Vacation

MICA’s vacation plan for staff employees is designed to provide an opportunity to rest, recuperate and get away from everyday routine. For that reason, the College believes it is important to take vacation when it is earned, and encourages all employees to do so. 

Eligibility

All exempt and non-exempt benefit-eligible staff employees working at least 20 hours per week are eligible for vacation leave. 

Part-time staff employees (those regularly working at least 20 hours per week and up to 29 hours per week are eligible for vacation leave on a pro-rated basis).

Vacation Leave Accruals

• Vacation accrual begins on the first pay period of employment.
• Vacation leave is accrued on a per-pay period basis each accrual year (June 1 to May 31) for a maximum of 20 calendar days (4 weeks).
• Vacation accruals will not be earned when the maximum of 30 calendar days (6 weeks) is reached and will resume when vacation accruals fall below the stated maximum.
• Vacation leave can be used after it has been accrued and after the employee has successfully completed their introductory period (at least 90 days).
• Vacation pay will not be counted as "time worked" for purposes of calculating overtime pay.
• Vacation leave will be substituted for sick leave when an employee's sick leave balance has been exhausted.
• An employee’s vacation accrual balance cannot hold a negative balance.
• Employees are not eligible to use vacation leave during the last two weeks of employment after an employee has provided notice of resignation.

Procedures

• Leave requests: Employees must submit a vacation leave request in Workday to their supervisor at least two weeks before the requested leave. Employees must ensure that they have enough accrued leave available to cover the time off requested.
• Approval for all vacation leave requests is at the discretion of supervisors, based on the business needs of the College. Requests will be evaluated based on a number of factors, including department operating and staffing requirements.

Vacation leave pay

• Vacation will be paid at the employee's base rate at the time the leave is taken.
• Vacation pay does not include overtime or any special forms of compensation such as incentives, commissions, bonuses or shift differentials.
• If a holiday falls during an employee's approved vacation, the day will be charged to holiday pay, if applicable, rather than to vacation pay.
• Upon separation from the College, staff employees will be paid for up to 30 calendar days (6 weeks) of unused vacation that was accrued through the last day of active employment and computed at the rate of pay at separation. 

Part-Time staff employees: Part-time staff employees (those regularly working less than 20 hours per week) are not eligible for vacation leave.

Temporary, Casual and Student employees are not eligible for vacation leave.

MICA staff and faculty covered by collective bargaining agreements should refer to the appropriate article in their contract.

Sick Leave

MICA’s sick leave plan allows employees paid time off work to recover from an illness, to address medical needs or to address the medical needs of a family member.

Eligibility

All exempt and non-exempt benefit-eligible staff employees working at least 20 hours per week are eligible for sick leave. 

Part-time staff employees (those regularly scheduled to work at least 20 hours per week and up to 29 hours per week) are eligible for sick leave on a pro-rated basis).

Sick Leave Accruals

• Sick leave accrual begins on the first pay period after employment begins.
• Sick leave is accrued on a per-pay period basis per accrual year (June 1 to May 31) for a total of 10 calendar days (2 weeks).
• Sick leave accrual balance will be capped at a maximum of 20 calendar days (4 weeks).  Sick leave accrual will resume when sick accruals fall below the stated maximum 20 calendar days.
• Sick leave can be used after it has been accrued.
• Sick leave pay will not be counted as "time worked" for purposes of calculating overtime pay.
• An employee’s sick leave accrual balance cannot hold a negative balance.
• Employees who have provided notice of resignation are required to provide supporting medical documentation to the Office of People, Belonging and Culture (PB&C) in order to use sick leave during the last two weeks of employment.

Procedures

• Leave requests: Employees must submit a leave request in Workday as soon as possible and ensure that they have enough accrued sick leave available to cover the time off requested.
• Employees are expected to notify their immediate supervisor on each occasion of absence from work due to an illness. While emergencies may occur, employees are expected to call in before the start of the employee's regular scheduled shift or as soon as practical.
• Employees who are absent due to illness or injury for three (3) or more consecutive workdays must provide a doctor's certificate to the Office of PB&C to support an absence. All supervisors must ensure that sick leave requests are documented in Workday.
• 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 or a holiday 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.
• Inappropriate use or abuse of sick leave can and will be addressed via MICA’s progressive disciplinary process.
• 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 doctor’s certificate from the attending physician is required.

Sick leave pay

• Sick leave will be paid at the employee's base rate at the time the leave is taken.
• Sick leave does not include overtime or any special forms of compensation such as incentives, commissions, bonuses or shift differentials.
• Unused and accrued sick leave will not be paid out to employees upon separation from the College. 

Return to Work

If you are on a medical leave of absence lasting three (3) or more consecutive days, you must return to work upon release to do so by your physician. MICA requires such a release before reinstatement to your position. The College requires a work release with or without accommodation for any illness or injury of three (3) days or more prior to allowing an employee to return to work. Please contact PB&C with questions or to provide return-to-work information.

Due to business needs, the College cannot guarantee any employee’s position upon return from any non-FML leave of absence, except as required by law. If an employee fails to report to work the first day after the leave expires, he/she will be considered to have terminated his/her employment with the College.

Part-Time staff employees: Part-time staff employees (those regularly scheduled to work less than 20 hours per week) are not eligible for sick leave.

Temporary, Casual and Student employees are not eligible for sick leave.

MICA staff and faculty covered by collective bargaining agreements should refer to the appropriate article in their contract.

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

• All regular part-time faculty or staff employees (those regularly working less than 30 hours per week), temporary, casual and student employees.
• 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 (June 1 to May 31) beginning from the employee’s date of hire.
• All full-time exempt and non-exempt benefit-eligible staff employees working at least 30 hours per week are NOT eligible for sick and safe leave benefits. These employees are eligible for Sick Leave.

Sick and Safe Leave Accruals

• 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 carry over 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 June 1 and ends on May 31. Any sick and safe leave that exceeds the limits and is not utilized by May 31 will expire as of June 1 each year.  
• Sick and Safe Leave pay will not be counted as "time worked" for purposes of calculating overtime pay.
• An employee’s sick and safe leave accrual balance cannot hold a negative balance.
• Employees are eligible to use sick and safe leave during the last two weeks of employment after an employee has provided notice of resignation and will be required to provide supporting documentation.

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 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 domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. 

Procedures

• Leave requests: To schedule sick and safe leave time, employees must submit a leave request in Workday as soon as possible and ensure that they have enough accrued leave available to cover the time off requested.
• Documentation: Employees who are absent for three or more consecutive workdays must provide documentation to the Office of People, Belonging and Culture (PB&C) to support their absence. Please contact PB&C should you have any questions or concerns regarding the type of documentation needed. The reason for utilization will be held confidential.
• Employees are expected to notify their immediate supervisor on each occasion of absence from work. While emergencies may occur, it is expected that an employee calls in before the start of the employee's regular scheduled shift or as soon as practical. 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 court date as soon as it is scheduled so the department can prepare accordingly. It is the supervisor’s responsibility to determine coverage for the employee’s absence. A supervisor cannot require an eligible employee requesting leave under this policy to search for or find coverage during their absence.
• 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. 
• Employees who are absent due to illness or injury for three or more consecutive workdays must provide a doctor's certificate to the Office of PB&C to support an absence. All supervisors must ensure that sick and safe leave requests are documented in Workday.
• The College retains the right to review how an employee is using sick and safe leave. A pattern of using sick and safe leave on days preceding or following scheduled time off or a holiday is an indication of possible misuse. In such circumstances, the College may require additional documentation to verify the legitimacy of the absence.
• While on vacation, an employee may request to substitute their vacation leave with sick and safe leave for purposes covered under this policy. Appropriate documentation that supports the reason for the absence will be required.
• 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.

Sick and Safe Leave pay

• Sick and Safe Leave pay will be paid at the employee's base rate at the time the leave is taken.
• Sick and Safe Leave pay does not include overtime or any special forms of compensation such as incentives, commissions, bonuses or shift differentials.
• Unused and accrued sick and safe leave pay will not be paid out to employees upon separation from the College. 

Personal Leave

Personal leave provides employees with authorized paid absences from work for the purpose of attending to personal business and emergencies. These days are determined by the employee whether a particular situation is serious enough to warrant the use of a personal day.

Eligibility

All full-time exempt and non-exempt benefit-eligible staff employees who are regularly scheduled to work at least 30 hours per week are eligible for personal leave benefits. 

Personal Leave balance

Employees are granted for up to four (4) personal leave days each year (June 1 - May 31). During an employee's first year of employment, personal leave will be granted as indicated below:

Hire Date	Number of Days Granted
June 1 - August 31	4
September 1 - November 30	3
December  1 - February 28 (29)	2
March 1 - May 31	1

• Personal leave days are granted on June 1 each year. 
• Personal leave can be used anytime after it has been granted.
• Personal leave pay will not be counted as "time worked" for purposes of calculating overtime pay.
• Personal leave pay will be substituted for sick leave when an employee's sick leave balance has been exhausted.
• An employee’s personal leave balance cannot hold a negative balance.
• Employees who have provided notice of resignation are not eligible to use personal leave during the last two weeks of employment.

Procedures

• Leave requests: Employees must submit a personal leave request in Workday to their supervisor as soon as practical. Employees must ensure that they have enough accrued leave available to cover the time off requested.
• Employees are expected to notify their immediate supervisor on each occasion of absence from work. While emergencies may occur, it is expected that an employee calls in before the start of the employee's regular scheduled shift or as soon as practical.
• Unused personal leave days will expire on May 31 each year.

Personal leave pay

• Personal leave pay will be paid at the employee's base rate at the time the leave is taken.
• Personal leave pay does not include overtime or any special forms of compensation such as incentives, commissions, bonuses or shift differentials.
• Upon separation from the College, unused personal leave days will not be paid out to separating employees.

Part-Time Employees: Part-time and temporary employees are not eligible for personal leave days.

MICA staff and faculty covered by collective bargaining agreements should refer to the appropriate article in their contract.

Bereavement/Compassionate Leave Policy

Policy Statement and Purpose

MICA’s bereavement/compassionate leave policy outlines provisions for staff and faculty employees who lose a loved one.  If this happens, MICA wants to support its employees and allow them time to mourn and cope.

Staff and faculty members are provided with time off, without loss of pay, for the following reasons:

• making service/burial arrangements,
• serving as executor of an estate,
• settling family affairs,
• fulfilling family obligations,
• bereavement/personal mourning,
• attending the funeral or memorial service of a loved one (inclusive of extended family members, family not related by blood and/or pets), and/or
• miscarriage or stillbirth

MICA reserves the right to require documentation of the death (e.g., death certificate, obituary, documentation from funeral home). 

Eligibility

• Full-time and part-time staff members who are scheduled to work 20 hours or more per week.
• Full-time faculty

Time Allowances

• A maximum of five (5) days off with pay will be granted upon the death of an eligible employee’s:
  • Spouse/domestic partner/civil union partner
  • Child including adopted, foster, legal ward, bonus or step (i.e., child of a spouse, domestic or civil union partner)
  • Child due to miscarriage or stillbirth
  • Brother or sister
  • Parent or guardian (including step parent)
  • In-law (Son, daughter, mother, father, brother, sister) 
  • An employee who serves as executor and/or is responsible for planning/coordinating service, memorial and/or burial arrangements

An eligible employee’s bonus (i.e., step or family not related by blood) relations are also included in the aforementioned category.

• A maximum of three (3) days off with pay will be granted upon the death an eligible employee’s:
  • Grandparent
  • Grandchild
  • Aunt or uncle
  • Niece or nephew
  • In-law (grandparent, grandchild, aunt, uncle)
  • Pet

An eligible employee’s bonus (i.e., step or family not related by blood) relations are also included in the aforementioned category.

• One (1) day off with pay will be granted upon the death of an eligible employee’s:
  • Cousin
  • Extended family member

An eligible employee’s bonus (i.e., step or family not related by blood) relations are also included in the aforementioned category.

• Eligible employees will be granted up to four (4) hours of paid bereavement leave to attend the funeral of a colleague or retiree of MICA, provided such absence will not interfere with the normal operations of a department, program, division or the College.

Procedures

• Eligible employees who need to take time off due to the death of a loved one should notify their immediate supervisor as soon as possible via email or telephone call. If the employee leaves work early on the day they are notified of the death, that day will not count toward bereavement leave.
• Eligible employees needing additional days off in excess of the allotted time allowances outlined above due to the loss of a loved one, may use available vacation, personal or unpaid leave. Sick leave may not be used.
• For time reporting purposes, all bereavement time and any related additional days must be entered into Workday by the employee for approval by their supervisor.  If the eligible employee is unable to enter their time, their supervisor may enter the request in Workday on behalf of the staff or faculty member.
• Bereavement pay is calculated based on the base rate of pay at the time of absence and does not include TPI, overtime, shift differentials, bonuses or any other auxiliary pay.
• Bereavement pay is not considered for purposes of overtime calculation.
• The allotted days off with pay do not have to be consecutive.  However, the allotted time must be used within one year of the death of the family member.
• Upon separation from the College, unused bereavement leave days will not be paid out to separating employees.
• Staff and faculty who are covered by collective bargaining agreements
• MICA staff and faculty covered by collective bargaining agreements should refer to the appropriate article in their contract.

Other

Losing a loved one is never easy. Grief isn’t a linear process – it comes in stages, and ebbs and flows.  Managers are expected to be flexible and supportive of employee bereavement during difficult times. 

Staff and faculty may also seek support from the Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Holidays

MICA observes the following paid holidays:

• New Year's Day
• Martin Luther King's Birthday
• Memorial Day
• Juneteenth
• Independence Day
• Labor Day
• Thanksgiving Day
• Friday after Thanksgiving
• Christmas Eve Day
• Christmas Day

Eligibility for paid holidays

All regular, exempt and nonexempt, full-time employees are eligible for paid holidays upon hire. Part-time employees are eligible on a prorated basis. 

Procedures

• 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.
• The College may designate additional holidays and/or days when the College closes early, as well as modify the holiday schedule as deemed appropriate.
• A paid holiday does not count as a day worked in calculating overtime for the week.

Holiday Pay

• Full-time 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 and approved vacation or other absence or otherwise approved in advance by the employee’s supervisor.
• Paid holidays that fall during an employee’s scheduled vacation will not be counted against the individual's vacation allotment.
• The College reserves the right to schedule employees to work on any holiday to meet business, operational and student needs. A full-time non-exempt employee who is scheduled to work a holiday will receive holiday pay in addition to regular pay for the hours worked on the holiday.
• Part-time employees will be paid for holidays on a prorated basis, based on their standard hours of work if the employee regularly works on the day of the week that the holiday falls, provided the employee works their scheduled workdays before or after the holiday or is on approved leave.
• Part-time employees who do not regularly work on the day of the week that the holiday falls will receive holiday pay in the following amounts:
  • In departments that work a standard 35-hour week, 3.5 hours of holiday pay for each of the MICA holidays, provided the employee works their scheduled workdays before or after the holiday or is on approved leave.
  • In departments that work a standard 40-hour week, 4 hours of holiday pay for each of the MICA holidays, provided the employee works their scheduled workdays before or after the holiday or is on approved leave.
• Employees covered by collective bargaining agreements will receive paid time off for holidays in accordance with that agreement.

Winter Recess Week

Winter Recess refers to the closing of the College’s academic and administrative offices between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day.  Winter Recess days are not holidays but are floating days provided in addition to the already scheduled College holidays. This is done in recognition of the season and to give the community time to rest and re-energize while letting go of some stress.  

The goal of Winter Recess is to close the College. However, a few areas of the College provide critical, essential services and therefore will not close during the Winter Recess. Those areas will maintain appropriate levels of staffing for operations and continuity of service during this period.  Employees in those areas who are not able to be off during the Winter Recess period will be allowed to take the equivalent number of Winter Recess days off prior to the end of that fiscal year.  

All MICA benefits-eligible, full and part-time, staff are eligible to participate in Winter Recess. 

Student RA’s who are hired to work and support students in winter break housing will be paid for hours worked but are not eligible for an equivalent number of Winter Recess days.  All other students are not eligible and should not be scheduled to work during the Winter Recess period.

Temporary and casual employees are not eligible and should not be scheduled to work during the Winter Recess period.

Essential employees provide services that relate directly to the health, safety, and welfare of the MICA community and ensure the continuity of key operations.  Employees in the following areas have been classified as essential during the Winter Recess: Facilities Management, Building Services, and Campus Safety.  Some employees in the Registrar’s Office, Open Studies, Student Affairs, and Advancement may also be deemed essential by their managers. 

Employees not designated as essential may not work during the Winter Recess.

Pay and Recording time in Workday

• Employees must be in a full-time benefits-eligible position in order to receive pay for time not working during Winter Recess.
• Employees in regularly scheduled part-time positions will receive pay for time not worked during Winter Recess on a prorated basis based on their standard hours of work.
• All employees who are eligible for paid Winter Recess will have floating days (Winter Recess days) added in Workday.  If you do not work during Winter Recess, then you will enter these floating days in Workday.
• If you are an essential employee and work during the Winter Recess, you will enter your hours worked as you normally do.
• Employees MAY NOT use a floating holiday (Winter Recess Day) on a day that they also work.
• Please note:  Floating holidays will expire at the end of the Fiscal year on May 31, will not roll over to the following fiscal year, will have no cash value, and will not be paid out in lieu of using them or at the separation of employment.