Palm Beach State College Board Policy

Title: Vacation Time for 12-month Employees

Policy Number: 6Hx-18-5.02

Legal Authority: 1001.64 FS, 1001.65 FS

Date Adopted/Amended: Formerly P002.00; Readopted 2/27/75; Amended 2/27/1975, 8/21/1977, 9/14/1981, 6/13/1990, 6/19/2001, 5/12/2009, 1/16/2018, 6/17/2025

1. Full-time non-bargaining regular and fixed term 12-month employees shall be eligible to accrue paid vacation time in accordance with the following schedule:

Continuous service during the first five (5) years of service. One day of vacation time (not to exceed 8 hours) for each calendar month, or major fraction of a calendar month, of service during the vacation year.
Continuous service during the next five (5) years of service. One and one- fourth (1-1/4) days of vacation time (not to exceed 10 hours) for each calendar month, or major fraction of a calendar month, of service during the vacation year.
Continuous service of more than ten (10) years. One and one-half (1-1/2) days of vacation time (not to exceed 12 hours) for each calendar month, or major fraction of a calendar month, of service during the vacation year.

Continuous Service is defined as service in a full-time position during which the employee’s employment relationship with the District Board of Trustees has been unbroken and uninterrupted. Absences due to any kind of approved leave of absence or layoff of less than 6 months will not be deemed as breaking or interrupting continuous service, although an employee’s total continuous service credit will be reduced by the length of any unpaid leave or layoff.

Vacation year is the year commencing first day of the employee’s full-time continuous service.

Requests for vacation shall be in accordance with the corresponding Board Procedure 6Hx-18-5.02P.

2. Part-time regular and fixed-term 12-month employees in positions budgeted for 20 hours or more per week shall be eligible for 4 hours of paid vacation time for each calendar month, or major fraction of a calendar month of continuous regular or fixed-term part-time service.

3. An employee’s full-time continuous service at any public Florida community, junior, or state college other than Palm Beach State College may be added to the employee’s continuous service at Palm Beach State College for purposes of computing vacation time accrual. The following conditions apply:

The employee must begin full-time 12-month employment in a position at Palm Beach State College at the beginning of Palm Beach State’s next regular term following the end of the last regular term of the previously employing college.
Termination of employment at the other college must not have been for cause.
Non-bargaining unit personnel must begin work at Palm Beach State College within thirty (30) days of termination of prior employment.

4. The scheduling of vacation time shall be subject to the approval of the employee’s direct supervisor, who shall ensure there is minimum disruption of the operation of the College.

5. Persons employed at the College who are granted professional, sabbatical, or non-paid leave will not accumulate annual leave during the period for which the leave has been granted.

6. No employee shall have accumulated more than 400 hours of unused vacation leave as of December 31 of each calendar year. Up to forty (40) hours of vacation time accumulated in excess of 400 hours on December 31 shall be transferred to an alternative sick balance. Excess hours beyond the forty (40) transferred to Alternative Sick shall be forfeited. Usage of the alternative sick balance shall be subject to the parameters of District Board of Trustees Policy 6Hx-18-5.03 and corresponding procedure, 6Hx-18-5.03P. Alternative Sick Time shall not be paid out at separation and may not be used for any payout calculation.

7. An employee may transfer up to eighty (80) hours of vacation time to a family member, who is also a regular or fixed term employee of the College, on approved family medical leave who has exhausted all of their paid time off. A family member for purposes of this provision is a spouse, mother, father, sister, brother, or child of the employee.

8. Fixed-term employees who are paid through a grant or gift shall have their vacation balance accounted for separately while they are in the grant or gift funded position.

If an employee in a grant or gift funded position is transferred, promoted, demoted, or moves to a regular position that accrues vacation time, one day of vacation (up to 8 hours) shall transfer from the grant vacation balance to the regular vacation balance each calendar month that regular vacation accrues.
If an employee in a regular position is transferred, promoted, demoted, or moves to a grant or gift funded position, the regular vacation time account shall be maintained and utilized first until a zero balance is reached.