Paid Time Off & Holidays

Rensselaer provides employees with 10 paid holidays per fiscal year, which runs from July 1 to June 30. In general, Rensselaer observes the holidays listed below:

New Year’s DayIndependence Day
Martin Luther King Jr. DayLabor Day
President’s DayThanksgiving Day
Memorial DayDay After Thanksgiving Day
Juneteenth (Effective 2024) Christmas Day

Paid Holidays

The Institute will be closed during the Holiday Winter Break from Saturday, December 23, 2023 through Monday, January 1, 2024. The Institute will reopen on Tuesday, January 2, 2024. Staff will code four (4) Appreciation Days as “Other Time Off” as listed below.

The Holiday Schedule and Holiday Winter Break Appreciation days for the 2024 fiscal year are as follows: 

HOLIDAY/WINTER BREAKOBSERVATION DATEDAY OF WEEK
Independence DayJuly 4, 2023Tuesday
Labor DaySeptember 4, 2023Monday
Thanksgiving DayNovember 23, 2023Thursday
Day after Thanksgiving DayNovember 24, 2023Friday
Christmas DayDecember 25, 2023Monday
Appreciation Day (OTH)December 26, 2023Tuesday
Appreciation Day (OTH)December 27, 2023Wednesday
Appreciation Day (OTH)December 28, 2023Thursday
Appreciation Day (OTH)December 29, 2023Friday
New Year's DayJanuary 1, 2024Monday
Martin Luther King Jr. DayJanuary 15, 2024Monday
President's DayFebruary 19, 2024Monday
Memorial DayMay 27, 2024Monday
JuneteenthJune 19, 2024Wednesday

 

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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