LHR News: Dec. 8

Upcoming Holidays:

December/January Holidays

This year, December 25 will fall on a Thursday, as will January 1, 2015. The official University holiday period begins Wednesday, December 24 and ends Thursday, January 1. Weekdays during that period are official University holidays.

In order to provide a generally more desirable and efficient application of time off, University offices and facilities, except for essential services, will be closed Friday, January 2, as well. Since January 2 is not a University holiday, employees will need to account for the time appropriately, e.g., with vacation or no pay. Any employee choosing to work on January 2 will be permitted to do so; however, temperature conditions in the work area may be less than ideal. Employees planning to work should discuss this with their supervisor, in advance. The University will be closed from the end of normal operations on Tuesday, December 23, and will reopen on Monday, January 5.

Full-time employees who are asked to work on an official University holiday must be given compensatory time and/or additional compensation according to the Holidays section of HR-34. Part-time employees with Earned Time status who are required to work would be paid time and a half for working on a holiday, per HR05. Supervisors should carefully plan and budget for the staff needed for minimum coverage on these dates, and employees may only work if required.

ESSIC Attendance Record Instructions for Official University Holidays:

  • For an employee who normally works on the day a holiday falls, who is not required to work: Select “Holiday” from the list of reasons. If an employee normally works more than his/her allowed holiday time (e.g. a 75% HR-88 employee who has a prorated 6-hour holiday, but his/her shift during this time period would normally be 8 hours), he/she should account for the remaining hours that day with vacation time, or must make arrangements to make up the remaining time during that same work week.
  • For an employee who is required to work on an official University holiday: If non-exempt, mark the actual hours worked (exempt employees mark nothing). Then, when submitting the attendance record at the end of the month, add the compensatory time earned in “Holiday Compensatory Time Earned” on the Paid Time Off Earned page, where vacation is added each month. As a reminder, this time must be used before vacation.
  • If a holiday falls on an employee’s regularly scheduled day off: The employee should add Holiday Compensatory Time when the record is submitted at the end of the month, according to the instructions in the above scenario. Nothing is marked on the actual holiday.
  • Employees who have HR-88 positions should follow the guidance outlined in the policy.
  • For guidance on other scenarios, please contact our office.

Note: Dickinson School of Law Libraries and George T. Harrell Library employees are provided with this information as employees of the University Libraries; however, day-to-day operational practices are guided by their respective Colleges. Dickinson and College of Medicine Library employees should speak to their immediate supervisor or local HR Representative for guidance, as necessary. Conditions of employment for Technical-service employees are further described in the “Agreement between The Pennsylvania State University and Teamsters Local Union No. 8.” Technical-service employees should refer to the Agreement for information related to the above topics.