With the holidays fast approaching, IU Human Resources offers reminders about the Nov. 24 Day of Gratitude holiday, 2021’s final paycheck, how and when to use time off during the winter, and PTO rollover into sick leave.

Day of Gratitude: Nov. 24, 2021

As shared by President Pam Whitten, the executive leadership of IU would like to express their gratitude for the efforts of IU faculty and staff with an extended Thanksgiving break. Therefore, Wednesday, Nov. 24, will be a paid university holiday this year, and many IU offices will be closed Wednesday through Friday. 

This is a one-time, additional, paid holiday for the 2021 calendar year. Timesheets and ePTO calendars will auto-populate with the holiday hours. For employees who must work on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, it is a non-premium holiday (refer to the Human Resources Holidays policy: HR-05-30). Staff employees who accrue holiday hours as compensation for working Nov. 24 may use those hours before the end of the last pay period in 2022.

Year-end pay dates

For staff paid biweekly, the last pay date of the year is Dec. 23, 2021, for time worked between Nov. 28, 2021, and Dec. 11, 2021. Staff paid monthly will receive pay for work during December 2021 on Jan. 3, 2022. A reminder: For tax purposes, the last 2021 pay date for those paid monthly will be Nov. 30.

Use of unused 2020 holiday hours accruals 

Unused holiday accruals from 2020 must be used by the end of the last pay period of 2021. For non-exempt staff, holiday time off earned in 2020 must be used by Dec. 25, 2021. For exempt staff, holiday time off earned in 2020 must be used by Dec. 31, 2021.

PTO sick leave rollover

Due to the continuing COVID-19 situation, the normal PTO sick leave rollover limit of 96 hours has been removed. Any PTO hours that cannot be carried over may be allocated to your PTO sick leave, which can be used to cover absences for personal and family medical needs.

The rollover process will be the same as last year. Details and instructions are available on the HR website.

Winter break office closings

Paid holidays for Christmas Day and New Year’s Day will be Friday, Dec. 24, 2021, and Friday, Dec. 31, 2021, respectively. A unit may close between these dates or beyond for a winter break office closing (formerly referred to as a holiday closing). 

Use of accrued paid time off during winter break office closings

During a winter break office closing, staff may use accrued paid time off to cover as follows:

• Non-exempt staff may use vacation hours or compensatory time off. Non-exempt staff who use PTO (PAO and PAU staff) may use PTO or compensatory time off. Exempt staff may use PTO. Staff in any of these categories may also choose to take the time off as absent without pay and with time off accruals.
• Non-exempt staff cannot use income protection time, and exempt staff cannot use PTO sick leave to cover this time.
• Staff employees who do not have sufficient paid time off accruals to cover the office closing will either take the time off as absent without pay (with time off accruals) or be permitted to borrow up to 40 hours of time (see next section).

Borrowing vacation or PTO accruals during winter break office closings

Due to special circumstances, any employee who does not have sufficient time off accruals to cover a winter break closing will be permitted to borrow up to 40 hours of time off per the following:

• Employees should contact their unit payroll specialist for instructions.
• As soon as the employee earns vacation or PTO accruals, the borrowed time is charged against the accrued time.
• If the employee separates from university employment before earning the borrowed time, the employee’s final paycheck will be adjusted accordingly.
• An employee may not borrow against future accruals to cover time off if the office remains open. With supervisory approval, they may take time off without pay and without benefit accruals.

Printable office closing and year-end pay announcements are also available at the HR website. For HR-related questions, contact HR at askhr@iu.edu. For payroll-related questions, contact the Office of the University Controller.