Vacation
Our vacation plan is designed to provide employees with the opportunity to rest and get away from the everyday routine. For that reason, the College believes it is important to take vacation when it is earned, and encourages its employees to do so. All benefit eligible employees are granted vacation time after their introductory period; however, their time will begin accruing from their date of hire. Vacation leave may not be used until it has been accrued. For planning purposes, vacation leave earned during the prior accrual year (July 1 - June 30) that exceeds the carry over limit and is not used on or before August 31st will expire on September 1st each year. Vacation pay will not be counted as "time worked" for purposes of calculating overtime pay.
Vacation Leave is accrued beginning with the first pay period of employment. Vacation can not be used until after a new employee has completed their introductory period (90 days of employment). This period may be extended based on discretion of supervisor.
Vacation requests must be approved by supervisors two weeks in advance of the proposed vacation. Approval for all vacation requests is at the discretion of supervisors, based on the business needs of the College. To satisfy employee preferences, as well as to meet the staffing needs of our College, employees should submit vacation requests well in advance. Requests will be granted on a seniority basis, subject to factors such as staffing requirements, work flow and business needs.
If an employee leaves the College, they will be paid for any unused earned vacation, computed at the rate of pay earned upon separation. If a holiday falls within an approved vacation period, it will not count against the vacation allotment. Employees are not eligible to use vacation and/or personal leave during the last two weeks of employment after an employee has given a notice of resignation. Use of sick leave during this period may require supporting medical documentation.
Full-Time Exempt Employees
Vacation leave is accrued a on a per pay period basis for a total of 20 days per year.
Full-Time Non-Exempt Employees
Non-exempt employees will earn vacation leave based on the number of years of continuous employment with the College. Accruals will be calculated in our electronic timekeeping system on an hourly basis equivalent to the employee's standard work week.
(i.e Employee's normal workweek is 5 days at 7 hours per day would receive 140 hours of vacation)
Vacation leave accrual schedule for non-exempt employees is provided as follows:
| Years of Full Time Service | Number of Weeks Per Year | Carry Over Limit |
| up to 1 year | 2 weeks | 1 week |
| > 1 year but < 2 years | 3 weeks | 2 weeks |
| > 2 years | 4 weeks | 2 weeks |
Part-Time employees: Part-time and temporary employees are not eligible for vacation leave.
Sick Leave
Sick leave is accrued on a per pay period basis up to two weeks per fiscal year beginning from your date of hire. Sick leave may not be used until it has been accrued and the employee has successfully completed the introductory period (90 days). An employee is allowed to carryover a maximum of two (2) weeks from the previous year to accumulate a maximum of four (4) weeks of sick leave in any given year. Sick pay will not be counted as "time worked" for purposes of calculating overtime pay.
Employees who are absent due to illness or injury for three or more consecutive workdays must provide a doctor's certificate to Human Resources to support an absence. All supervisors will be required to track this leave in the electronic timekeeping system documenting the use of sick leave for all employees.
The College retains the right to review how an employee is using sick leave. A pattern of using sick leave on days preceding or following scheduled time off is an indication of possible misuse of sick leave. In such circumstances, the College may require additional documentation to verify the legitimacy of the absence. While on vacation, days on which the employee is confined to a hospital or a residence because of illness or injury may be charged to sick leave. A certificate from the attending physician is required.
Employees are expected to call their immediate supervisor on each occasion of absence from work. While emergency situations may occur, it is expected that an employee call in before the start of the employee's regular scheduled shift. Accumulated sick leave will not be paid to terminating employees at the time of separation.
Part-Time Employees: Part-time employees and temporary employees are eligible for Sick and Safe Leave.
Sick and Safe Leave
Sick and Safe Leave
Sick and Safe Leave provides the employee the opportunity to take paid time off to tend to their health and well-being or that of their family member. For the purposes of this policy, a family member includes a spouse, domestic partner, child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, or sibling. These include biological, adoptive, foster, step-relationships, as well as physical and legal guardianships.
Eligibility
Sick and Safe Leave applies to employees who do not have other MICA sponsored leave available. Employees who work more than 24 hours a pay period are eligible to accrue Sick and Safe Leave. This leave is accrued on a per pay period basis each accrual year (July 1 to June 30) beginning from the employee’s date of hire.
Full Time faculty are also covered by this policy. Part time faculty are not currently covered due to the CBA in place.
Accruing Sick and Safe Leave
Employees accrue sick and safe leave in any pay period in which they work 24 hours or more. An employee in this category will earn one (1) hour of leave for every 30 hours worked, up to a maximum of 40 hours per year. If an employee works less than 24 hours in a pay period, they are not eligible to accrue leave. An employee is allowed to carryover a maximum of 40 hours from the previous year and accumulate a maximum of 64 hours of sick and safe leave in any given year. The year, for the purposes of this policy, begins on July 1 and ends on June 30.
Carry over
An employee is eligible to carry over earned but unused sick and safe leave based on their employment category. Any sick and safe leave that exceeds the limits and is not utilized by June 30 will expire as of July 1 each year.
Utilizing Sick and Safe Leave
An employee is eligible to use their accrued sick and safe leave beginning 106 calendar days (approximately 3.5 months) after the employee’s hire date. Sick pay will not be counted as "time worked" for purposes of calculating overtime pay.
Sick and Safe leave may be used for the following purposes:
● To care for or treat the employee’s own mental or physical illness, injury, or condition;
● To obtain preventative medical care for the employee or the employee’s family member;
● To care for a family member with a mental or physical illness, injury, or condition;
● For parental (maternity or paternity); or
● For absences due to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking committed against the employee or the employee’s family member. Examples include securing assistance such as:
○ (1) to obtain medical or mental health attention;
○ (2) to obtain services from a victim services organization;
○ (3) for legal services or proceedings; or
○ (4) because the employee has temporarily relocated as a result of the domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
An employee must utilize all accrued leave before utilizing leave without pay. Accumulated sick leave will not be paid to employees at the time of separation of employment.
Requesting Sick and Safe Leave
Employees are expected to notify their immediate supervisor on each occasion of absence from work using the established procedures in the department. If an absence is foreseeable, the employee should provide reasonable advance notice given the circumstances. For example, an employee should notify their supervisor of an upcoming medical appointment, scheduled procedure, or a court date as soon as it is scheduled so the department can prepare accordingly. A supervisor may deny a request for a foreseeable absence if the employee does not provide reasonable advance notice and the absence will cause a disruption.
It is the supervisor’s responsibility to determine coverage for the person’s absence. A supervisor cannot require an eligible employee requesting leave under this policy to search for or find another person to cover their absence.
While emergency situations may occur, it is expected that an employee call in before the start of their regularly scheduled start time (beginning of shift) or as soon as practical.
If an employee needs to use leave for purposes covered under this policy while they are utilizing vacation leave, they may request to substitute their vacation leave with sick and safe leave. The employee will need to submit appropriate documentation as outlined in this policy.
Tracking Utilization
Leave for employees is tracked. Supervisors are required to maintain accurate records of leave utilization for all employees. For questions related to this system, please contact the Director of Payroll.
Documentation
Employees who are absent for three or more consecutive workdays must provide documentation to Human Resources to support their absence. Please contact Human Resources should you have any questions or concerns regarding the type of documentation needed. The reason for utilizing will be held confidential between you and Human Resources.
Separation of Employment and Rehires
Accumulated sick leave will not be paid to employees at the time of separation of employment. Employees must provide documentation for all absences that occur after they have provided notice of resignation.
Employees rehired within 37 weeks after separating from MICA will have any earned and unused sick and safe leave reinstated into their leave banks. Employees will need to wait the 106 day introductory period before they are eligible to use accrued leave. The introductory period is waived for employees with no break in service.
Misuse of Leave
The College retains the right to review how an employee is using sick leave. For example, a pattern of using sick leave on days preceding or following scheduled time off may be an indication of possible misuse of sick leave. In such circumstances, the College may require additional documentation to verify the legitimacy of the absence.
7.8 Personal Leave
All benefit eligible employees are eligible for four (4) personal days for special situations that may arise, over which the employee has no control. The personal days are determined by the employee whether a particular situation is serious enough to warrant the use of a personal day. The employee will be required to notify their supervisor immediately when the need arises. Personal days are accrued on July 1st of each year. Personal days can be carried over on July 1st of each year but must be used on or before August 31 or they will expire and will not be paid to terminating employees at the time of separation.
During an employee's first year of employment Personal Days will be provided as indicated below:
| Hired | Number of Days Provided |
| July 1 - September 30 | 4 |
| October 1 - December 31 | 3 |
| January 1 - March 31 | 2 |
| April 1 - June 30 | 1 |
Part-Time Employees: Part-time and temporary employees are not eligible for personal leave.
Holidays
Whenever employees are required to work on any day they are entitled to observe as a legal holiday as designated by the College, shall receive Holiday Pay. Holiday pay is the equivalent hours worked on that holiday, paid at the regular rate of pay in addition to the regularly earned hours worked. These Holidays include:
- New Year's Day
- Martin Luther King's Birthday
- Memorial Day
- Independence Day
- Labor Day
- Thanksgiving Day
- Friday after Thanksgiving
- Christmas Eve Day
- Christmas Day
All employees are eligible for nine (9) paid holidays in each calendar year immediately. The usual practice is that if a holiday falls on a Saturday, the College will be closed on the preceding Friday. If a holiday falls on a Sunday, the College will be closed on the following Monday. Additionally, the College may designate additional holidays and/or days when the College closes early, as well as modify the holiday schedule as deemed appropriate. If Christmas Day falls on a Sunday, the college will be closed the following Monday and Tuesday.
The College reserves the right to schedule employees to work on any holiday to meet business and student needs. A non-exempt employee who is required to work a holiday will receive holiday pay in addition to regular pay for the hours worked on the holiday.
A paid holiday does not count as a day worked in calculating overtime for the week. Paid holidays that fall during an employee's scheduled vacation will not be counted against the individual's vacation allotment. Non-exempt employees must work the scheduled workday before and the scheduled workday after the holiday in order to be paid for the holiday, unless the holiday is taken as part of a scheduled vacation or otherwise approved in advance by your supervisor and management.
Part-Time Employees: Part-time employees in departments that work a standard 35-hour week receive 3 1/2 hours of holiday pay for each of the MICA holidays, provided the employee works the week in which the holiday falls. Part-time employees in departments that work a standard 40-hour week like Facilities Management, Building Services and Campus Safety, receive 4 hours of holiday pay for each of the MICA holidays, provided the employee works the week in which the holiday falls.