A. Employee Benefits

11.1   Description. Earned Time is an alternative approach to the traditional manner of covering absences for vacation, sick leave, interim disability, bereavement leave, maternity leave, and short term military leave by combining all these plans into one program. It provides for the pay off at termination or retirement of all unused hours. Instead of dividing benefits into a specific number of hours for each benefit, Earned Time puts these hours together into a single benefit. Earned Time can be used for a variety of purposes, including a payment in cash at the time of voluntary termination. Earned Time is available as soon as it is "earned." The exact amount of Earned Time accrued each year will depend on the years of service to the University System of New Hampshire.

11.2   Eligibility. All non-exempt employees who are employed in a status position of at least 50% time.

11.3   Accrual Rate. Non-exempt staff members accumulate Earned Time based on the number of hours they work in their budgeted position and their number of years of status employment within the University System.

For the purpose of this policy, one year of employment will equal 12 consecutive months of employment from date of hire. Non-exempt staff members accumulate Earned Time based on pay status hours up to those hours budgeted, and worked for the position, and years of employment to the University System. There is no maximum accumulation of Earned Time.

For the purpose of this policy, one year of employment will equal 12 consecutive months of employment from date of hire in a status position. There is no maximum accumulation of Earned Time.

11.4   Usage. Earned Time may be used any time after being earned, including during the staff member's introductory period. It is expected that all planned absences will be mutually agreed upon by the staff member and his/her supervisor prior to the date of absence.

11.4.1   Increments. Earned Time may be used in units of one-quarter hour or more.

11.4.2   When Earned Time is used to cover work time lost due to illness or injury, medical documentation may be required at any time to substantiate an absence and/or to indicate the ability of the individual to return to work following an illness or injury (see USY V.C.12.2.1).

11.4.3    The use of Earned Time for extended illness or injury requires medical documentation and may indicate the need for use of the Family Medical Leave Act and the need to contact the System Human Resource Office for information concerning long-term disability (see USY V.A.15, 17).

11.4.4   Minimum Usage. Minimum usage is calculated on a fiscal year basis, July 1 through June 30. If the minimum usage requirement has not been met by June 30, remaining minimum usage hours will be subtracted from the staff member's Earned Time balance prior to its being carried forward into the new fiscal year.

11.4.5   New employees hired prior to January 1 will be required to satisfy the minimum usage requirement by June 30 of the end of their first partial year of employment. The minimum usage amount is calculated by counting required hours of minimum usage for each month of employment prior to June 30. For the purpose of calculating minimum usage, a month is counted as a full month of employment if the staff member's date of hire is on or before the 15th of the month, or if the staff member terminates on or after the 16th of the month. If the minimum usage requirement has not been met by June 30, remaining hours will be subtracted from the staff member's Earned Time balance prior to its being carried forward into the new fiscal year.

For example, a new staff member works a 40-hour week and is hired on October 2. He or she would need to use a minimum of 72 hours (9 days) by the following June 30. An employee hired July 5 would need to use a minimum of 96 hours (12 days) of Earned time. If the minimum usage requirement has not been met by June 30, remaining minimum usage hours will be subtracted from the staff member's Earned Time balance prior to it being carried forward into the new fiscal year. If the staff member hired on October 2 used 56 hours as of June 30, 16 hours would be subtracted from the carry-forward leave balance into the next fiscal year.

Years of Service	Minimum Usage Per Year 37.5 hours per week	Minimum Usage Per Year 40 hours per week	Minimum Usage Per Month 37.5 hours per week	Minimum Usage Per Month 40 hours per week
Date of Hire Up to 6 Years	90 hours	96 hours	7.5 hours	8 hours
6 Years Up to 12 Years	105 hours	112 hours	8.75 hours	9.33 hours
12 Years Up to 18 Years	120 hours	128 hours	10 hours	10.67 hours
18 Years and Over	135 hours	144 hours	11.25 hours	12 hours

11.4.5.1   Minimum usage requirement is prorated for staff working part-time.

11.4.6   Computation of minimum usage will occur as of June 30 of each year. Employees with less than six months of service are exempt from minimum usage requirements.

11.4.7   Hours converted into the Sick Leave Pool do not count toward minimum usage requirements.

11.5   Sick Leave Pool

11.5.1   Description. The Sick Leave Pool is intended to provide additional security by allowing staff members the opportunity to exchange Earned Time hours for Sick Pool hours at the equivalent rate of three Sick Pool hours for each hour of Earned Time. Each institution establishes a one-month period each year for "open enrollment" in the Sick Leave Pool. In addition, an employee who completes her/his initial introductory period will then be allowed a 30 day period to convert accrued Earned Time hours to Sick Pool Time.

11.5.2   Sick Pool time is used for extended periods of illness or injury and is not eligible for pay off at retirement or termination. Earned Time benefits accrue only during the initial three weeks (15 working days) of each separate use of the Sick Leave Pool.

11.5.3   Usage of Sick Pool days commences with the sixth consecutive day of absence from work due to illness or injury. A physician's report must accompany the request to use Sick Pool time. Periodic updates from the staff member's physician may be required.

11.5.3.1   The Human Resources Office may grant an exception to the policy that requires the usage of the equivalent of five (5) Earned Time days before being permitted access to the Sick Pool when either of the following circumstances occur: (1) when an employee returns to work after using Sick Pool time but is disabled again within 10 working days, or (2) when the disability is certified by a physician to be the same as for the original use or from the same cause as the original Sick Pool usage.

11.5.4  It is not necessary to use up all Earned Time days before using Sick Pool time. The staff member may continue to use Sick Pool time until her/his accrued Sick Pool time is exhausted or until s/he is no longer disabled.

11.5.5   The maximum Sick Pool time a staff member may accumulate is the equivalent of 150 days (1,125 hours for staff on a 37.5 hour work week and 1,200 hours for those on a 40-hour work week). A staff member may add to her/his Sick Pool time once each fiscal year according to the procedures adopted by each individual institution.

11.5.6   The use of the Sick Pool may indicate the need for Family Medical Leave. After three months of absence from work, the staff member should contact the System Human Resources Office for information concerning long-term disability (see USY V. A.15, 17).

11.5.7   Exhaustion of Earned Time/Sick Pool. A staff member on an approved absence who has used all Earned Time and Sick Pool time will be placed on leave without pay. If the illness/injury qualifies for FMLA leave, benefits will continue for the period of the family medical leave (see USY V.A.17). Other continuance of benefits during a leave without pay is set forth in USY V.A.21.

11.5.8   Position Status. When there is supporting medical documentation of a staff member's absence due to illness or injury, the University System will normally not terminate an individual from her/his position for six months from the first date of absence. For those individuals in their initial introductory period, the position will not be held unless the disability is due to pregnancy or covered by worker's compensation.

11.5.9   Return to Work. Following a period of absence due to illness/injury, medical documentation supporting the staff member's ability to perform the essential functions of the job is required prior to returning to work (see USY V.C.12.2.1).

11.5.10   Use of Sick Pool for family leave. Operating Staff with at least one year of benefits eligible service may use up to a maximum of 10 days of accrued Sick Pool time per fiscal year (75 hours for staff on a 37.5 hour work week and 80 hours for staff on a 40 hour work week pro rated for staff working part-time) for family leave. This leave may be used for medical appointments, illness, or medical needs of an immediate family member; prenatal or postnatal care; or for purposes of caring for a new baby or adoptive/foster child after placement and/or for crime victim leave (see USY V.A.19.2). Access to the Sick Pool for the use of family or crime victim leave does not require the prior use of five earned time days. (Use of one Earned Time day is required for extended bereavement leave. See USY V.A.11.5.10.2 below.)

11.5.10.1   Immediate family member is defined as spouse, parent, legally dependent child, or any person living in the staff member's household.

11.5.10.2   Extended bereavement leave. After supervisory notification and the use of one earned time day, a staff member may use family leave for extended bereavement leave in the event of the death of an immediate family member. Bereavement leave follows the same parameters described in USY V.A.18.

11.6   Record keeping. The institution is responsible for maintaining accurate records that verify the usage and current Earned Time/Sick Pool leave balances of each staff member.

11.7    Payoff at Termination, including Retirement. In no instance shall Earned Time be used to extend employment beyond the last day of work. Earned Time is paid off at the base rate of pay at time of termination. The value of longevity is not calculated in the payment of Earned Time. All unused Earned Time, less any earned time needed to meet the minimum usage requirement (see USY V.A.11.4.4), will be paid off at the time of termination or retirement if the termination occurs under normal circumstances and does not involve an act of gross misconduct such as theft or immoral conduct. Staff members laid off may leave Earned Time intact pending recall.

11.8   Conversion from Earned Time to Vacation/Personal & Sick Time (For conversion from Vacation/Personal Leave & Sick Time to Earned Time see USY V.A.12.8)

11.8.1   When a staff member transfers, is promoted, or reclassified into an exempt status position, Earned Time benefits are converted using the following procedure:

11.8.1.1   If the staff member has a total Earned Time accumulation of the equivalent of twenty (20) or fewer days (160 hours), the total amount accumulated would be converted to Vacation/Personal Leave and transferred with the staff member.

11.8.1.2  For any Earned Time credit in excess of the equivalent of 20 days, an option allowing the remaining accumulation to be either transferred to Sick Leave or Vacation/Personal Leave or paid to the staff member is provided. In the event a staff member is promoted or transferred into a position that does not accumulate vacation, i.e., an AY faculty position, the staff member will be paid accumulated Earned Time.

11.8.1.3   Sick Pool Hours may be converted to the traditional Sick Leave program at the rate of the equivalent of three (3) Sick Pool Days (24 hours) for one Sick Leave Day.

11.9     Record keeping. It is the responsibility of each department to maintain accurate records that verify the usage and current Earned Time and Sick Pool balances of each employee. That information will be sent to the campus Human Resources office on a regular basis.