Annual Leave

Provided to employees for vacation and other personal purposes. Leave is earned for each semi-monthly pay period and posted on the 10th and 25th of the month. The accrual rate is dependent on the length of state service. Leave is pro-rated for part-time (reduced appointment) employees.

Using Annual Leave

Annual leave may be used however you wish, including vacations and other personal purposes, or to cover other kinds of leave for which you have zero balance. Future leave not yet accrued may not be "borrowed" for present use. No annual leave accruals will be given for any pay period during which an employee is on leave without pay.

Accruals At the End of the Leave Year

During the last pay period of the leave year (December 10 - January 9), leave taken is removed from the leave balance and the carryover limits are applied. After that, the leave accrual for the pay period is credited and available for use on the first day of the new leave year. This means that an employee's starting leave balance may exceed the previous year's carryover limit.

Virginia Sickness and Disability Leave (VSDP)

This program provides employees supplemental or replacement income during periods of partial or total disability.

Who Is Covered

Effective 01/10/2003 all active employees were converted to VSDP unless they opted out. (Employees hired after January 1, 1999 were automatically enrolled in this program. Active employees were given the option to opt into this program until 04/24/1999.)

See the VSDP Handbook (pdf) for details.

Effective Coverage Dates

The effective coverage date is the first day of employment and includes sick leave, family and personal leave, short-term and long-term disability coverage for work-related illnesses or injuries and long-term care benefits.

If you were hired or rehired effective July 1, 2009 you must complete one year of continuous employment before becoming eligible for short-term and long-term disability coverage for non-work related illnesses or injuries. 

New Employee Sick and Family/Personal Leave

This leave does not carry over. The following set hours will be  initially credited on your first day of employment.

Full-Time or Quasi Full-Time:

Part-Time:

Annual Renewal of Sick and Family/Personal Leave

This leave does not carry over. VSDP leave is credited as follows on January 10 each year.

Full-Time or Quasi Full-Time:

Part-Time:

When to Use Sick Leave vs. Family and Personal Leave

Sick leave may be used if you are sick or injured, or for medical appointments. Your supervisor may request the proof of any illness requiring the use of sick leave. Family and personal leave can be used for any reason, such as but not limited to vacation, personal sickness, or sickness or death of a family member.

When to Use Disability Leave

A VSDP eligible employee may qualify for short term disability benefits if they experience an illness, surgery or accidental injury that requires the employee to be absent from work more than seven (7) calendar days.

Note: Employees with VSDP must call the REED GROUP, the state disability administrator to initiate disability benefits as well as the HR Department to complete forms. The Administrator telephone number is 877-928-7021. To schedule an appointment with the Human Resource Office regarding your absence, please email askHR@wm.edu.

Parental Leave

Provided to employees who are enrolled in VSDP or in the Traditional Sick Leave Program (some classified employees only) upon the birth or placement of a child to allow time for bonding. Up to 320 leave hours may be available for eligible full-time employees to use within 6 months of the birth or placement. Detailed information about the program is available in the frequently asked questions (pdf).

Compensatory Leave

Provided to employees as compensation for having worked additional hours in a work week in which leave has been taken, on a holiday or on an official closing day.  Accrued Compensatory Leave lapses after 12 months from the date earned.

Overtime Leave

Eligible employees may elect to earn overtime leave instead of overtime compensation for having worked more than 40 hours in any work week.

The Commonwealth’s Department of Human Resources Management (DHRM) published a new and major law change related to overtime pay being implemented on July 1, 2021. The Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) allows state universities to offer overtime leave in lieu of overtime pay for non-exempt employees working over 40 hours in a work week. With the change in Virginia law though, this option is no longer available. We cannot offer overtime leave to any employee. Instead, we must pay overtime pay to non-exempt employees working over 40 hours in a work week. As of July 1, all non-exempt employees will receive overtime pay for hours worked over 40 hours in a work week. If an employee has a current overtime leave balance, he/she will retain that leave and be able to continue using it until the leave is exhausted. If an employee leaves employment and has an overtime leave balance, he/she is eligible to receive a payout of that leave.

Administrative Leave

Provided to employees to appear in court or related proceedings, to serve on state councils and other bodies, to resolve work-related conflicts, to participate in the resolution of complaints of employment discrimination, to attend administrative hearings and to interview for other state positions.

Community Service Leave

Provides employees 16 hours of paid leave for services within their communities through school assistance or as a volunteer member of a community service organization. Employees with reduced appointment receive hours proportionate to the percentage of hours they work in a full 40-hour workweek.

• Example: Employees working 32 hours per week are entitled to 12.8 hours (32 / 40 = 80% appointment * 16 hours) of community service leave.

Leave to Donate Bone Marrow or Organs

Provides eligible employees with an additional 30 workdays of paid leave to donate bone marrow or organs.

Military Leave

Provides employees with paid leave (15 workdays) or unpaid leave for active or reserve duty in the armed forces of the United States, or the Commonwealth's militia (National Guard, Naval Militia and Virginia State Defense Force).

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

This program provides eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for certain family and medical reasons. Please visit our page on FMLA for more information.

Holidays: Receive 12 paid holidays per year

• New Year's Day - January 1
• Martin Luther King, Jr. Day - Third Monday in January
• George Washington Day - Third Monday in February *
• Memorial Day - Last Monday in May
• Juneteenth - June 19
• Independence Day - July 4
• Labor Day - First Monday in September
• Columbus Day - Second Monday in October *
• Election Day - Tuesday following the 1st Monday in November
• Veteran's Day - November 11 *
• Thanksgiving Day - Fourth Thursday in November
• The day after Thanksgiving
• Christmas Day - December 25

* The university shifts these state holidays to the winter break (Christmas through New Year's) to enable the university to close during that period. Essential personnel may be required to work during these times. This leave is non cumulative and no severance payments are made with respect to unused holiday leave.