Accruals (Time and Leave Benefits)

The paid time off accruals as detailed in the Time Off and Leave Benefits policy applies to all RFCUNY employees unless otherwise provided for in collective bargaining agreements. Unless expressly provided for otherwise, it does not apply to Graduate Research Assistants, students on stipends or on the CUNY College Work Study Program, or to foreign nationals employed outside the United States, its territories, or Canada. The benefits or policies stated herein are not intended to be contractual in nature. They do not confer any right or privilege, but are informational only. The RF retains the absolute right to amend or terminate any benefit or policy at any time. See RFCUNY’s Policy 506 Time Off and Leave Benefits for more details.

The following definitions and job classifications (as determined by the Personnel Action Form) are essential for understanding applicability of the RFCUNY time and leave benefits.

• Full-Time Employees  Instructional (non-credit bearing courses) and Non-Instructional are employees scheduled to work at least 70 hours per biweekly pay period.
• Part-Time A Instructional and Non-Instructional are employees scheduled to work less than 70 hours per bi-weekly pay period but more than 38 hours per bi-weekly pay period.
• Part-Time B Instructional and Non-Instructional are employees scheduled to work 38 or fewer hours per biweekly pay period.
• Temporary and On Call Employees are Full-time or part-time employees whose primary reason for employment is to meet the need for temporary, per diem, as needed, seasonal and on-call assignments.
• Graduate Research Assistants are Full-time matriculated CUNY doctoral students appointed to sponsored projects.

The following time and leave eligibility rules and accrual rates apply to all full-time and part-time RFCUNY employees, unless otherwise provided for in an applicable collective bargaining agreement. Please note that RFCUNY Central Office employee accruals may vary slightly from what is listed below. Please contact the Office of Human Resources for more information.

Annual Leave is to be used for vacation, personal business, family illness or other family emergencies, religious holidays, days of special observance, etc. No annual leave accumulates while an employee is on leave without pay or after the last day actually worked before resignation, retirement, or termination. Full and Part-time employees begin accruing annual leave from the first day of employment. The accrual of annual leave is based on the years of service with the RFCUNY as well as the hours an employee works. See the Annual Leave Accrual Rates chart below for details. Annual leave accruals are not earned on Fair Labor Standard Act (FLSA) hours.

Employees must take all accrued annual leave prior to their appointment end date unless other arrangements are made for its use or payment. The maximum amount of annual leave an employee is permitted to carry over into the new calendar year is 175 hours. Annual leave earned during an appointment period must be used during the appointment where it was earned. In cases where the appointment ends with an annual leave balance, a payout must be processed. Payouts must be authorized in advance by the Program Director or Human Resources.

RFCUNY recognizes that employees may need days off from work time to time to address their medical needs or the medical needs of a family member. For this purpose, RFCUNY offers a sick and family leave program through which eligible employees receive at least a minimum level of paid time off benefits each year (refer to below table for accrual rates). The maximum Sick Leave hours accumulated is up to 160 work days or 1120 hours.

The above accrual rates are based on a 35-hour workweek and are to be pro-rated for part-timers. In order to determine the amount of leave accrued by a part-time employee, multiply the number of hours worked by the appropriate factor (based on years of service). For example, a part-time employee with one year of service who works 20 hours per week (40 hours per pay period) will accrue 2.31 hours of annual leave per pay period (40 hours x 0.057692 hours/hour worked = 2.31 hours). Over 26 pay periods, that part-time employee will accrue 60 hours of annual leave.

* A lapse in employment by the Research Foundation lasting more than four (4) months constitutes a break in service for purposes of leave accrual rates, which results in an employee re-starting at 0 years of service for the purpose of accrual rates.

** Part-Time Instructional, Seasonal, Temporary and On Call employees, and Graduate Research Assistants accrue no annual leave.

*** Graduate Research Assistants are only eligible to accrue 40 hours of sick leave per calendar year, pursuant to the New York Earned Safe and Sick Time Act policy, below.

Credit for accrued leave of any type earned while employed on one project or college earnings account may not be carried over to another project (i.e., different account number) with the exception of up to 40 hours of sick leave accrued pursuant to the provisions of the New York City Earned Safe and Sick Time Act if the employee or Graduate Research Assistant is rehired or reappointed within six (6) months of termination.

Holidays are scheduled annually for the fiscal year. RFCUNY usually observes 14 scheduled holidays in addition to the accrued unscheduled holidays. Eligibility for paid holidays is determined by the classification or employee status based on work scheduled. Full-time employees receive scheduled and unscheduled holidays as listed below. Part Time employees do not receive holiday benefits.

Observed RFCUNY Holidays are:

• Independence Day
• Labor Day
• Columbus Day
• Thanksgiving Holiday (2 days)
• Christmas Holiday (2 days)
• New Year’s Holiday (2 days)
• Martin Luther King Jr. Day
• Lincoln’s Birthday
• President’s Day
• Memorial Day
• Juneteenth

Unscheduled Holidays

Full-time employees earn at least two unscheduled holidays each fiscal year (July 1st - June 30th), according to the annual holiday schedule issued by the Research Foundation each fiscal year. These days can be used for vacation, personal or family business, religious or other special observance, etc. To be eligible, an individual must have been employed full-time on the same Research Foundation account for three (3) consecutive months prior to the first day of the month of the calendar quarter. If an individual is transferred from one Research Foundation account to another without a 30-day break in service, an additional three-month waiting period is not required. Unscheduled holidays are to be authorized in advance by the employee's supervisor and must be taken during the fiscal year in which they were earned and before the date of termination or else forfeited.