Article 25 Holidays Personal Days And Vacation
Section 1
The University sets the academic calendar each year and designates official University holidays and recesses. Currently, the following are designated as official University holidays. SWs shall not be required to work on the following holidays and designated recess, except as provided below in section 2.
New Year’s Day
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Presidents’ Day
Memorial Day
Independence Day
Labor Day
Columbus Day (Federal) / Indigenous Peoples’ Day (City of Cambridge)
Veterans Day
Thanksgiving
Friday after Thanksgiving
Christmas Eve 1/2 day
Christmas Day
Winter Recess (the period between Christmas and New Year’s Day)
Section 2
During a designated holiday or recess, SWs may be required to conduct work (such as laboratory work, teaching a section, or grading of assignments) only when determined to be necessary by the faculty member or supervisor. The faculty member or supervisor shall provide notice to the SW in advance when such work is deemed necessary. If a SW is required to work on a designated holiday or recess, the SW shall choose an alternate day(s) off with the supervisor’s approval, which approval shall not be unreasonably denied.
Section 3
The University recognizes that there are religious holidays that are not currently University holidays. The University will make reasonable accommodations to a SW to observe a religious holiday provided it does not create an undue burden for the University. SWs shall request such time off for religious observance with reasonable advance notice to their supervisor.
Section 4
Personal Days
In addition to time off for designated holidays and recesses, SWs on a salaried appointment shall be entitled to one (1) personal day per semester without loss of compensation with, where possible, at least three (3) days advance notice to their supervisor. A salaried SW with a fall semester employment appointment may carry over and utilize their one personal day from the fall semester in the spring semester of the same fiscal year. Personal days may not, however, be carried over from one fiscal year to another.
Those salaried SWs with 12-month appointments shall receive one (1) additional personal day in addition to two (2) personal days for the fiscal year. Personal days may not be carried over from one fiscal year to another.
Personal days may be used for any purpose, including the SW’s personal observance of special days in their cultural heritage.
Section 5
Vacation Days for SWs with 10- and 12-month appointments
- SWs on a salaried 12-month appointment shall be entitled to ten (10) vacation days without loss of compensation to be used during their appointment period.
- A SW appointed to a position that would normally be 12 months, but initially appointed for 10-months (i.e. September through June) shall be entitled to eight (8) days off in that first employment appointment period without loss of compensation.
If a SW on a 12-month appointment spends part of that appointment period on a non-University activity (such as accepting an external internship), they shall receive a pro-rated amount of vacation for the months actually worked for the University.
In order for a SW to be entitled to vacation, they must be working under an employment appointment that is for 10- or 12-months duration. Thus, two separate semester appointments cannot be considered a 10-month appointment, nor can two separate six-month appointments be considered a 12-month appointment. - Vacation days must be used during the appointment period and may not be carried over from one fiscal year to the next. Vacation days not used during the appointment period will be forfeited.
- Vacation time shall be scheduled in consultation with and approval of the supervisor/faculty member, which approval shall not be unreasonably denied.
- For SWs with curricular responsibilities, vacations should normally not be taken during the Fall or Spring academic semesters.
- A vacation request of more than two weeks by combining vacation time at the end of one fiscal year with vacation time at the beginning of the next fiscal year will only be allowed with the consent of the supervisor who shall be under no obligation to grant such request.
- If a designated University holiday or recess falls during an SW’s vacation, the SW shall not be charged vacation time for that holiday or recess.
