Policy Bulletin No. 2001-03

Section 21.2 Vacation - December 3, 2001

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TO: Manual Holders
FROM: William Doyle, Director, Staffing Services
SUBJECT: Emergency Vacation Provisions

In accordance with the Memoranda of Agreement reached between the State and CSEA, PEF, DC 37, NYSCOPBA and Council 82, certain employees have been granted temporary relief from contractual limits on vacation maximums. The Civil Service Commission has amended the M/C Attendance Rules to provide the same benefit for M/C employees. This memorandum sets forth guidelines for application of these new provisions.

Eligibility

The provisions apply to employees in the Administrative Services, Institutional Services, Operational Services, Division of Military and Naval Affairs, Professional Scientific and Technical Services, Rent Regulation Services, Security Services and Security Supervisors Units, as well as to those designated M/C.

Employees are eligible if, due to the events of September 11, they meet the following criteria:

They are performing work in duty status that is directly related to activities
associated with the State's response to the World Trade Center disaster; or
they have vacation canceled or denied by the agency; or they are on approved
paid leave to serve as an emergency volunteer; or they are federally activated
or activated by the Governor for military duty

and

they are identified by the appointing authority as having performed such activity
for a period of time which prevented liquidation of vacation credits over 40 days
prior to the date on which such credits are normally forfeited.

Employees in the Security Services and Security Supervisors Units continue to be subject to contractual provisions (Article 14.1(e)) requiring denial of a vacation request while at or approaching the vacation maximum in order to exceed the 40-day vacation maximum each time they reach that maximum. (Refer to Attendance and Leave Manual Section 21.2 for detailed guidelines on those contractual provisions.) Pursuant to the MOAs, eligible employees in those units on ordered military duty in connection with the events of September 11, 2001 and those on approved leave to serve as emergency volunteers who did not have the opportunity to have a vacation request denied shall be treated as though a request for vacation had been denied in accordance with Article 14.1(e) of the Security Services and Security Supervisors Agreements.

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Effective Dates

These MOAs apply to vacation that otherwise would have been forfeited on the following dates:

SSU, SspU	-October 1, 2001
M/C	-January 1, 2002
PS&T, DC 37, ASU, ISU, OSU, DMNA	-April 1, 2002

Benefit Description

When eligible employees exceed the 40-day vacation maximum, the requirement that credits in excess of the 40-day vacation maximum must be exhausted prior to the dates above is temporarily waived. Instead, the following provisions apply.

On April 1, 2002 (October 1, 2001 for SSU and SSpU, January 1, 2002 for M/C employees), vacation credits in excess of 40 days earned by an eligible employee that otherwise would have been forfeited will be recorded and retained in a separate leave category, "Emergency Vacation". Emergency Vacation shall have a separate maximum cap of 50 days.

An employee who first exceeds the 40-day regular vacation maximum after April 1, 2002 (October 1, 2001 for SSU and SspU, January 1, 2002 for M/C employees) through the last day of the payroll period which includes October 1, 2002, will become subject to these provisions at the point he/she exceeds the vacation maximum.

During the period April 1, 2002 (October 1, 2001 for SSU and SspU, January 1, 2002 for M/C employees) through the last day of the payroll period which includes October 1, 2002, vacation credits earned by an employee subject to these provisions will be recorded as Emergency Vacation, provided his/her regular vacation balance does not drop below 40 days.

During this period, all vacation absences must first be charged against Emergency Vacation until those credits are exhausted. When Emergency Vacation credits are exhausted, absences will be charged against regular vacation.

An employee who exhausts Emergency Vacation credits and drops below the 40-day regular vacation maximum resumes earning regular vacation. If the 40-day regular vacation maximum is again reached within the designated period, the employee again becomes eligible to earn Emergency Vacation during this period.

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After the last day of the pay period that includes October 1, 2002, employees will no longer be eligible to earn Emergency Vacation. However, Emergency Vacation credits may be carried until October 1, 2003, at which time any such unused credits will be cancelled.

Commencing with the first day of the payroll period following the payroll period that includes October 1, 2002, employees are no longer required to liquidate Emergency Vacation before charging absences to regular vacation. Employees may charge a vacation absence to Emergency Vacation and/or regular vacation, at their option.

Also commencing with the payroll period following the payroll period that includes October 1, 2002, vacation earned will again be recorded as regular vacation. The contractual provisions on vacation maximums remain applicable to regular vacation.

Therefore, eligible employees in the PS&T, DC37, ASU, ISU, OSU and DMNA Units must liquidate regular vacation in excess of 40 days prior to April 1, 2003 (January 1, 2003 for M/C employees) or it will be forfeited.

Eligible employees in the SSU and SspU will forfeit regular vacation in excess of 40 days as of the first day of the payroll period following the payroll period which includes October 1, 2002, unless they have a vacation request denied while at or approaching the vacation maximum in which case they can exceed the regular vacation maximum until October 1, 2003 or the point at which they use vacation time and drop below the 40-day maximum, whichever occurs first. No employee in these units can carry more than 40 days of regular vacation beyond October 1, 2003.

During the period these special provisions are in effect, employees who no longer meet the eligibility requirements (for example, because of a change in assignment or because the agency determines that they are no longer precluded from taking vacation) may retain previously accrued Emergency Vacation until October 1, 2003, although they are no longer eligible to earn Emergency Vacation.

All eligible employees continue to be subject to contractual provisions that limit the vacation lump sum payment upon separation to a maximum of 30 days. This is a combined maximum of regular vacation and Emergency Vacation, as well as any Special Vacation earned in connection with Y2K. For example, an employee who has a regular vacation balance of 30 days will not be paid for any Emergency Vacation at time of separation, while an employee whose regular vacation balance at time of separation is 20 days may also be paid for up to 10 days of Emergency Vacation. In no event may employees receive payment for more than 30 days of vacation at time of separation.

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Except as described above, provisions of the Attendance Rules and negotiated agreements regarding accrual, transfer and use of vacation credits apply to Emergency Vacation.

The provisions of the Memoranda of Agreement are not grievable.

Questions concerning information in this Bulletin may be directed to the Attendance and Leave Unit of this Department at (518) 457-2295.

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