• Lunch Break
• Leave Accruals, Maximum Balances, and Payouts
• Administrative Leave
• Holidays
• Paid Personal Leave Days
• Personal Holiday
• Overtime, Regular, and Special Compensatory Leave
• Leave and Service Transfers
• Leaves of Absence

Explanation of Exempt / Non-exempt for USPS Classes

Non-Exempt
A non-exempt USPS class is a class that has been designated as not exempt from the maximum hours and overtime pay requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Employees in positions designated as non-exempt who work more than 40 hours during a workweek must be paid overtime at time and a half for all hours worked over 40. These employees may be allowed to earn overtime compensatory leave at time and a half in lieu of being paid overtime.

Exempt
An exempt USPS class is a class that has been designated as exempt from the maximum hours and overtime pay requirements of the FLSA.

Lunch Break
In accordance with the university business practice, employees who are in positions designated as non-exempt (USPS Non-Exempt and OPS hourly employees) should not be allowed to work more than 5 hours without at least a 30-minute lunch break.

Certified law enforcement personnel, nurses, identified Physical Plant personnel and other identified positions designated as non-exempt, due to the nature of the work, may be excluded from the university business practice regarding a lunch break.

Leave Accruals, Maximum Balances, and Payouts

In addition, no employee should accrue more than 120 hours of overtime or regular compensation. All hours over 120 should be paid out in cash.

Leave Payouts

Permanent University employees are eligible to receive remaining leave balances paid out in a lump sum (net of taxes). The maximum hours payable is contingent upon employee class.

Any employee (except OPS) with 10+ years of service is also eligible to receive a sick leave payment. The employee will be paid a number of hours equal to one quarter of their post 1973 sick leave balance (not to exceed 480 hours) plus one eighth of their pre-1973 sick leave balances.

Post Doctoral Associates' and Phased Retirees’ leave balances are tracked internally by the department in which they work. It is the responsibility of the department to explain the terms of the leave allocation and track usage and renewal. Post Doctoral Associates and Phased Retirees are not eligible for leave payouts, any unused balances at the end of the academic year will be forfeited.

Notice Regarding the UCF 401(a) Special Pay Plan

Administrative Leave

Jury Duty – Employees shall be given administrative leave for jury duty. Hours provided must not exceed the number of hours in the employee’s normal workday. If jury duty does not require absence for the entire workday, the employee shall return to work immediately upon release by the court. If the jury duty does not coincide with the regular work schedule, the employee shall be granted administrative leave based on the total hours served on jury duty and such leave shall be granted on the next scheduled work shift. The employee shall retain any jury pay. A copy of the jury summons must be attached to the employee’s timesheet, and kept in the department's files. Do not forward the summons to Human Resources.

Olympians - Administrative Leave shall be provided for athletic competition in Olympic events.

Bereavement - USPS nonexempt employees shall be provided up to two days of administrative leave upon the death of an immediate family member (spouse, grandparents, parents, children, grandchildren, siblings) of the employee, employee's spouse or same-sex domestic partner.

Note: A&P, 12-month Faculty and USPS exempt employees may use Sick Leave or Annual Leave. 9-month Faculty employees may use Sick Leave.

Disaster Volunteers - Administrative leave may be provided for Florida Disaster Volunteers.

Emergency Closing - Administrative leave shall be provided for official emergency closing of University facilities. Special compensatory leave shall be provided to USPS employees required to perform essential services during the emergency closing. Only employees scheduled to work during the time of the emergency closing shall be provided leave.

Voting - Up to two hours of administrative leave may be granted for voting in public elections. The employee may only take this as leave if it is impossible for them to vote outside of their normal work schedule. The supervisor must approve this leave, in advance.

Military Training - An employee who is a member of the United States Armed Forces Reserve, including the National Guard, shall (upon presentation of a copy of the employee’s official orders), be granted administrative leave during periods in which the employee is ordered to duty for training. Whether continuous or intermittent, such training pay shall not exceed 240 hours in any one federal fiscal year (July 1 - June 30).

Veteran’s Medical Exam - An employee who has been rated by the Veteran’s Administration to have incurred a service-connected disability and has been scheduled by the Veteran’s Administration to be reexamined or treated for such disability shall, upon presentation of written confirmation of having been scheduled, be granted administrative leave, not to exceed 6 days (48 hours) in any calendar year.

Time Worked (Not Administrative Leave)

Interviews or Examinations - For positions within UCF (report on timesheet as hours worked). All other interviews and/or examinations require an employee to utilize accumulated leave or leave without pay.

Job Related Conferences or Training - Time spent during the employee's normal working hours is reported on the timesheet as hours worked. Time spent at social functions (example: award dinners) is not counted as time worked.

Travel Time

Contact Human Resources Payroll Services with questions concerning this topic.

Holidays

University of Central Florida Policy No. 2-002 recognizes specified days as university holidays. This policy applies to all regular employees and all departments, units, or divisions of the university. Regular employee is defined as any person employed by the university in a regular, benefits-earning position. This definition includes part-time personnel who work at least half-time on continuing appointments.

The university designates nine paid holidays annually for regular employees:

• New Year’s Day – January 1
• Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Birthday –third Monday in January
• Memorial Day - last Monday in May
• Independence Day – July 4
• Labor Day – first Monday in September
• Veteran’s Day – November 11
• Thanksgiving Day – fourth Thursday in November
• Day after Thanksgiving – fourth Friday in November
• Christmas Day – December 25

Designated holidays will be observed on the calendar days on which they fall. However, legal holidays occurring on Saturday will be observed on the preceding Friday and legal holidays occurring on Sunday will be observed on the following Monday.

Each year the Human Resources Department will publish a holiday schedule, with the specific dates of holidays that will be observed. Click here for a list of the holiday dates for the current year.

Eligibility

To be eligible for holiday pay, a university employee must be in “active” pay status and have worked 50 percent of his/her scheduled work day immediately prior to the holiday. “Active pay status” means that the employee must either be working or using approved compensatory, annual or sick leave to compensate for hours not worked. If the employee does not have sufficient accrued leave to use, the holiday will be unpaid.

Employees, who are scheduled to work but call in sick on the day before a holiday, may be required to present a physician’s statement to substantiate the illness prior to authorization for payment of the holiday.

Employees on leave without pay or in a non-pay status on the scheduled work day immediately prior to the holiday are not eligible for holiday pay.

Any employee not on contract when the holiday occurs will not be paid for that holiday.

OPS hourly employees do not receive pay for time not worked. OPS hourly employees do not accrue leave or paid time off days.

Injured Employees on Workers’ Compensation Benefits

When a holiday occurs during the first seven (7) calendar days or 40 intermittent hours of a disability, injured employees are eligible for holiday pay on that day rather than disability.

When a holiday occurs after the first seven (7) calendar days or 40 intermittent hours of a disability:

• Injured employees who are supplementing workers’ compensation payments the day before the holiday, are eligible to take holiday pay for 2.75 hours, (the number of hours normally used to supplement workers’ compensation), if he/she uses 2.75 hours of accrued leave on that day. The balance 5.25 hours will be paid by the Division of Risk Management.
• Injured employees who are not supplementing workers’ compensation payments the day before the holiday will not receive holiday pay.

Holiday Hours Earned

The holiday is considered to be eight hours for full-time staff. A regular part-time employee who works at least half-time is entitled to observe the same holiday, however, the holiday pay is a lesser amount as prorated by FTE.

Employees who normally work varied hours (i.e. four ten-hour days) will receive eight holiday hours of compensation, even though they normally work a 10-hour day. A maximum of eight hours will be credited towards their 40-hour basic work week requirement. Employees scheduled to work a 9-hour day (or more based on the schedule), must make up the 1 or 2 hour difference with a charge to accumulated compensatory or annual leave. Employees assigned to non-traditional work schedules, the holiday dates shall be approved by the director of Human Resources.

Early Release

University Departments may authorize early release on the last scheduled workday prior to the holiday as long as the staff record usage on his/her Leave and Pay Exception Report (LAPER) as annual leave, special, regular or over-time compensation taken, or leave without pay for the early release time taken. However, employees must be in “active pay status” for at least 50 percent of his/her scheduled work day immediately prior to the holiday.

Hours Worked

If a USPS Non-Exempt employee's work hours for the workweek when combined with holiday pay does not equal 40, an employee should use accumulated leave or leave without pay to bring their balance for the workweek to 40 hours.

Hours physically worked over 40 are overtime compensatory time. If the person physically worked less than 40 hours, but when combined with the holiday hours the total exceeds 40, those excess hours become special compensatory hours. Those hours should be documented on the Leave and Pay Exception Report (LAPER) during payroll process.

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Paid Personal Leave Days (Additional Days Off)

Besides the nine holidays listed additional paid personal leave days, may be granted only by action of the President of the University of Central Florida. Although the vast majority of university offices are listed as closed during these days, certain employees may be deemed essential and will be required by the appropriate supervisor to work during the period of closure.

Eligibility

To be eligible for additional personal leave days, a university employee must be in “active pay status” and have worked 50 percent of his/her scheduled work day immediately prior to the additional personal leave days. “Active pay status” means that the employee must either be working or using approved compensatory, annual or sick leave to compensate for hours not worked. If the employee does not have sufficient accrued leave to use, the additional personal leave days will be unpaid.

If a USPS Non-Exempt employee's work hours for the workweek when combined with the paid personal leave day hours exceed 40 hours, those hours should be recorded on an official, internal log of those hours so that the employee (with the supervisor's approval), can use those hours at a later date before the end of the fiscal year. The log should be updated to reflect when the hours were used.

If an employee's work hours for the workweek when combined with the paid personal leave days do not equal 40, an employee should use accumulated leave or leave without pay to bring their balance for the workweek to 40 hours.

When summed, if an employee physically worked more than 40 hours and also had paid personal leave days, the hours physically worked over 40 would become overtime compensatory leave or overtime pay (USPS non-exempt). The paid personal leave hours should be recorded on an official, internal log so that the employee (with the supervisor's approval), can use those hours at a later date before the end of the fiscal year. The log should be updated to reflect when the hours were used.

Employees, who are scheduled to work but call in sick on the day before a personal leave day, may be required to present a physician’s statement to substantiate the illness prior to authorization for additional paid personal leave days.

Employees on leave without pay or in a non-pay status on the scheduled work day immediately prior to the additional personal leave days are not eligible for additional personal leave days pay.

Any employee not on contract when the additional personal leave days occur will not be paid for those days.

OPS hourly employees do not receive pay for time not worked. OPS hourly employees do not accrue leave or paid time off days.

Injured Employees on Workers’ Compensation Benefits

When a paid personal leave day occurs during the first seven (7) calendar days or 40 intermittent hours of a disability, injured employees will use paid personal leave day rather than disability.

When a paid personal day occurs after the first seven (7) calendar days or 40 intermittent hours of a disability:

• Injured employees who are supplementing workers’ compensation payments the day before the paid personal leave day, are eligible to take pay for 2.75 hours, (the number of hours normally used to supplement workers’ compensation), if he/she uses 2.75 hours of accrued leave on that day. The balance 5.25 hours will be paid by the Division of Risk Management.
• Injured employees who are not supplementing workers’ compensation payments the day before the paid personal leave days will not receive pay for additional personal leave days.

Hours Earned

The additional paid personal leave day is considered to be eight hours for full-time staff. A regular part-time employee who works at least half-time is entitled to observe the same day, however, the paid personal leave day is a lesser amount as prorated by FTE.

Employees who normally work varied hours (i.e. four ten-hour days) will receive eight hours of compensation, even though they normally work a 10-hour day. A maximum of eight hours will be credited towards their 40-hour basic work week requirement. Employees scheduled to work a 9-hour day (or more based on the schedule), must make up the 1 or 2 hour difference with a charge to accumulated compensatory or annual leave.

Employees assigned to non-traditional work schedules, the paid personal days leave days shall be approved by the director of Human Resources.

Early Release

University Departments may authorize early release on the last scheduled workday prior to the paid personal leave days as long as the staff record usage on his/her Leave and Pay Exception Report (LAPER) as annual leave, special, regular or over-time compensation taken, or leave without pay for the early release time taken. However, employees must be in “active pay status” for at least 50 percent of his/her scheduled work day immediately prior to the paid personal leave days.

Hours Worked

If an employee's work hours for the workweek when combined with the paid personal leave days do not equal 40, an employee should use accumulated leave or leave without pay to bring their balance for the workweek to 40 hours.

If a USPS employee physically works more than 40 hours and also had paid personal leave days, the hours physically worked over 40 would become overtime compensatory leave (USPS non-exempt) or regular compensatory leave (USPS exempt). Those hours should be entered on the Leave and Pay Exception Report (LAPER) during payroll process. If the person physically worked less than 40 hours, but when combined with the paid personal leave hours the total exceeds 40, those excess hours are placed on the official, internal log to be used at a later date but prior to June 30 th with supervisor’s approval. The log should be updated to reflect when the hours were used. Those hours not used before the end of the fiscal year, June 30 th, will be forfeited.

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Personal Holiday

Each full-time USPS nonexempt employee is entitled to one Personal Holiday each year. Each part-time USPS nonexempt employee is entitled to a Personal Holiday each year, which shall be calculated proportionately to the Personal Holiday granted to a full-time employee. Such Personal Holiday shall be credited to eligible employees on July 1 of each year, and must be used by the employee or forfeited at the close of business on June 30 of the following year.

The employee may not use the Personal Holiday before it is earned.

The hours granted for the Personal Holiday may not be used intermittently; the employee must use the entire 8 hours (or proportionate hours for a part-time employee) during a single work shift.

If the employee terminates before using the Personal Holiday, the Personal Holiday shall be forfeited. The employee is not eligible for payment for the Personal Holiday upon termination.

Compensatory Leave

Overtime Compensatory Leave
Special Compensatory Leave

Overtime Compensatory Leave

Overtime Compensatory Leave is defined as leave earned by a USPS employee filling a position in a nonexempt class when the required hours of work exceed 40 during a workweek. The employee must have advance approval to work hours that deviate from his/her assigned work schedule. When possible, the workweek should be adjusted to avoid overtime situations. When adjustment of the workweek is not possible, the employee’s supervisor has the authority to approve overtime work for accrual of Overtime Compensatory Leave. It is the supervisor’s responsibility to monitor the employee's leave records to ensure that the employee does not exceed the 120 hours limit for Overtime Compensatory Leave.

Accrual

A nonexempt employee accrues one and one half hours of Overtime Compensatory Leave for each hour of overtime worked. An employee may not accrue more than 120 hours of Overtime Compensatory Leave (80 hours of overtime worked).

The nonexempt employee must record his/her start and stop times on the Timesheet each day. At the end of each work- week, the hours recorded should be totaled. If the number of hours worked exceeds 40, and the supervisor has determined that the employee will receive Overtime Compensatory Leave, the employee should record his actual hours worked (scheduled hours plus overtime hours) in the ‘actual hrs’ column on the Leave and Pay Exceptions Report. To indicate accrual of overtime compensatory leave, record the hours worked in excess of 40 in the ‘OCE’ (Overtime Compensatory Leave earned) column on the Leave and Pay Exceptions Report. When the hours are entered by the processor, the system will correctly calculate the hours at time and a half. The signature of the employee and the supervisor will certify that the hours indicated, including the overtime, were actually worked.

Usage

Upon reasonable notice, the Chief Administrative Officer and/or the supervisor may require the employee to use any part of his/her accrued Overtime Compensatory Leave.

Use of Overtime Compensatory Leave should be documented in the ‘leave usage’ section of the Leave and Pay Exceptions Report. In the ‘leave type’ column, the employee should indicate ‘OCT’ for Overtime Compensatory Leave taken. The number of hours used should be entered on the date the hours were used, during the week in which they were used. The total number of hours used for each week should be entered in the ‘total’ column for the appropriate week. In addition, the reason for the Overtime Compensatory Leave usage must be documented in the ‘explanation of leave used’ section of the Leave and Pay Exceptions Report. Approval of the leave usage is indicated by the supervisor’s initials and the date of approval in the appropriate columns. Overtime Compensatory Leave cannot be used during the same pay period in which it is earned. As with other types of leave, the employee should request (and receive) approval to use Overtime Compensatory Leave before it is used.

The employee may only use the amount of Overtime Compensatory Leave that is necessary to bring his/her hours up to 40 hours for the workweek.

Payment

Upon reaching the 120-hour accrual limit, the employee must receive cash payment for additional hours of overtime worked until the employee’s Overtime Compensatory Leave balance is reduced. The department head may, at any time, request payment for up to the entire current balance of the employee’s accrued Overtime Compensatory Leave balance by submitting a Request for Compensatory Leave Payout form. In the ‘leave type’ column, indicate ‘overtime comp’. The number of hours for which payment is being requested must be indicated in the appropriate column. The employee’s ‘current balance’, ‘number of hours paid’, and the ‘total amount paid’ columns will be completed by the appropriate Human Resources staff.

Payroll Services reviews Overtime Compensatory Leave balances each pay period to ensure that employees' balances do not exceed the 120-hour limit. If an employee's balance exceeds the 120-hour limit, a payout is processed for the employee for all hours above the limit.

This form must be approved by the department head before forwarding to Human Resources for payment.

Special Compensatory Leave

Special Compensatory Leave is defined as leave earned by a USPS employee filling a position in a nonexempt class and is provided as follows:

• To compensate an employee for a State holiday when the employee observed the holiday and worked
  40 hours the during the week in which the holiday occurred; the holiday falls on the employee’s regularly
  scheduled day off; or the employee is required to work on the holiday.
• To compensate an employee when he/she uses a personal holiday, and the hours worked plus the hours used for the personal holiday cause the employee’s hours to exceed 40 during a work week.
• To compensate the employee for administrative leave for jury duty or court appearance when the employee worked 40 hours during the week in which the jury duty or court appearance occurred.
• To compensate the employee when he/she is required to perform essential duties during an emergency closing for the hours worked during the closing.

Note: Special Compensatory Leave is not used with Paid Personal Leave Days that are granted by the President of the university.

There is no limit on the amount of Special Compensatory Leave an employee may earn.

Accrual

USPS nonexempt employee accrues Special Compensatory Leave when his/her total hours worked during a work week plus hours for a State holiday or personal holiday, or administrative leave for emergency closings, or jury duty exceed 40. The employee should record his/her actual hours worked plus holidays, personal holidays, and administrative leave in the ‘actual hrs’ column on the leave and pay exceptions report. To indicate accrual of Special Compensatory Leave, record the total hours in excess of 40 in the ‘SCE’ (Special Compensatory Leave earned) column on the Leave and Pay Exceptions Report. The signature of the employee and the supervisor will certify that the hours indicated are correct.

Usage

Upon reasonable notice, the Chief Administrative Officer and/or the supervisor may require the employee to use any part of his/her accrued Special Compensatory Leave.

Use of Special Compensatory Leave should be documented in the ‘leave usage’ section of the Leave and Pay Exceptions Report. In the ‘leave type’ column, the employee should indicate ‘SCT’ for Special Compensatory Leave taken. The number of hours used should be entered on the date the hours were used, during the week in which they were used. The total number of hours used for each week should be entered in the ‘total’ column for the appropriate week. In addition, the reason for the Special Compensatory Leave usage must be documented in the ‘explanation of leave used’ section of the Leave and Pay Exceptions Report. Approval of the leave usage is indicated by the supervisor’s initials and the date of approval in the appropriate columns. Special Compensatory Leave cannot be used during the same pay period in which it is earned. As with other types of leave, the employee should request (and receive) approval to use Special Compensatory Leave before it is used.

The employee may only use the amount of Special Compensatory Leave that is necessary to bring his/her hours up to 40 hours for the workweek.

Payment

There is no limit on the amount of Special Compensatory Leave an employee may earn. The department head may, at any time, request payment for up to 80 hours of the employee’s accrued Special Compensatory Leave balance by submitting a Request for Compensatory Leave Payout form. In the ‘leave type’ column, indicate ‘special comp’. The number of hours for which payment is being requested must be indicated in the appropriate column. The employee’s ‘current balance’, number of hours paid’, and the ‘total amount paid’ columns will be completed by the appropriate Human Resources staff.

This form must be approved by the department head before forwarding to Human Resources for payment.

Regular Compensatory Leave and Special Compensatory Leave for USPS Exempt Employees effective 09/02/2011

Regular or special compensatory time will no longer be accrued. Should exempt USPS employees have a balance in either of those categories, those hours should be (1) used prior to annual leave and recorded on the LAPER and processed in PeopleSoft, or (2) paid out via the Request for Compensatory Leave Payout Form prior to 06/30/2012. If a balance remains after that time, HR Payroll Services will automatically process a payout for compensatory hours.

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Leave Transfers

Leave Transfers
The University of Central Florida will not participate in any leave transfer program with any agency, entity, or other organization.

Annual Leave, Sick Leave, and Personal Holiday Transfers Between UCF Departments and/or Changes in Employee Class

*If an employee is going from 12-month faculty status to 9-month faculty status, and wishes to defer the leave payment, he/she must contact the Benefits Staff and submit the appropriate documentation/forms, as required by law, prior to the processing of the payout.

Compensatory Leave Transfers Between UCF Departments and/or Changes in Employee Class

Note: Most of the forms on this site are in PDF format, unless otherwise indicated, and require Adobe's Acrobat Reader, which you can obtain from the following link: