Benefits
- General Information
- What's New in Benefits for 2010
- 2010 Benefits Guide
- 2010 Rensselaer at Hartford Benefit Guide Supplement
- MetLife's Financial Strength
- TIAA-CREF Response to Financial Crisis
- Fidelity, Inc. Statement on Financial Crisis
- AIG Statement on Financial Crisis
- Overview
- Your Employee Status and Classification
- Qualifying Events and Open Enrollment
- 2009 Benefits Guide
- Provider Contacts
- Notary Public Listing
- Employment Benefits
- Home Funding Finders: Rensselaer's Home Funding and Concierge Program
- Pinch Hitter Back up Dependent Care Services
- Paid Time Off - Effective July 1, 2008
- Employee and Spouse Tuition Benefit
- Dependent Children Tuition Benefit
- Holidays
- Military Leave of Absence
- Rensselaer Self-Service Information System (RSS)
- Supplemental Retirement Program
- Employee Assistance Program
- Adoption Reimbursement
- Pre-Tax Parking
- Social Security / Medicare
- Workers' Compensation
- Family and Medical Leave
- Wellness Programs and Resources
- Insurance Benefits
- AIG Vision Benefit
- Medical / Health Insurance
- Health Insurance FAQ
- Dental Insurance
- Long-Term Disability Insurance
- Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA)
- Flexible Spending Accounts
- Basic Term Life Insurance
- Supplemental Life Insurance
- Supplemental Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance
- Travel Insurance
- New York State Unemployment Insurance
- Privacy Notice Regarding Rensselaer's Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
Paid Time Off
PTO Summary
Effective July 1, 2008
| Staff - Years of Service | PTO Annual Accrual Rates |
| 1st Year | 144 hours/18 days |
| 2nd through 3rd Year | 168 hours/21 days |
| 4th through 6th Year | 200 hours/25 days |
| 7th through 10th Year | 232 hours/29 days |
| Over 10 Years | 248 hours/31 days |
- All employees accrued vacation balance up to 200 hours as of June 1, 2008 will be rolled into the new PTO bank of hours.
- For non-exempt staff, RTO will be populated with any sick time bank as of June 30, 2008. For exempt staff, RTO will be populated with 480 hours less any sick time taken during FY’08
- Employees will be allowed to carry over, and will be paid out upon separation, a maximum of 200 hours (25 days) of PTO.
- Anyone with over 200 hours of vacation in their bank as of June 1, 2008, will receive a one-time pay out of their vacation leave in excess of 200 hours in their last paycheck in June 2008.
- Unused PTO above 200 hours will be transferred into a Reserve Time Off (RTO) bank at the end of each fiscal year beginning June 30, 2009. There will be no maximum on the size of the RTO bank.
- Available RTO can be used to supplement Short-Term Disability beginning on the 6th consecutive business day of absence. Rensselaer will supplement 4 hours per day.
- Part time staff working at least 20 hours/week, will receive the prorated PTO and RTO benefits based on percent full time equivalent (FTE).
- Rensselaer’s 10 paid holidays are in addition to PTO leave.
- Bereavement leave for immediate family will be increased from 3 days to 5 days and will not come out of PTO or RTO.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is PTO? The PTO program merges vacation and sick leave and combines leave accrual rates for all staff.
2. Are Exempt and Non-Exempt accruals in PTO the same? Yes, the PTO Advisory Group that helped design the PTO program voted overwhelmingly in favor of combining the accrual rates for exempt and non-exempt staff.
3. When do the new PTO accrual rates go into effect? The new PTO accrual rates go into effect on July 1, 2008.
4. I heard there was a Rule of 85 (years and service) for determining payouts of RTO. Can you explain how this will work? This was an option that was reviewed by the PTO Advisory Group for those employees with lengthy service and large vacation banks. The Rule of 85 is no longer being considered because a special onetime payout of vacation above 200 hours will take place instead.
5. What happens with new hires, do they get PTO? All new hires working at least 50% time are eligible for PTO.
6. What happens to employees who already have a lot of sick leave and vacation leave accrued as of June 30, 2008? As of June 30, any remaining sick leave will be rolled over into their RTO bank. Any remaining vacation leave up to 200 hours will be rolled into your PTO bank.
7. Is there a limit on the amount of vacation leave rollover from year to year? Yes, there is a new limit of 200 hours for PTO leave rollover from year to year. If you have more than 200 hours of PTO after the end of the fiscal year (beginning June 30, 2009), the excess hours above 200 will be rolled over into your RTO bank. There is no limit on RTO.
8. Are the PTO/RTO polices different for staff members working as Fixed Term employees? Yes, there is no PTO leave rollover for employees with Fixed Term appointments, unless, their Fixed Term appointment crosses the beginning of the fiscal year (July 1). All PTO and RTO banks are zeroed out at the end of each Fixed Term appointment. Extending a Fixed Term appointment does not enable the rollover of prior appointment PTO or RTO banks.
9. Does Bereavement leave come out of PTO? No, bereavement leave is separate from PTO and RTO, and in fact effective July 1, 2008, the bereavement leave will increase from 3 days to 5 days in cases of death of immediate family members; one day paid bereavement leave in cases of death of a non-immediate family member will not changed.
10. Does Jury Duty leave come out of PTO? No, Jury Duty leave is separate from PTO and RTO.
11. How will the PTO Program work with Short-Term Disability and Long-Term Disability (LTD)? Short-Term disability will be accommodated via the RTO. Rensselaer has paid for and provided long term disability insurance to all faculty and staff since 2002. This LTD program will pay you 60% of your pay from the 91st day of being out on disability, through age 65. Rensselaer’s LTD policy is intended for your protection over the long haul. We want to be sure to protect you and your family in case of catastrophic situations.
12. Are we doing this just to save money? NO, in fact this program will cost the Institute about the same amount of money as the current program. However, the new PTO program will help reduce unscheduled absences and therefore improve productivity and efficiency.
13. Is there a “grandfather” clause in the implementation of the PTO Program? There are no grandfather or retroactive clauses per se, however, the plan inherently recognizes longevity by rewarding PTO accruals based on years of service.
14. What happens to staff that have no accrued sick leave as of June 30, 2008? Employees who are out sick more than 5 consecutive business days will receive 50% pay from the Institute as part of short-term disability.
15. If I have no RTO, can I use PTO to supplement my short-term disability? Yes, you may use PTO when you have exhausted RTO while out on short-term disability.
16. How will we differentiate sick leave and vacation leave in the new PTO Program? There will be no differentiation unless someone is out sick for at least 5 consecutive business days. On the 6th day out sick, then RTO will be utilized.
17. What if I go out on maternity leave before June 30, 2008? You will be able to use RTO after the first 5 days of being out on disability due to the birth of your child.
18. How will RTO work with an approved FMLA leave? Any RTO time used is counted toward FMLA. RTO and FMLA work in conjunction together. RTO can only be used when you are out of work due to your own serious health condition. Employees using FMLA leave for other approved reasons can either use PTO or receive an unpaid leave of absence.
19. Does the PTO Program apply to faculty? NO. Faculty do not accrue vacation leave.
20. I had hoped to save my vacation leave balance as a retirement bonus. What are my options now? Using vacation balances for retirement is not sound retirement planning. If you are going to receive an excess vacation payout, you may have the ability to contribute some or all of the payout into the Supplemental Retirement Plan and defer any income tax associated with the payout.
21. Will my excess vacation leave balance above 200 hours be paid every July? NO, the one-time excess vacation payout is only for 2008.
22. What happens to RTO when I leave the Institute? Can it be put toward medical payments at retirement? No, because employees do not receive a payout of sick leave. However, we will continually look to enhance Rensselaer’s leave program with options such as using RTO for medical payments at retirement.
23. What is the taxable rate on the excess vacation payout above 200 hours? The federal and state governments currently have established a fixed withholding rate for vacation payout distributions. However, the actual tax rates for each employee when taxes are filed are based on each individual’s circumstances. Many employees will be able to defer the income taxes by electing to defer most or all of their excess vacation payout into the Rensselaer Supplemental Retirement.
24. Will my PTO be frontloaded or accrued? If accrued, what are the new accrual rates per pay period? The PTO functionality will not change from the current leave program in the sense that no PTO will be front loaded and the accrual function will remain. A per-pay accrual rate chart is available on the HR webpage.
25. Rensselaer has eliminated the Floating Holiday effective June 30, 2008. Has another holiday been, designated? The floating holiday is being replaced with a designated holiday that will be determined each year. For FY’09, Rensselaer has designated December 26, 2008 as the designated holiday.
26. How can I get more information about how much I have in my PTO and RTO accrual banks? The Rensselaer Self Service (RSS) website is a great way to get all types of payroll, deductions and PTO/RTO accrual and bank information. Simply log onto rss.rpi.edu for access to your personal information. If you need help logging on, please contact the Division of Human Resources at (518) 276-6302. Each employee’s PTO and RTO accruals will be available in Rensselaer Self Service no later than July 31, 2008.
27. I looked on RSS website and want to know how my PTO bank was calculated. Your July 1, 2008 PTO balance is your accrued vacation bank as of May 31, 2008 up to 200 hours, plus or minus vacation you accrued and/or used during the month of June 2008. Any accrued vacation banked hours above 200 as of May 31, 2008, were paid out to you at the end of June 2008.
28. I looked on RSS website and want to know how my RTO bank was calculated. If you are a non-exempt employee, then your July 1, 2008 RTO bank is your accrued sick time bank as of June 30, 2008. If you are an exempt employee, then your July 1, 2008 RTO bank is equal to 480 hours less any Salary Continuation (sick time) used in the prior fiscal year.
29. I heard we are now tracking scheduled and unscheduled absences differently. Can you explain how this works? Yes, we now have the ability to code payroll to reflect if absences are scheduled or unscheduled. All scheduled absences should be approved by supervisors. Unscheduled absences are those absences that have not been approved in advance by the supervisor.
30. I noticed that some employees received letters regarding the new PTO Program. How come all employees did not receive a letter? Only employees who are eligible for leave under the new PTO Program received letters.