PURPOSE / SCOPE:
ICOM recognizes the value and importance of providing opportunities for employees to take time off work to rejuvenate both physical and mental capacities that will benefit both the employee and ICOM. To that end, ICOM offers employees Paid Time Off (PTO).
POLICY AND PROCEDURE:
PTO is intended for vacations or other personal needs. Holidays, Continuing Education, Flexible Time Off (FTO), Military Time Off (MTO), Jury Duty and FMLA leaves are found in separate policies.
Eligibility and Accruals
All full-time employees are eligible to accrue PTO at a rate of 6.67 hours per pay period, which equates to 20 days per year if working 8-hour days. Accruals begin with an employee’s first pay period, there is no waiting period for the accrual nor for utilization. Employees on an unpaid leave of absence do not accrue PTO.
The maximum amount of PTO that may be accrued is 160 hours. An employee may use PTO before it is earned, thereby creating a negative accrual balance. The maximum permitted level of such a negative accrual is 40 hours and requires supervisor approval. A negative balance should be used rarely and is intended to assist new employees with scheduled vacations and to help employees with the timing of their vacations.
Using PTO
PTO may be used in increments as short as one hour for hourly (non-exempt) employees and no less than 1⁄2-day increments (typically 4 hours) for salaried (exempt) employees. Employees must submit a request through the HR/Payroll system, currently Paylocity, and should obtain supervisor’s approval prior to taking PTO. Employees are asked to submit time at least 30 days in advance to allow for adequate planning.
PTO is used to restore an employee to their regularly scheduled work week hours, it cannot be used to exceed the normally scheduled hours in a week. PTO will be used if Flexible Time Off (FTO) hours have been exhausted, however negative PTO balances are not permitted in such cases.
PTO hours may be used by employees serving in the Reserve or National Guard if they have exhausted their available MTO (Military Time Off) hours. Such employees are not required to use PTO time when fulfilling their military obligations.
PTO coordinates with FTO and disability benefits for employees on leave under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). If the employee is eligible for disability benefits, FTO and then PTO will be used during the waiting period and to make up the remaining amount of an employee’s compensation not covered by the disability benefit. At no time shall an employee earn more than 100% of their income.
Donating PTO Time
ICOM does not permit the transfer of PTO from one employee to another.
Separation from Employment
At the time of separation, ICOM will pay out up to 80 hours of accrued, unused PTO as part of the final paycheck. Should there be a negative accrual balance, the balance will be reimbursed to ICOM from the employee’s final check, within federal guidelines. The payout or reimbursement will be calculated at the effective hourly rate of pay at the time of separation.
PRIMARY POLICY OWNER:
VP of Human Resources & Organizational Development
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS:
APPROVAL: