Paid Time Off & Holidays

In general, Rensselaer provides employees with 10 paid holidays per fiscal year, which runs from July 1 to June 30. Please view the 2025 fiscal year section below for the 2025 fiscal year holiday schedule.

New Year’s DayIndependence Day
Martin Luther King Jr. DayLabor Day
President’s DayThanksgiving Day
Memorial DayDay After Thanksgiving Day
Juneteenth Christmas Day

Paid Holidays

Rensselaer will offer 11 employee holidays in fiscal year 2025 (7/1/2024 – 6/30/2025). The Institute will be closed during the Holiday Winter Break from Monday, December 23, 2024 through Wednesday, January 1, 2025. The Institute will reopen on Thursday, January 2, 2025. Staff will code five Appreciation Days as “Other Time Off” as listed below.

The Holiday Schedule and Holiday Winter Break Appreciation days for the 2025 fiscal year are as follows: 

HOLIDAY/WINTER BREAKOBSERVATION DATEDAY OF WEEK
Independence DayJuly 4, 2024Thursday
Labor DaySeptember 2, 2024Monday
Thanksgiving DayNovember 28, 2024Thursday
Day after Thanksgiving DayNovember 29, 2024Friday
Appreciation Day (OTH)December 23, 2024Monday
Appreciation Day (OTH)December 24, 2024Tuesday
Christmas DayDecember 25, 2024Wednesday
Appreciation Day (OTH)December 26, 2024Thursday
Appreciation Day (OTH)December 27, 2024Friday
Appreciation Day (OTH)December 30, 2024Monday
New Year's EveDecember 31, 2024Tuesday
New Year's DayJanuary 1, 2025Wednesday
Martin Luther King Jr. DayJanuary 20, 2025Monday
President's DayFebruary 17, 2025Monday
Memorial DayMay 26, 2025Monday
JuneteenthJune 19, 2025Thursday

 

Holiday Eligibility

  • Employees are eligible for designated holiday pay beginning on their date of employment.
  • To be eligible for holiday pay, an employee must work on the last regularly scheduled workday preceding the holiday and the first regularly scheduled workday following the holiday, or on the holiday itself.
  • All employees working at least 20 hours per week are eligible for holiday pay.
  • When an employee is absent from the last scheduled shift before or after the holiday, or is scheduled to work on the holiday and does not do so, payment for the holiday will be made if the reason for the absence is personal illness, surgery (medical certification of the illness may be required), the employee is on vacation and the holiday falls during the vacation, the employee is on military reserve duty (not to exceed eight weeks), the employee is on jury duty, or if a member of the employee’s immediate family has died.
  • All new hires will have their first eleven months of PTO accrual deposited into their PTO bank on their date of hire.
  • Unused PTO above 200 hours will be transferred into a Reserve Time Off (RTO) bank at the end of each fiscal year. There will be no maximum on the size of the RTO bank.
  • Employees may use any available RTO to supplement their Short-Term Disability beginning on the sixth consecutive business day of absence due to illness or injury. Rensselaer will supplement four hours per day with Short Term Disability. Such absences must be documented and certified, in writing, by the employee’s attending physician.
  • Rensselaer employees who are classified as an executive officer or administrative officer earn 9.67 hours PTO time per pay period, up to a maximum of 232 hours (29 days) a year.
  • Employees may be eligible for a payout of accrued and unused Paid Time Off (PTO) in accordance with the provisions of Human Resources Policy 1300.1, PTO Program, which includes giving appropriate notice as outlined in the Human Resources Policy 500.1. Additionally, you must be present at work from the date of your required length of notice notice until the official date of separation. Also, a payout of accrued and unused PTO is only available to regular, full time employees; employees in Fixed Term positions are not eligible.
Status  Length of Notice
Non- Exempt2 Weeks
Exempt3 Weeks
Director and Above4 Weeks
  • RTO is never paid out upon separation or retirement.
  • All scheduled PTO must be pre-approved in writing by the employee’s supervisor.
  • Eligible employees will be allowed a maximum of five days bereavement leave, with pay, in the event of the loss of an immediate family member.

View our full Paid Time Off Policy (PDF)

Paid Time Off (PTO) Accrual Rates

Years of Service (Staff)Annual PTO Accrual RatesPer Pay Accrual Non-Exempt 26 pay per yearPer Pay Accrual Exempt 24 pay per year
First year144 hours/18 daysN/AN/A
Second through third year168 hours/21 days6.467.0
Fourth through sixth year200 hours/25 days7.698.33
Seventh through tenth year232 hours/29 days8.929.67
Over ten years248 hours/31 days9.5410.33
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