2024 - 2025 Holiday Schedule
Independence Day 2024 – July 4, 2024
Labor Day 2024 – September 2, 2024
Thanksgiving 2024 – November 28, 29, 2024
Winter Break 2024 – December *23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 30, 31, 2024, and January 1, 2025
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 2025 – January 20, 2025
Memorial Day 2025 – May 26, 2025
Juneteenth 2025 - June 19, 2025
2025 - 2026 Holiday Schedule
Independence Day 2025 – July 4, 2025
Labor Day 2025 – September 1, 2025
Thanksgiving 2025 – November 27, 28, 2025
Winter Break 2025 – December 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 2025, and January 1, *2, 2026
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 2026 – January 19, 2026
Memorial Day 2026 – May 25, 2026
Juneteenth 2026 - June 19, 2026
*Administrative leave approved by the President.
Description of Closure
University offices will be officially closed on these holidays except where continuous operations must be sustained to avoid conflicts with patient care, teaching schedules, and service-related functions. This schedule may be altered for 24/7 service and some clinics. Please check with your department. The Tulsa campus may publish its own holiday calendar.
Employees who are required to work on published holidays will be provided alternative time to be taken on a date to be scheduled between supervisors and affected employees.
Eligibility for Paid Holidays
Employees are eligible for holiday pay if they at least .50 FTE and are in Pay Status on either the day before or the day after a holiday specified in the current year’s holiday schedule in the above section(s).
Students and other temporary employees are not eligible for paid holidays.
To receive holiday pay, an employee must be at work or on approved leave with pay on the day preceding or day following the holiday.
Health Sciences Center offices will be officially closed on the published holidays, except where continuous operations must be sustained to avoid conflicts with patient care, teaching schedules, and service-related functions. Employees on all campuses who are required to work on the published holiday will be provided alternative time to be taken on dates to be scheduled between the supervisor and affected employee.
**IMPORTANT**
What is Pay Status? HR is now providing clarification about the meaning of the term “Pay Status”. Starting January 3, 2020, employees must be in Pay Status for a full shift to be eligible for the paid holiday. Pay Status can be a combination of the employee’s worked time and PTO. As shown in the example below, the Pay Status requirement is prorated based on an employee’s Full Time Equivalency (FTE). If an employee does not have PTO, the employee can be in Pay Status by working their full shift.
For example, if the employee is full-time (1.0 FTE), they must have a full 8 hours in Pay Status on the day before OR the day after the holiday. This requirement can be met with a combination of worked time and PTO. If an employee is part-time (.50 FTE), they must have a full 4 hours in Pay Status.
Ineligible for Holiday Pay: If this Pay Status requirement is not met for paid holidays after January 3, 2020, then the employee is not eligible for holiday pay and it must be removed from their timesheet.
OUHSC: To remove holiday pay, Payroll Coordinators should complete the required form and submit it to Payroll. Contact Payroll with questions at Payroll-Services@ouhsc.edu or (405)271-2055.
Norman: To remove holiday pay in Workforce, Supervisors or Department Time Approvers must change the Holiday hours to 0.00 hours and add a row for 8.00 hours of Leave Without Pay for each day. Contact Payroll if you have questions at (405)325-2961.
Paid Time Off
Description: Benefits eligible employees earn Paid Time Off (PTO) through a leave accrual program as part of the comprehensive benefits package provided at OU. PTO is a combined leave bank of time for all approved time off, including vacation, personal time, bereavement, personal illness, and illness of a family member.
Employees Who Earn PTO: Paid leave benefits are available to staff and 12-month faculty who hold benefits eligible appointments. Leave for medical residents and post-doctoral fellows at HSC and 9-month faculty is described on the HSC Programs link under Leave Accrual Rates below. Students and temporary employees are not eligible for paid time off.
Maximum Accrual: Paid leave time can be accrued up to the maximum allowance described on the links under Leave Accrual Rates below. Time accrued beyond the maximum allowance will be deposited in an Extended Sick Leave (ESL) account.
Policy: Paid Time Off, Staff Handbook 7.5.1.1
Leave Accrual Rates
Effective 10/01/2024
Apply for Paid Parental Leave
New and Expanded Paid Parental Leave Benefit
As of September 1, 2022, Human Resources, in collaboration with the Staff Senate, introduced a paid parental leave benefit for new and existing benefits-eligible employees, providing two weeks of paid leave following the birth or adoption of a child.
Expanded Benefit Starting October 1, 2024
Effective October 1, 2024, the university is pleased to announce the expansion of this benefit to six weeks of paid leave.
Eligibility
To qualify for paid parental leave, employees must have completed at least one year of continuous, benefits-eligible employment immediately before the start of their leave.
We extend our gratitude to the Staff Senate for their long-standing advocacy, partnership, and dedication in making this important enhancement possible for OU employees.
More details on this policy will be available in the coming weeks.
Click here to read the policy.
Click here to read the FAQs.
Apply for Paid Parental Leave using one of these forms:
Online via Qualtrics
PDF - electronic or paper
Using Paid and Unpaid Time Off for Bereavement - Guidelines
Benefits-eligible staff and faculty employees are entitled to use Paid Time Off (PTO) for bereavement upon the death of an immediate family member: spouse, children, parents, brothers, and sisters, including step, grand, half, foster, or in-law relationships. Employees may also request PTO to attend the service for the loss of a friend, co-worker, member of their extended family, or other loved one. Supervisors may request reasonable documentation supporting the need for the leave, such as a published obituary or written verification of death/burial/memorial services.
Employees who have experienced the death of a loved one often need to process their own grief and adjust to the loss while helping other family members do the same. They may also need to travel to a different city, state, or country. At the same time, they may need to help with final arrangements such as legal and financial documents; manage the estate of the deceased; and contact extended family, friends, and life insurance providers.
Often there are extenuating circumstances that supervisors should consider when accommodating bereavement time for employees, especially those who may have exhausted their PTO and those who do not accrue PTO. Of most importance, supervisors are encouraged to act with compassion and work with employees to allow the time needed to attend to the passing of their loved one.
Typically, employees should be approved for three to five days’ time off from work for bereavement leave. Depending on the circumstances, additional time may be approved.
Other Leave and Work Absences
In addition to Paid Time Off, employees may also be eligible for other types of leave as described below.
System-Wide Administrative Leave Guidelines
Administrative Leave is used on timesheets when a benefits-eligible employee misses scheduled work due to delayed openings, early closures, or full-day closures on their campus. These types of closures are authorized through central communications from university leadership and are paid time for benefits-eligible employees. Below are important guidelines when using Administrative Leave.
Recording Administrative Leave on Timesheets
When an entire campus is closed for a full workday, administrative leave will be automatically loaded on timesheets. Administrative leave for partial-day closures must be manually updated on timesheets and will not be automatically loaded.
Remote Work Expectations & Administrative Leave
Often the university will communicate that remote work is expected while the physical campus is closed. If an employee’s job is able to be performed remotely, then they should work their normal schedule as directed by their supervisor. If a supervisor determines that an employee’s job cannot be performed remotely, then Administrative Leave should be manually entered on the employee’s timesheet instead of worked hours.
Additional Time Off During Closure
Employees who take additional time off before or after the authorized Administrative Leave period on the day of the closure should record PTO (scheduled or unscheduled) on their timesheet for the additional time off. These employees remain eligible for the authorized “Administrative Leave.”
Essential Workers and Other Exceptions
Certain employees who were called in to work during the university closure may be eligible for special pay or compensatory time off for hours actually worked. Department heads should establish consistent guidelines for granting additional compensation or compensatory time off in lieu of additional pay for employees within their department who worked during the closure. Any special pay or time off proposals should be approved by the appropriate vice president. Administrative Leave is not bankable.
Satellite Campuses
Employees working in satellite locations around the state should follow nearby university closures NOT closures by local public schools.
- Enid- Northwestern Oklahoma State University
- Lawton- Cameron University
- Durant- Southeastern Oklahoma State University
- Tulsa- OU-Tulsa
Employees Who Are Ineligible
Employees who are not benefits eligible – student employees, temporary employees, and part‐time employees appointed at less than .50 FTE – are paid only for time worked and are not eligible for administrative leave.
Pre-Scheduled Leave
An employee already scheduled to be on leave during a campus closure should continue to report their absence as “Paid Leave (PTO)” or “Leave without Pay (LWOP),” as appropriate. They should not have any part of their absence charged to Administrative Leave and they must reduce any Administrative Leave hours recorded on their timesheet accordingly.
FMLA
An employee on continuous FMLA leave shall not be given Administrative Leave if their campus is closed during the period of approved continuous FMLA.
An employee with approved intermittent FMLA leave shall not have their FMLA entitlement charged for any period their campus is closed for a weather-related event, etc. These employees shall be given the full amount of Administrative Leave for the day(s)/time(s) of their campus closure.
Unscheduled Leave
An employee with unscheduled paid leave for the day should not have any part of their absence charged to “Administrative Leave.”
- Example 1: An employee calls with unscheduled leave for the entire day prior to a closure notice being issued, shall not be eligible for Administrative Leave.
- Example 2: An employee calls in prior to a closure notice and alerts their department that they will not be in until noon. A closure notice is issued stating that their respective campus will be closing at noon. – This employee shall be charged PTO or LWOP for the time taken prior to the closure; however, they are still eligible for the Administrative Leave from time of closure to the end of their workday.
Employees working from their residence should follow campus closures to the nearest campus listed below:
- Enid – Northwestern Oklahoma State University
- Lawton – Cameron University
- Durant – Southeastern Oklahoma State University
- Tulsa – OU-Tulsa
- Norman – OU Norman
- HSC – OU HSC
It would be recorded as 3 hours worked, 5 hours Administrative Leave.
No Administrative Leave is recorded. There are no Administrative Leave “make-up days;” Administrative Leave cannot be “banked.”
Employees should report Administrative Leave based on the campus on which they work.
No. If the employee was scheduled to work but did not because of the closure, they are to receive the full amount of Administrative Leave. The additional hours the employee worked that week will be paid as “additional straight time,” but not overtime.
Administrative Leave is only awarded for days/hours of actual campus closure. If/When an employee chooses to stay home (due to weather conditions in their area), but the campus has not issued a closure notice, they must use Paid Time Off.
The Office of Human Resources recommends a “liberal leave policy” when there is a weather event without an actual campus closure (within reason).
If an employee is on continuous FMLA and a weather-related closure happens during the approved leave, this employee is NOT eligible for Administrative Leave.
If an employee has requested intermittent leave on the day of a weather related closure, their FMLA entitlement shall NOT be charged and this employee should receive the full amount of the Administrative Leave for the specified time frame.
Time Off for Voting - Guidelines
At the University of Oklahoma, we support your right to vote! In line with Oklahoma State law (26 O.S. § 7-101) and our policy (7.5.1.6 Voting), here's how we make sure you have time to cast your vote on election days:
- Who can take time off?
Any employee who is registered to vote.
- How do you request time off to vote?
Just ask—either verbally or in writing—at least one day before the election.
- When can you vote?
Your department will decide which day or time works best, but typically, voting time should be taken at the start or end of your workday unless your department specifies otherwise.
- What if you have extra time before or after work?
If you already have a three-hour window to vote outside your normal work hours, you won't be eligible for extra time off.
Example: If polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., and your shift starts at 10:00 a.m. or ends at 4:00 p.m., you have enough time to vote without needing time off.
- Do you need to show proof?
Yes, if requested by your supervisor. Once you show proof of voting, there will be no loss of pay or penalties for taking the time off.
- What if you live far from your polling place?
If your polling location is far away, you may be given additional time. Your schedule may be adjusted as needed.
- How is voting time recorded?
The time taken to vote will be recorded as "Administrative Leave" with pay. Exempt employees can log this in the system. Non-exempt employees should have their supervisor or payroll coordinator add it to their timesheet.
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to your Human Resources Business Partner at hrbp@ou.edu.