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Holidays and Paid Time Off

Carnegie Mellon knows that our faculty and staff have personal lives and priorities, and we provide our full-time, benefits-eligible employees with several types of paid time off to accommodate their needs.

• official holidays
• floating holidays
• paid time off
• holidays on International Locations

Official University Holidays

There are nine official holidays observed by Carnegie Mellon's US campuses. The university is closed on these days, and all non-essential personnel are not expected to report to work. (Holidays in international locations differ.) The official holidays are:

* - When a holiday falls on a Saturday, it is observed on the preceeding work day. When a holiday falls on a Sunday, it is observed on the following work day.

Floating Holidays

In addition to the fixed holidays, each US staff member may also take three additional "floating holidays" during the calendar year, with approval by his or her immediate supervisor and according to the department's policy on floating holidays. (Note: those in an international location have a different number of floating holidays.)

• Staff members who begin full-time employment by April 30 are entitled to three floating holidays during the remainder of the calendar year in which they are hired.
• Those who begin by August 30 are entitled to two days in the remainder of that calendar year.
• Those who begin by October 31 are entitled to one day in the remainder of that calendar year.
• Staff members hired on or after November 1 are not eligible for floating holidays during the calendar year in which they are hired.
• On January 1 of the calendar year following their date of hire, the employee's floating holidays will re-set to 3 for the new calendar year.

Unused floating holidays do not carry forward to the next calendar year - if they are not used, they will be lost.

Some departments have policies regarding periods when some floating holidays or PTO must or may not be used. Check with your department to determine if such a policy exists in your area.

No payment for unused floating holidays is made to staff members who terminate their employment with the university.

Paid Time Off (PTO)

Paid Time Off (PTO) provides regular, full-time staff members with an entitlement of days away from work with pay. PTO days may be used for vacation, personal time, illness or time off to care for dependents. PTO should be scheduled in advance and approved by your supervisor, except in cases of illness or emergency. The PTO Policy does not cover scheduled university holidays, floating holidays, or leaves of absence. PTO may be used concurrently with other types of leave. An employee will be paid for any unused PTO (up to their maximum annual accrual) upon separation from the university. Employees may not use PTO before it has been earned without departmental approval; the cost of deficit PTO days will be deducted from the final paycheck if an employee separates from the university. Questions about PTO earned and used should be referred to your supervisor.

Paid Time Off is earned on an employment year basis and is earned on the first day of each month following your date of employment. Unused PTO may be carried over to the next employment year; however, you cannot carry over more than your annual PTO allowance. Paid Time Off is earned on the following schedule:

To keep track of your PTO, use the PTO Tracking Worksheet (.xls)

If an employee switches from part-time to full-time status, any previous employment year in which the employee worked at least 1,000 hours will count for one year of employment for PTO accrual rate purposes.

For more information:

• Official Paid Time Off Policy
• Paid Time Off Information - from Staff Handbook
• Paid Time Off Guidelines (.pdf)

© Carnegie Mellon Human Resources 2004