2102 - Annual Leave

Category

Leave

Audience List

• Administrative Chiefs
• Employee Relations Officers
• Labor Relations Officers
• Personnel Officers
• Personnel Transactions Supervisors

Synopsis

This policy

• Provides eligibility, accrual, enrollment, and accumulation information about the Annual Leave Program (ALP).
• Identifies which position determines the annual leave accrual rate for an employee who has more than one intermittent position.
• Explains what happens when an excluded or represented employee has accumulated their annual leave balance over maximum.
• Provides information on qualifying pay periods and breaks in service.

Introduction

The Annual Leave Program allows for the replacement of traditional vacation and sick leave credits with a more discretionary use of annual leave credits. The number of annual leave hours accrued each qualifying pay period is based on the employees' time base, months of state service, and whether represented or excluded.

Statement

Participation in ALP or the Vacation/Sick Leave Program is a voluntary and personal choice of each employee. An employee should carefully evaluate the leave programs to determine which better addresses individual needs.

Annual leave can be used to meet an employee's need for paid time off for any management-approved absence that is covered by sick leave or vacation.  The advantages of annual leave are: (1) more discretionary leave each year (in lieu of sick leave), (2) annual leave has cash value upon retirement or separation from state service, (3) greater disability benefits in the event of a serious non-work-related injury or illness covered under Non-Industrial Disability Insurance by providing the option of replacing up to 100% of income by supplementation.

Eligibility

Employees eligible to participate in the ALP include the following:

• Managers, supervisors, confidential, and other “excluded” employees
• All rank-and-file employees
• Nonelected members of certain boards and commissions whose salaries are fixed by law (California Code of Regulations, title 2, section 599.751.1)

Statutory exempt employees are not eligible to participate. Unless otherwise specified in the applicable Memorandum of Understanding, seasonal employees are not eligible to participate.

Part-time employees, permanent-intermittent employees, and employees whose appointments are either limited term or temporary are eligible to participate in the ALP if their current appointments and CBIDs are in one of the eligible categories.

To qualify a full-time month, an employee must work 11 or more working days in a monthly pay period. In order for a part-time month to be a qualifying pay period, an employee must work at least that fraction of 88 hours (11 days) that corresponds to the employee’s time base. Annual leave credits are to be given on a pro rata basis to fractional time base employees on the first day of every monthly qualifying pay period. An intermittent employee must have 160 hours of paid employment to receive a qualifying monthly pay period.

Enrollment

Upon hire, most employees may elect to enroll in either the ALP or Vacation/Sick Leave Program.  Departments are responsible for providing information to employees regarding their option to participate in the ALP and when and how to change their election.  It is recommended that employees who have elected to participate in either program receive confirmation of their election.  The election form and copies of any other information provided to the employees regarding the program should be kept in the employee’s personnel file.

After the initial election, employees in Bargaining Units (BU) 1, 3, 4, 11, 14, 15, 17, 20, and 21 are subject to an open enrollment period.  Open enrollment occurs each April 1 through April 30, and enrollment changes are effective the first day of the June pay period. During the open enrollment period, employees may elect to opt in or out of the ALP.

Excluded and employees represented by BU's 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 16, 18, and 19, maintain a continuous enrollment eligibility period.  Employees must remain in the ALP or Vacation/Sick Leave Program for at least 24 months from the last date of election.

Upon enrolling into the ALP, an employee’s vacation balance will be converted to an annual leave bank.  The employee will begin accruing annual leave credits after each qualifying pay period.

Sick leave credits will no longer be accrued once enrolled in the ALP.  Sick leave balances in existence at the time of enrollment will be maintained for use by the employee for approved sick leave purposes.  Any sick leave on the books at the time of retirement will be converted to service credit at current retirement formulas (2,000 hours of sick leave converts to one year of CalPERS service credit).

Accrual

A full-time employee who has 11 or more working days of service in a monthly pay period shall earn annual leave credits as set forth below. Part-time employees shall receive credits on a pro rata basis and intermittent shall receive credits based on full-time rates once they have reached 160 hours of compensated work.

Accrual Chart for Represented Employees in Bargaining Units 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, and 21

• 1 month to 3 years of service: 11 hours/month annual leave accrual
• 37 months to 10 years of service: 14 hours/month annual leave accrual
• 121 months to 15 years of service: 16 hours/month annual leave accrual
• 181 months to 20 years of service: 17 hours/month annual leave accrual
• 241 months of service and over: 18 hours/month annual leave accrual

Note: Notwithstanding the above, in the July pay period BU 7 employees shall have their annual leave rates reduced for each employee by no more than two hours.

Accrual Chart for Represented Employees in Bargaining Unit 5, 6, and 8.

• 1 month to 3 years of service: 12 hours/month annual leave accrual
• 37 months to 10 years of service: 15 hours/month annual leave accrual
• 121 months to 15 years of service: 17 hours/month annual leave accrual
• 181 months to 20 years of service: 18 hours/month annual leave accrual
• 241 months of service and over: 19 hours/month annual leave accrual

Note: Notwithstanding the above, no later than the August 2019 pay period and during the July 2020 pay period, each California Correctional Peace Officers Association (CCPOA) Member shall accrue one hour less of annual leave and shall have one hour credited toward the Union’s Release Time Bank.

Notwithstanding the above, on the first day of the August pay period BU 8 employees shall accrue two hours less of annual leave and shall have two hours credited toward the Union’s Release Time Bank. On the first day of the February pay period BU 8 employees shall accrue one hour less of annual leave and shall have one hour credited toward the Union’s Release Time Bank.

Accrual Chart for Managerial, Supervisory, Confidential, All Other Excluded Employees, and Board and Commision Members

• 1 month to 10 years of service: 15 hours/month annual leave accrual
• 121 months to 15 years of service: 17 hours/month annual leave accrual
• 181 months to 20 years of service: 18 hours/month annual leave accrual
• 241 months to 25 years of service: 19 hours/month annual leave accrual
• 301 months of service and over: 20 hours/month annual leave accrual

“Excluded” (managerial, supervisory, etc.) employees who elected to participate in the ALP and thereafter transfer into a represented position will accrue annual leave credits on the basis of adding four hours to the existing vacation accrual schedule for represented employees.

Multiple Positions

When an employee is working in multiple intermittent positions that are: (1) designated in different bargaining units, (2) in different departments, and (3) each bargaining unit has negotiated a different rate for accruing annual leave credits, the primary position determines the annual leave accrual rate.

Usage

Annual leave can be used to meet an employee's need for paid time off for any management-approved absence that is covered by sick leave or vacation. 

Effective January 1, 2016, Senate Bill 579 amended California Labor Code section 233 to allow for the use of sick leave for the reasons specified in Labor Code section 246.5.  Most notable with this amendment, sick leave may be used for additional purposes related to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking as defined under the law.  Additionally, sick leave may be used for certain family members that were not previously covered by the law. An employee’s family members include:

• children (biological, adoptive, foster, step, legal ward, or to whom the employee stands in the place of a parent);

• parents (biological, adoptive, foster, step, legal guardian of the employee or the employee’s spouse or registered domestic partner, or a person who stood in the place of a parent when the employee was a minor child);

• spouse or registered domestic partner;

• grandparents;

• grandchildren; and

• siblings

Employees represented by BU 1, 3, 4, 7, 11, 14, 15, 17, 20, and 21 may use annual leave in 15-minute increments.

Employees represented by BU 2, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 16, 18, 19 may use annual leave in 30-minute increments.

Employees who are excluded from bargaining may use annual leave in 30 minute increments.

Accumulation Limit/Rollover

Per California Code of Regulations, title 2, section 599.752 excluded employees may accumulate the unused portion of annual leave, provided that on January 1 of each calendar year; the excluded employee shall not have more than 80 vacation days (640 hours).  In addition, excluded employees receiving annual leave are subject to California Code of Regulations, title 2, section 599.742.1, which  provides that if an employee will be at the cap in the coming January, the supervisor must notify and meet with the employee in July so they may plan to use their leave before reaching the cap.   Employees should also be notified on July 1 that if the employee fails to take off the required number of hours by January 1, except for the reasons listed below in this section, the appointing power shall require the employee to take the time.

Most State employees are subject to an annual leave cap of 640 hours, except as identified below:

• Employees represented by BU 5 and related excluded employees may accrue up to 924 hours of annual leave and shall be extended in the event the employer is not able to reduce balances for operational reasons for no less than the duration of the current MOU.

•  Employees represented by BU's 9 and 10 and related excluded employees shall have the 640-hour cap increased by 192 hours, which is the equivalent number of PLP 2020 hours employees were subject to until June 30, 2025.

Exceptions to leave cap limits are allowed in rare instances and must be approved, in advance, by the director of the Department of Human Resources. Reasons must be in compliance with the California Code of Regulations, title 2, section 599.752 for excluded employees and the applicable MOU for represented employees.

Break in Service

An employee who returns to state service after an absence caused by a temporary or permanent separation of less than six months, or an absence of six months or longer caused by a temporary separation other than temporary Military Leave shall commence to receive annual leave credit on the first day of the monthly pay period following completion of one qualifying monthly pay period of service after return.

An employee who has accrued annual leave, upon separation from state service without fault on the employee's part, is entitled to lump sum payment for the unused annual leave. This lump sum shall be computed by projecting the accumulated time on a calendar basis so that the lump sum will equal the amount which the employee would have been paid had they taken the time off but not separated from the state service.

An employee who has accrued annual leave, upon separation from state service through fault on the employee's part, is entitled to lump sum payment for the unused annual leave. This lump sum shall be based on actual accumulated time without projection as provided above.

Application

Authorities

• Bargaining Contracts - MOUs
• California Code of Regulations, title 2, section 599.742.1
• California Code of Regulations, title 2, section 599.752
• California Code of Regulations, title 2, section 599.752.1
• California Code of Regulations, title 2, section 599.752.2
• California Code of Regulations, title 2, section 599.752.3
• California Code of Regulations, title 2, section 599.753
• Government Code sections 19858.3 to 19859
• California Code of Regulations, title 2, section 599.745
• California Code of Regulations, title 2, section 599.745.1
• Labor Code section 233
• Labor Code section 245.5
• Labor Code section 246.5

Resources

FAQs

• Annual Leave: Frequently Asked Questions

Forms

• CalHR 875: Annual Leave-Sick/Vacation Leave Election Form

Related Policies

• 2105: Sick Leave

Authorized By

Melissa Russell
Chief
Personnel Management Division

Contact Person

Personnel Services Branch
Personnel Program Consultant , Personnel Services Branch
Phone: 916-909-3702
Fax: 916-327-1886
Email: psb@calhr.ca.gov

Superseded Policies

History

View History