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Holidays, Time Off, & Leave

2022 - 2023 Holiday Schedule

Independence Day 2022 – July 4, 2022
Labor Day 2022 – September 5, 2022
Thanksgiving 2022 – November 24, 25, 2022
Winter Break 2022 – December 23, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 2022 and January 2, 2023
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 2023 – January 16, 2023
Memorial Day 2023 – May 29, 2023
Juneteenth 2023 - June 19, 2023

2023 - 2024 Holiday Schedule

Independence Day 2023 – July 4, 2023
Labor Day 2023 – September 4, 2023
Thanksgiving 2023 – November 23, 24, 2023
Winter Break 2023 – December 22, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 2023 and January 1, 2024
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 2024 – January 15, 2024
Memorial Day 2024 – May 27, 2024
Juneteenth 2024 - June 19, 2024

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 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

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.
 

Holiday Policy Section 3.10.2

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 3.10.1

Leave Accrual Rates

Effective 9/1/22
 


Human Resources has established a new paid parental leave benefit to allow new and existing benefits-eligible employees two weeks of paid leave following the birth or adoption of a child. The paid parental leave program will require a minimum of one year of continuous benefits-eligible employment status directly preceding eligibility. In their June 2022 meeting, the OU Board of Regents approved this benefit and it is set to be implemented September 1, 2022.

Paid parental leave has been a top initiative for Staff Senate for many years. We recognize and appreciate all their hard work and dedication on this leave enhancement 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: https://ousurvey.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5gT6G7k4r5JCMQe

PDF - electronic or paper: https://hr.ou.edu/Document-Search/ctl/GetDocuments/mid/8755/q/4A535A62757830745A73522532424E71736A4A4E376D68773D3D

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 Administration Leave Guidelines

Administrative Leave is applied when a benefits-eligible employee misses scheduled work time due to campus delays or closures. Below are important guidelines when reporting or issuing Administrative Leave. 

OUHSC Employees

OUHSC benefits‐eligible employees in Oklahoma City who missed scheduled work time due to campus closing or delayed opening should report their absence as “Administrative Leave” with pay when reporting attendance.

Part-Time Employees

Employees who are not benefits eligible – student employees, temporary employees, and part‐time employees appointed at less than .50FTE – are paid only for time worked and are not eligible for administrative leave.

Pre-Scheduled Leave

An employee scheduled to be on paid leave should continue to report their absence as “Paid Leave,” and should not have any part of their absence charged to “Administrative Leave.” 

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 work day.

Additional Time Off During Closure

Employees who take additional time before or after authorized “Administrative Leave” (on the day of/for safety related to reason for closure) should use PTO (scheduled or unscheduled) for the additional time off. These employees remain eligible for the authorized “Administrative Leave.”

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.
  • Any employee (essential or non-essential) that works part or all of the day where an official closure notice has been issued, shall not be eligible for Administrative Leave for actual time worked.

    • Example: Employee works 4 hours; 4 hours regular working time and 4 hours Administrative Leave.  If an employee who chooses or is required to work during a closure shall not be eligible for Administrative Leave for the time they actually worked. Administrative Leave is not bankable.

Satellite campuses

Employees working in satellite locations around the state should follow nearby University closures NOT public schools.
  • Enid- Northwestern Oklahoma State University
  • Lawton- Cameron University
  • Durant- Southeastern Oklahoma State University
  • Tulsa- OU Tulsa

I work from a residence (primary workplace) and/or a satellite location. How do I know if a closure applies to me?

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

What if my employee worked 3 hours on a day their respective campus closes?

It would be recorded as 3 hours worked, 5 hours Administrative Leave.

What if my employee worked their full shift during a campus closure?

No Administrative Leave is recorded. There are no Administrative Leave “make-up days;” Administrative Leave cannot be “banked.”

What if I am HSC employee working full-time on the Norman campus?

Employees should report Administrative Leave based on the campus on which they work.

If an employee has overtime during the week the university has a campus closure, is Administrative Leave decreased to take the employee down to 40 hours?

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.

What if an employee calls in the day before or after a campus closure?

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).

How to I record Administrative Leave with FMLA?

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.