Policy Statement

Duke provides 14 paid holidays to university staff scheduled to work 20 or more hours per week. These holidays include both designated and discretionary holidays.

Policy Details

• Designated Holidays
• Discretionary Holidays

Designated Holiday Guidelines

Each year, Duke's Human Resources announces the specific days on which designated holidays will be observed. Below is a table detailing these holidays.

For this year's holiday schedule, please see Work Absences: Holidays.

University - Designated Holiday Guidelines

Eligibility

• Duke provides designated holidays for all university staff scheduled to work 20 or more hours per week.
• A designated holiday that occurs during the Orientation and Evaluation Period will be paid.

Designated Holidays Falling on a Weekend

• Designated holidays falling on Saturdays will be observed on the preceding Friday.
• Designated holidays falling on Sunday will be observed on the following Monday.
• Unless the staff member is scheduled to work on the Saturday or Sunday, in which case the holiday will be observed on that day.

Religious Holidays Not Covered by the Policy

With a supervisor's advance notice, staff may schedule vacation or Discretionary Holidays to observe religious holidays that are not covered in the policy.

Eligibility to Receive Designated Holiday Pay

All full-time staff, staff working an abbreviated schedule of 20 or more hours per week, and staff who are in the first 90 days of employment at Duke and on active payroll will qualify for designated holiday pay in accordance with the following provision:

• Staff must work their normally scheduled work hours on the days immediately preceding and following the designated holiday.

Exception: If a staff member is absent on one or both such days with approved scheduled time off, he or she will receive designated holiday pay. A staff member who is scheduled for work on a holiday and who fails to work that scheduled day will not receive designated holiday pay - except when a supervisor excuses such an absence for the staff member.

Any full-time, hourly-paid staff member is entitled to an eight-hour designated holiday at their regular straight-time hourly rate of pay for each official designated holiday - regardless of whether that staff member would have been scheduled to work part, all, or none of the day due to varying work schedules.

• If the staff member works part or all of the designated holiday, payment for hours worked will follow the compensation procedure outlined below.
• Staff who are obligated to annual military temporary training duty are fully eligible for all holidays.

Compensation for a Designated Holiday (Unworked)

Pay for an unworked designated holiday will be made at the staff member's regular straight time hourly rate of pay for a scheduled day's work (not to exceed eight hours).

Compensation for Hourly-Paid Staff Who Work on a Designated Holiday

Whether the staff member works part or all of the designated holiday, payment for a worked designated holiday should be made at the staff member's current rate of pay for the scheduled number of hours worked at the current wage and one-half plus the designated holiday payment as outlined above.

• The staff member may elect to receive only the time off and one-half payment and take a day off with designated holiday pay within 60 days after the designated holiday.
• Where a less-than-full-time staff member works an irregular schedule (differing in number of hours per day) he or she will receive designated holiday pay for time not worked equal to the number of straight hours that he or she was scheduled to work.
• If the designated holiday falls on a staff member's scheduled day off, he or she should be entitled to a future day off (within 60 days) equal in hours to the ratio of his or her normal work week to 40 hours times eight.

Example:
30 hour workweek: 30/40 x 8 = .75 x 8 = 6 hours paid.

Scheduling Work on Designated Holidays

A supervisor with positions that are required to work on designated holidays should schedule staff as equally as practical.

Designated Holidays that Coincide with Certain Other Types of Absences

• Any designated holiday falling within the period of a staff member's vacation should be considered as a designated holiday and should not be deducted from the staff member's accrued vacation.
• Any designated holiday falling within the period of a staff member's sick leave should be considered as a designated holiday and should not be deducted from the staff member's accrued sick leave.
• Any designated holiday falling on a staff member's scheduled day off (within the work week) will be observed by the staff member on a day of his/her choice subject to the approval of the staff member's supervisor and must be used within the 60 days following the observed holiday.

Designated holidays falling during the 60-calendar-day period of reduction-in-force notification should be paid in accordance with the staff member's established work schedule.

Discretionary Holidays

Please refer to the table below for information concerning discretionary holidays.

University - Discretionary Holidays

Eligibility

• Duke provides Discretionary Holidays for all university staff who are scheduled to work 20 or more hours per week.
• Discretionary Holidays are accrued but cannot be used during the first 90 calendar days of employment (that is, during the Orientation and Evaluation Period)

Religious Holidays Not Covered by the Policy

With the advance notice of a supervisor, staff may use vacation or Discretionary Holidays to observe religious holidays that are not covered in the holiday policy.

Qualifying for and Scheduling of Discretionary Holidays

All eligible staff on active payroll on the first day of the above listed months will qualify for Discretionary Holiday pay in accordance with the following provisions:

• Discretionary Holidays are to be scheduled at the discretion of the staff member with concurrence of his or her supervisor.
• Discretionary Holiday records must be maintained in the department.
• Discretionary Holidays may be taken in advance of the month in which they are earned; but, if the staff member leaves Duke prior to the month in which they are earned, the advanced payment should be deducted from his or her paycheck.
• Discretionary Holidays may be taken in increments of full day(s) only.
• All Discretionary Holidays must be taken during the calendar year in which they are earned or those holidays not taken will be forfeited.

Compensation for Discretionary Holidays

• Staff will be paid at their regular straight-time rate for Discretionary Holidays (not to exceed eight hours).
• Staff may not work and take a Discretionary Holiday on the same day. Thus, no holiday premium can be paid on the day that a staff member takes a Discretionary Holiday.
• Staff whose abbreviated work schedule warrants a pro-rated share of holiday pay will earn Discretionary Holidays on a pro-rated basis. The formula for pro-rated holiday pay is as follows: [(Regular work schedule)/40] x 8 = Pro-rated share of holiday pay.
• Leave of Absence - Staff who go on a leave of absence after having taken all of their vacation, sick leave, and Discretionary Holidays in advance will have – prior to their going on the leave – pay deductions for these advances from their final check.
• Termination - Upon termination – or prior to beginning an approved unpaid leave of absence – staff will be paid for all earned but unused Discretionary Holidays.

Severe Weather and Emergency Conditions

• If an hourly-paid or monthly-salaried staff member does not come to work, he or she may use accrued vacation or Discretionary Holidays.