As in previous years, UCLA plans to observe a Winter Holiday Closure during the 2011–2012 holiday season. This annual closure has allowed UCLA to achieve significant energy savings and continues to be a highly effective approach to power conservation for a specific period of time.
It is proposed that the campus close for 12 days between Thursday, December 22, 2011, and Monday, January 2, 2012, with plans to reopen on Tuesday, January 3, 2012. This period includes four University paid holidays (December 26, 27, 30, 2011 and January 2, 2012). However, four days (December 22, 23, 28, and 29, 2011) are not paid holidays.
The Office of the President has approved an exception to the UC Vacation Leave and Curtailment Leave Policies to allow eligible employees to use four vacation days in advance of actual accrual during the campus closure. Staff employees and those academic employees who accrue vacation leave will need to use either vacation, compensatory time (if available), or leave without pay to compensate for these four work days.
For exclusively represented employees, requirements under the Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act will be observed, including the proposed increase in the amount of vacation leave that may be used in advance of accrual.
In accordance with University personnel policies and applicable labor agreements, employees would have the choice of the following options to cover the non-paid holidays during the closure period:
- Employees may utilize vacation days in advance of their actual accrual.
- Newly hired employees, represented and policy-covered, may utilize their vacation accruals without having six continuous months on pay status.
- Employees with accrued compensatory time may elect to use it to cover the four days off or to offset the use of vacation time.
- Employees who do not wish to use vacation or compensatory time off may request leave without pay for the four working days based on departmental approval. In this case, employees will not lose hourly vacation or sick leave accruals for these four days.
The above options may be used in combination. Employees should notify their respective supervisors in advance as to which option or combination of options they propose to use.
During the planned break period, the UCLA Health System and certain essential-service facilities will continue to remain open. Deans, Vice Chancellors or Organization Heads to whom this responsibility has been delegated will need to determine if any facilities under their management will need to remain fully or partially open during the closure and arrange for appropriate staffing. These approval decisions need to be submitted to Facilities Management, with a copy to the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost.
Comments may be sent to Lazetta Smith in Campus Human Resources at lazetta@chr.ucla.edu or to Maure Gardner in Health System Human Resources at mgardner@mednet.ucla.edu by Monday, August 29, 2011.
Campus Human Resources, Personnel Services
Phone: (310) 794-3147 | Fax: (310) 794-0865
