I. Policy
To support non-exempt staff members in conducting personal business that cannot be conducted outside of normal work schedules, the university provides non-exempt staff members with personal business appointments leave. Non-exempt staff members are eligible to use up to eight hours of personal business appointments leave (prorated for part-time non-exempt staff members) each calendar year. Personal business appointments leave is not intended to supplement vacation leave, sick leave, floating holiday leave, or the days off provided as campus holidays and bonus days.
II. Eligibility and Scope
All non-exempt staff members in regular positions are eligible for personal business appointments to leave. Staff members in temporary positions are not eligible for personal business appointments to leave except when stipulated in a written agreement for a long-term temporary appointment, which has been authorized by the Associate Vice President for Human Resources or his or her designee.
Personal business appointments will be granted to eligible non-exempt staff members on the first day in January following the staff winter break (typically the first business day following New Year’s Day). Staff members hired after that date will receive personal business appointments leave the following January. Regular staff members budgeted to work 1.0 FTE will be granted eight hours of personal business appointments leave. Staff members budgeted to work less than 1.0 FTE will receive a prorated number of hours (eight hours x budgeted FTE = number of hours granted). If a staff member's FTE is adjusted in the middle of the calendar year and the staff member has not yet used his/her personal business appointments leave hours, the number of available hours will automatically be adjusted based on the new FTE.
- Personal business appointments leave hours are subject to advance supervisory approval. The immediate supervisor, in approving time off under this policy, shall consider all relevant factors, including work requirements, the impact of the staff member's absence on others, the urgency of the reason for the request, the frequency of such requests, the possibility of adjusting the staff member’s work schedule, and the possibility of handling such business after working hours. Requests for time off during the workday should be made in advance whenever possible.
- A staff member in a non-exempt position will be paid for personal business appointments leave at their regular hourly rate.
- Hours recorded as personal business appointments will not be included in the calculation of overtime.
- Personal business appointments leave hours are not compensable upon the termination of employment.
- Personal business appointments leave hours are not carried over from December 31 to January 1.
III. Personal Business Appointments Leave Use
Staff members should schedule appointments to conduct personal business outside of their normal work schedules or work with their supervisors to adjust their schedules to accommodate the time away from personal business. When this is not possible, staff members should consider departmental workflow and attempt to schedule appointments when reduced staff will cause the least amount of hardship for the department. Normally it is most efficient to schedule such appointments at the beginning or end of the workday.
Personal business appointments leave a contingency benefit (like sick leave, bereavement leave, or jury duty leave); personal business appointments leave when staff members cannot schedule the personal business appointments outside of their normal or adjusted work schedules. Personal business appointments include the following:
- Meeting a contractor at home, e.g., repairs, deliveries.
- Visiting a child’s school, e.g., school program, field trip, teacher/parent conference
- Engaging in community service, e.g., volunteering at a child’s school, attending a non-profit organization training session, meeting, or event
- Meeting with a service provider, e.g., governmental agency, accountant, attorney, provider (Note: Appointments with health care providers that can’t be scheduled outside of normal or adjusted work schedules are charged to sick leave)
Supervisors monitor the use of personal business appointments leave to prevent its abuse and ensure that work normally performed during the leave period does not cause hardship on other staff members. Personal business appointments can be used for periods of authorized absence for personal business appointments of up to eight hours.
Origination Date: 3/1974.
Revised: 1996, 3/16/2011, 7/1/2011, 1/1/2013, 1/1/2015.