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Mailing Address:
U.Va. Human Resources
914 Emmet Street
P.O. Box 400127
Charlottesville, VA
22904
Phone: (434) 924-4598
Email: hrdept@virginia.edu
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| News from UHR... |
October 26, 2007
Paid Time Off for Election Officials
Dear Colleagues,
Recently the University has appeared in the media in stories about election officials and how they are paid for their service.
I write to clear up misconceptions there might be about the University of Virginia's policy regarding leave for employees who plan to work as election officials.
The University stands strong in support of our employees exercising their right and duty to take part in civic activities. It is one of the missions of the University to foster civic involvement, a spirit of volunteerism, and participation in activities that support our community. Serving on a jury or working the polls clearly falls in this category, and we encourage our employees to do so.
There is a special type of leave - “civil leave” - that employees take when they are volunteering for civic service. The conditions around using “civil leave” are straightforward: employees are paid their University salary while on civil leave and cannot accept additional payment from the state while on this type of leave. That would contradict the very intent of the civil leave program.
We recognize that election officials are paid and some employees may want to accept that payment. To accommodate those employees we offer a choice: if an employee wants to receive the extra payment, then they must take some other form of paid personal leave.
It's that simple: take civil paid leave and no extra payment or, to receive the extra payment, take paid personal leave. It is up to the individual to decide which type of leave to take.
This policy is not just the policy of the University of Virginia. It is in fact the policy of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The state policy does not allow state employees to take paid civil leave to serve as election officials and to receive pay for these duties.
An article in the Oct. 26 Daily Progress unfairly depicts the University as making it difficult for employees to participate in elections. In fact, the University encourages service to the community, as demonstrated on Sept. 19 for the annual Laurence E. Richardson Day of Caring. The University once again fielded the largest employee volunteer work force, 1,292 strong, who dedicated themselves to community needs. Their volunteer service was counted as "hours worked" - and they were honored to do this without additional compensation.
I would hope that our employees who are inspired to serve at the polls this election year know that their volunteerism is appreciated and supported by the University through this paid leave program. We are proud of all our employees who give back to the community through public service.
Sincerely,
Susan A. Carkeek
Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer
University of Virginia
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