s note as requested by the supervisor and/or human resources. FMLA leave should be requested for sick related absences extending 10 days or more.
Negative sick leave balances are not permitted. Employees are not entitled to payment for unused sick leave upon separation of employment except in cases of retirement. Upon retirement, an employee may be able to arrange for a portion of unused sick leave to be used to pay premiums on certain employer-maintained insurance, including health, dental, vision, long-term care insurance, prescription or life insurance. The ability to use unused sick leave to pay premiums is controlled by statute (Idaho Code, sections 67-5333, 33-2109A and 33-1228); retiring with unused sick leave does not automatically mean you are eligible for insurance coverage itself, including retiree health coverage.
Use of sick leave for purposes other than outlined in this policy may result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination.
If an employee submits their resignation, they will be required to provide proper verification, including a doctor's note, to use any sick leave after the resignation notice has been given. Sick leave will only be granted upon receipt of this verification.
Family and Medical Leave
College of Eastern Idaho complies with the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which requires employers to grant unpaid leaves of absence to qualified workers for certain medical and family-related reasons. CEI also abides by any state and local leave laws. The more generous of the laws will apply to the employee if the employee is eligible under both federal and state laws.
The FMLA requires private employers with 50 or more employees and all public agencies, including state, local, and federal employers, and local education agencies (schools), to provide eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in any 12-month period for certain family and medical reasons. The 12-month period is a lookback period of the fiscal year (July 1st – June 30th) is measured when an employee uses any FMLA leave, except for leaves to care for a covered service member with a serious illness or injury. For military leaves, the leave entitlement is 26 weeks in a single 12-month period, measured forward from the date an employee first takes that type of leave.
The FMLA requires that the employee's group health benefits be maintained during the leave.
The FMLA defines eligible employees as employees who: (1) have worked for the Company for at least 12 months; (2) have worked for the Company for at least 1,250 hours in the previous 12 months; and (3) work at or report to a worksite which has 50 or more employees or is within 75 miles of Company worksites that taken together have a total of 50 or more employees.
Please note there are many requirements, qualifications, and exceptions under these laws and each employee’s situation is different. For more information on CEI’s policy concerning FMLA, please see Policy 203: Employee Benefits or contact the Human Resources department.
Military Leave
College of Eastern Idaho supports the military obligations of all employees and grants leaves for uniformed service in accordance with applicable federal and state laws. Any employee who needs time off for uniformed service should immediately notify the human resources department and his or her supervisor, who will provide details regarding the leave. If an employee is unable to provide notice before leaving for uniformed service, a family member should notify the supervisor as soon as possible.
An employee who qualifies for military leave under USERRA shall, upon his or her completion of service in the uniformed services, generally be reemployed by CEI provided that:
- the employee gave advance written or verbal notice to CEI of the service;
- the employee is still qualified to perform the duties required of the position;
- the employee reports to or submits an application for reemployment to CEI in accordance with the requirements of USERRA. Employees should consult with Human Resources for more specific information relating to the return to work requirements under USERRA;
- the employee was not separated from uniformed service with a disqualifying discharge or under other than honorable conditions;
- in general, the cumulative length of the absence and of all previous absences from CEI by reason of service in the uniformed services does not exceed five years; and
- CEI’s circumstances have not changed so that it would make it impossible or unreasonable to rehire the employee or cause an undue hardship on CEI should it rehire the employee.
Should an employee fail to return to work upon completion of his or her military service or make application for reemployment as required by USERRA, the employee will be considered to have voluntarily resigned from CEI.
Bereavement Leave
Employees may take up to three (3) days of paid bereavement leave by using any accrued sick hours, upon the death of a member of their immediate family. “Immediate family” is defined as an employee’s spouse, domestic partner, parents, stepparents, siblings, children, stepchildren, grandparent, father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, or grandchild.
CEI may require verification of the need for the leave. The employee’s supervisor and human resources will consider this time off on a case-by-case basis.
Payment for bereavement leave is computed at the regular hourly rate to a maximum number of hours equal to one regular shift. Time off granted in accordance with this policy shall not be credited as time worked for the purpose of computing overtime.
Jury Duty/Court Appearance
CEI supports employees in their civic duty to serve on a jury. Employees must present any summons to jury duty to their supervisor as soon as possible after receiving the notice to allow advance planning for an employee’s absence.
Leave will be granted and full pay provided to employees asked to testify either in a deposition or in court on behalf of CEI or otherwise subpoenaed to testify in a deposition or in court as a witness in matters specifically related to CEI operations. Further, leave will be granted to employees called to serve on jury duty and full pay will be provided minus the amount paid by the court.
Time Off for Voting
College of Eastern Idaho recognizes that voting is a right and privilege of being a citizen of the United States and encourages employees to exercise their right to vote. In almost all cases, employees will have sufficient time outside working hours to vote. If for any reason you think this will not be the case, contact your supervisor to discuss scheduling accommodations.
For additional information regarding holidays, leave, and vacation please see policy 203: Employee Benefits or contact the human resources office.