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U.Va. Human Resources
News from UHR...

November 7, 2008

From: Susan Carkeek, Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer
Date: November 7, 2008
Subject: 2008 & 2009 Holiday Schedule for the Academic Division

I am pleased to remind you of the remaining holidays for 2008 and announce the 2009 holiday schedule for U.Va.’s academic division. This information should be useful to you as you make plans to take time off, both this year and next.

Each year, we field a number of questions about the difference between the state’s holiday calendar and ours. I thought it would be helpful to clarify how holidays are scheduled at the University. The state and the University observe the same number of days off each year, but we take different holidays because of the student-centered nature of our business. This cuts down on the number of days that our administrative offices would have to stay open despite it being a “holiday.” For example, the state will observe George Washington Day on Feb. 16, 2009, but we have classes on that day and would have to ask many people to work in order to provide required services. Instead, we designate Christmas Eve as a holiday and are able to allow the majority of our employees to be at home with their families.

Often, the Governor announces additional holidays later in the year. When he does, we treat those as comp time, because he usually awards days already listed as holidays on the University’s calendar.

2008 Remaining Holidays:
Thursday, November 27, 2008 Thanksgiving
Friday, November 28, 2008 Day after Thanksgiving
Wednesday, December 24, 2008 Christmas Eve
Thursday, December 25, 2008 Christmas Day
Friday, December 26, 2008 Day After Christmas
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 New Year's Eve Day
2008 Comp Time to be Awarded:

Earlier this year, the Governor announced that he was giving a half day off on Christmas Eve and all of the day after Christmas, above and beyond the previously announced state holidays. Because the University already slated those two days as holidays, we will award those hours as comp time.

The Governor also announced early closure for most state offices on the day before Thanksgiving. Because many students and professors will still need our services that day, the University will not close early. Instead, four hours of comp time will be awarded to leave balances on that day.

The time will appear on your leave balances as awarded on the following days:
Date Credited to Leave Balances Hours Credited
Wednesday, November 26, 2008 4 hours
Wednesday, December 24, 2008 4 hours
Friday, December 26, 2008 8 hours
This additional holiday time will be credited to Classified staff, University staff, and Research Assistants as compensatory special leave balances on the dates designated above and must be used within 12 months of the date earned. An election to University staff status during the current open enrollment period does not affect this earned time.

For twelve-month faculty, the additional 16 hours of leave should be worked out with individual managers. Please refer to the Provost’s policy on leave for more information:
http://www.virginia.edu/provost/docs_policies/leaves.html

Hours for part-time qualifying employees will be pro-rated.


2009 Official Holidays

The following are the officially observed 2009 U.Va. Academic Division holidays:
Thursday, January 1, 2009 New Year's Day
Friday, January 2, 2009 Day After New Year's
Monday, January 19, 2009 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Friday, March 6, 2009 Spring Break Day
Monday, May 25, 2009 Memorial Day
Friday, July 3, 2009 Independence Day
Monday, September 7, 2009 Labor Day  (see Special Note below)
Wednesday, November 25, 2009 Day Before Thanksgiving HALF DAY
Thursday, November 26, 2009 Thanksgiving
Friday, November 27, 2009 Day after Thanksgiving
Thursday, December 24, 2009 Christmas Eve
Friday, December 25, 2009 Christmas Day
Monday, December 28, 2009 Day After Christmas
Thursday, December 31, 2009 New Year's Eve Day
Once again, the Governor has already given additional time for 2009. As a result, we’ve added a day and a half to the holiday calendar (the day after New Year’s and a half day on the day before Thanksgiving) and will also award eight hours of comp time. We will award that time on January 10, 2009.

Policies on taking this comp time are the same as for 2008, above.


Special Note Regarding Essential Services

Even with careful scheduling, on certain University holidays some departments need to be open and should arrange at least limited coverage to provide essential services. For example, most University offices will need to be open on Labor Day because classes are held on that day, and it is expected that your supervisors will arrange for adequate coverage. It is important for all of us to understand how necessary our services are and to work with each other to arrange an equitable schedule from year to year.

When you are asked to work on a holiday, compensatory leave will be awarded. Supervisors should give adequate advance notice to the affected employees for planning purposes.

Your supervisor or department administrators can answer questions about required coverage during holidays.


Additional Holiday Information:

As always, if you wish to take additional leave or use your comp time around the holidays, you will need to have approval in advance from your supervisor. Supervisors are encouraged to be as flexible as possible in granting leave requests, especially during holiday periods
  • Procedures and eligibility rules for administering holiday leave are posted under the Holiday Schedule: http://www.hrs.virginia.edu
  • The University of Virginia’s Health System administration will distribute holiday information pertaining to the Medical Center and Clinics.
  • The University of Virginia’s College at Wise administration will distribute information pertaining to the College at Wise.
If you have any questions concerning these holidays please call the UHR Leave Center at 924-1426 or 924-4404 or send an email to hrdept@virginia.edu

I wish you a very happy 2008 and 2009!