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UW/WSNA UWMC RN Contract (Effective 7/1/07 - 6/30/09)
Article 12 Holiday and Vacation Leave

12.1 Holidays. Holidays for nurses in the bargaining unit shall be as designated by the University of Washington and approved by the State of Washington for classified employees of the University including University of Washington Medical Center. The designated holidays are observed as shown on the University's staff holiday schedule:

New Year's Day
Third Monday of January - Martin Luther King Jr's Birthday
Third Monday of February - Presidents' Day
Personal Holiday
Memorial Day
Independence Day
Labor Day
Veteran's Day
Thanksgiving Day
Day after Thinksgiving
Christmas Day

The Employer may designate other days to be observed in lieu of the above holidays.

A Registered Nurse who is required to work a designated holiday or a portion thereof qualifies for holiday premium pay. When full-time employees work on a designated holiday, they shall receive their regular eight hours of pay plus premium/differential pay at time and one-half for all hours worked on such holiday. Holiday Compensatory time will be paid out annually on September 30th. Holiday Compensatory time may be paid later with advanced approval from Human Resources.

When employees working less than a full-time schedule work on a designated holiday, they shall receive their regular holiday pay on the same pro rata basis that their monthly schedule bears to a full-time schedule, plus premium pay at time and one-half for all hours worked on such holiday.

The institution in lieu of monetary payment may grant Holiday Compensatory time off for full-time and part-time RNs.

The University of Washington designated holiday schedule will apply to nurses normally having holidays off who are assigned to fixed Monday through Friday work patterns. If required to work on the designated holiday, holiday pay will apply to the shifts in which the majority of hours occur on the designated holiday.

Nurses who are assigned to other work patterns normally including holidays will receive holiday pay for the shifts on which the majority of hours occur on the actual holiday, e.g., Christmas is December 25; New Year's, January 1; Veteran's Day, November 11 regardless of the day of the week or designated University of Washington holiday.

12.1.1 Personal Holiday.

  1. Each employee may request one personal holiday each calendar year and the Manager must grant this day, provided:
    1. The employee has been continuously employed by the institution for more than four months;
    2. The employee has made the request in accordance with the department scheduling guidelines; however, the employee and the supervisor may agree upon an earlier date; and
    3. The number of employees selecting a particular day off does not prevent providing continued public service.
  2. Entitlement to the holiday will not lapse when denied under (1)(c) above.
  3. Full-time employees shall receive eight hours of regular holiday pay for the personal holiday. Any differences between the scheduled shift for the day and eight hours may be adjusted by use of vacation leave, use or accumulation of compensatory time as appropriate, or leave without pay.
  4. Part-time classified employees shall be entitled to the number of paid hours on a personal holiday that their monthly schedule bears to a full time schedule.

Prior to the adoption of the holiday schedule Medical Center administration shall bring the proposed holiday schedule to the representative of the Association for Association review and input. Medical Center and University administration shall give serious consideration to any Association suggestions for the adoption of a revised holiday schedule for Medical Center employees.

12.2 Vacation Leave. The vacation accrual schedule for employees in the bargaining unit shall be as follows:

12.3 Vacation Leave - Use.

  1. Vacation leave may not be taken until an employee has completed six months of continuous employment. An employee bringing an accrued balance from another state agency may use the previously accrued vacation leave during the institutional probationary or trial service period.
  2. All requests for vacation leave must be approved by the Medical Center in advance of the effective date unless used for emergency childcare as defined in section 13.12 of this Agreement.
  3. Vacation leave shall be scheduled by the Medical Center at a time most convenient to the work of the department, the determination of which shall rest with the employing official. As far as possible, leave will be scheduled in accordance with the wishes of the employee in any amount up to the total of his/her earned leave credits.
  4. Paid vacation leave may not be used in advance of its accrual.

    5. Scheduling of vacations shall be the responsibility of supervision. When a vacation request is submitted eight (8) weeks or more in advance of schedule posting, that request shall be responded to within two (2) weeks of that request. Employees shall not be required to secure their own coverage for any properly requested leave. Scheduled weekends during approved vacation periods shall not be rescheduled. However, schedules may be adjusted to meet unit needs. The department shall receive input from the local unit before making changes to established department policies on vacation leave. A signup sheet will be maintained for volunteers to cover vacation weekends. Such volunteers will be scheduled prior to requiring schedule adjustments and will be paid the appropriate weekend premium.

    If the unit scheduling of vacation is inadequate, the following method will be used for that unit.

    The Division of Nursing shall establish dates by which vacation requests shall be submitted.

    In the event multiple requests for the same period cannot be granted and cannot be resolved among the nurses involved, unit needs or seniority as calculated for transfer will be used as the determining factor.

    Responses will be made in writing within three weeks of the request deadline.

12.4 Vacation Leave--Accumulation-Excess.

A RN may accumulate a vacation balance that normally shall not exceed two hundred forty (240) hours. A RN may elect to accrue in excess of two hundred forty (240) hours provided:

  1. The excess accrued vacation time is used prior to the RN's anniversary date.
  2. The employee has received written approval of a plan from their manager and Human Resources to use the excess accrued vacation. It is the RN's responsibility to monitor and manage excess accrued vacation. If the approvals outlined above are not met, the RN will lose the accrued vacation in excess of two hundred forty (240) hours on their anniversary date.
  3. If a RN's request for vacation leave is denied by the Medical Center, the maximum of two hundred forty (240) hours accrual shall be extended for each month that the vacation leave is denied.

12.5 Vacation Leave - Cash Payment.

RNs who have completed six continuous months of employment and who separate from service by resignation, layoff, dismissal, retirement or death are entitled to a lump sum cash payment for all unused vacation leave. Vacation leave payable under section 12.4 and this section shall be computed at the RN's regular rate of pay and paid as prescribed by the Office of Financial Management. No contributions are to be made to the Department of Retirement systems for lump sum payment of excess vacation leave accumulated 12.5, nor shall such payment be reported to the Department of Retirement Systems as compensation.