Leave Regulations
Employee Annual Leave Accrual Policy
Durham Tech’s regular full-time employees earn annual leave based on their years of aggregate State of North Carolina service in accordance with the most current version of the North Carolina Office of State Personnel’s State Personnel Manual. Review the Employee Annual Leave Accrual policy.
Exception: Annual leave shall not be cumulative for more than 240 hours. Effective December 31, 1993, any employee who, as of June 30 of each year, has annual leave that is in excess of the allowed accumulation of 30 days or 240 hours shall have that leave converted to sick leave.
Annual leave should be requested within a time frame which allows for coverage to be arranged for the absent employee's work area. An Employee Leave Request must be completed and submitted through supervisory channels. (See also Expectations of Faculty Members in the Employment and Contracts section.)
Upon termination of employment, an employee will be paid for any accumulated annual leave not to exceed 240 hours. Payment for annual leave will be made on the regular monthly payroll. Lump sum payments for annual leave are made only at the time of employment termination.
Accumulated annual leave is not transferable to another state institution or agency.
Annual leave may be applied to the extension of sick leave if an employee has expended all earned sick leave. From the date of an employee's resignation to the date of separation, an employee may be ineligible to use annual leave unless approved by the President.
Eligible employees earn annual leave if they are working or on paid leave for one-half or more of the regularly scheduled workdays in any month. The annual leave rate is based on the length of aggregate state service. Regular contract employees working fewer than full-time hours earn annual leave on a prorated basis. The annual leave is computed based on a percentage of the total amount of annual leave earned by a full-time employee.
Child Involvement Leave
Durham Technical Community College provides child involvement leave in an effort to promote employees’ involvement in youth education and support to schools. View the Child Involvement Leave policy and procedure.
Civil Leave
The State Board of Community Colleges (SBCC) allows each college’s board of trustees to establish policies and procedures related to civil leave. Durham Tech understands and supports employees’ responsibility and right to fulfill their civic duty. Review the Civil Leave policy and procedure.
Educational Leave
Educational leave at an institution of higher education for study in a related field is a privilege which the President may grant to a full-time employee on a regular contract. The employee must request leave from the President through standard supervisory channels.
Full-Time Educational Leave With Pay
Full-time educational leave with pay will be granted at the convenience of the college and for the primary benefit of the college. Review the Full-Time Educational Leave with Pay policy.
Part-Time Educational Leave With Pay
Durham Tech provides the opportunity to all full-time (40 hours per week) employees to request part-time educational leave with pay. Review the Part-Time Educational Leave with Pay policy.
See also the Professional Development section.
Full-Time Educational Leave Without Pay
Durham Tech provides the opportunity to all full time (40 hours per week) employees to request full-time educational leave without pay. Review the Full Time Educational Leave without Pay policy.
Professional Leave
Professional leave with pay for employees to refresh or upgrade their professional skills and/or to enhance related professional skills is a privilege the President may grant to full-time employees on a regular contract. The employee must request leave from the President through standard supervisory channels.
Professional leave with pay will be granted at the convenience of the college and for the primary benefit of the college.
Professional leave with pay may consist of full-time or part-time participation in one or more of the following activities:
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Return-to-Industry Leave: An employee may be assigned to work or to carry out predetermined objectives in a business or industry related to his/her regular work assignment;
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Clinical Leave: An employee may be assigned to an affiliated clinical facility;
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Specialized Leave: An employee may attend a specialized school, workshop, seminar, or may participate in a specialized activity or project that is directly related to his/her assigned area(s) of responsibility; or
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Occupational Exchange: An employee may be "exchanged" for an employee from another college, business, industry, governmental agency, clinical location, or other hosting entity.
An employee is eligible for professional leave with pay if the following criteria are met:
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The employee is currently employed under a “Regular Contract of Employment”;
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The professional leave activities are directly related to improving the competencies of the employee in performing assigned duties and are reflected in the employee's current Performance Review and Evaluation Development Plan or Professional Development Objectives;
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The employee signs an addendum to his/her employment contract with Durham Technical Community College, agreeing to return to employment with the college for the academic year immediately following the completion of the professional leave; and
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The employee has been employed full time by Durham Technical Community College for a minimum of three consecutive years prior to the full-time professional leave request being submitted.
A written request for professional leave must be submitted and approved through standard supervisory channels and the President using the Educational/Professional Leave Request form (available from Human Resources). Educational/Professional Leave Request forms submitted to supervisors and to the President for considering approval and/or submitted to the Business Office after the professional leave has begun or has been completed will be automatically declined for payment of the employee’s contract. Any unapproved professional leave taken will be considered as leave without pay, and the employee must reimburse the college for any associated expenses the college has paid.
An employee who fails to honor any contract then in existence with Durham Technical Community College or who fails to execute a regular contract of employment for the academic year immediately following the completion of the professional leave shall be required to repay the salary paid during the term of the professional leave. Should the employee fulfill a portion of the contract of employment for the next academic year but fail to remain employed at the college for the entire employment term or fail to complete any other required conditions, the employee shall refund a prorated portion of the salary paid during the term of the professional leave.
An employee who has received professional leave with pay must be employed full time by the college for an additional three consecutive years before again becoming eligible for professional leave.
During professional leave with pay, the employee will be continued as a regular full-time employee of the college and, thus, be eligible for all employee benefits and compensations.
During professional leave with pay, the college employee shall receive no compensation (monetary or otherwise) from the affiliating business, industry, governmental agency, clinical location, or other entity hosting the professional leave. Any compensation for services the employee provides to the outside agency shall accrue directly to Durham Technical Community College and not to the employee.
Preliminary requests for professional leave with pay should be discussed with and approved by the immediate supervisor, department head, and division head prior to developing any agreement with the authorized representative of the hosting entity and prior to the employee requesting the President’s approval.
The written request for professional leave with pay, submitted through standard supervisory channels to the President for approval using the Educational/Professional Leave Request form, must include the following:
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The amount of desired professional leave. If the request is for full-time professional leave, the maximum amount is not to exceed 60 work days;
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The nature of the desired professional leave;
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A list of objectives to be accomplished during the professional leave;
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A statement of perceived benefit to the employee and to the college;
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The cost to replace the employee if part-time assistance is required or an explanation of the impact on the college if replacement is by an existing employee;
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A monitoring procedure to be used while the professional leave is in progress; and
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A statement from an authorized representative of the hosting entity acknowledging the professional leave and agreeing to host the college employee.
A report detailing the employee’s accomplished objectives and learned skills must be submitted through standard supervisory channels to the President within 30 days following the end of the professional leave with pay. The report must include written verification by an official of the affiliated organization concerning time spent and duties performed during professional leave and noting any certificates, grade reports, transcripts, or evaluations received during the professional leave.
Family and Medical Leave
Durham Technical Community College supports the federal Family and Medical Leave Act that allows employees to balance work and family by taking reasonable unpaid leave for certain family and medical reasons. Review the Family and Medical Leave policy and procedure.
Funeral Leave
The State Board of Community Colleges (SBCC) allows each college’s board of trustees to establish policies and procedures related to benefits such as funeral leave. Durham Tech provides all eligible full-time employees with paid funeral leave. Review the Funeral Leave policy and procedure.
Inclement Weather and Employee Leave
An employee will not be required to take annual leave to account for the time he or she would have worked when the college is closed. In the event that an employee had pre-planned to take a sick or vacation day on a day the college closed for inclement weather, the employee will not be charged leave time for the time that the college was closed.
If the college opens for a partial day and an employee does not come to work that day they must submit a leave form for the time that the college is open.
Leave without Pay
Under certain circumstances, employees may request leave without pay. These circumstances include leave required when both earned sick leave and earned annual leave have been exhausted. An employee must contact his/her Supervisor to request leave without pay. An employee requesting leave without pay should contact the Business Office to determine if there is any impact upon his/her monthly benefits.
Maternity Leave
Maternity leave is available to Durham Tech employees through the Family and Medical Leave Act. More information can be found in the Family and Medical Leave Act section on this page.
Military Leave
Military leave is a uniform state policy and is granted to members of reserve components of the US Armed Forces for active duty training and state military duty. View the Military Leave policy and procedure.
Sick Leave
Sick leave is granted to full-time employees to cover loss oftime incurred through their own illness or injury, medical and dental appointments, quarantines due to a contagious disease, and temporary disability related to childbearing. Sick leave can also be used for illness of a member of the immediate family. (The immediate family is defined as spouse, parents, and children, including step-relationships and dependents living in the employee’s household.) Employees on a continuing part-time contract of 30 or more hours per week are eligible for leave on a prorated basis. Part-time hourly contracts do not earn paid sick leave.
Eligible employees earn sick leave if they are working or are on paid leave for one-half or more of the regularly scheduled workdays in any month. Regular contract employees working less than full time earn sick leave on a prorated basis. Sick leave for persons employed less than full time (40 hours) is computed on a percentage of the total amount earned by the full-time employee.
Employees earn 480 minutes or 8 hours of sick leave for each month of employment. Sick leave must be taken and reported in hourly increments.
Temporary Leave for College-Related Travel
Temporary leave may be authorized when the employee is temporarily away from his/her normal workstation attending college-related activities such as conferences, conventions, workshops, and seminars.
Employees should complete the Request for Travel form (available from the Business Office) whether requesting reimbursement for travel or not. The request must be approved by the employee’s immediate Supervisor and Division Head prior to the employee taking leave.
Time-Off Plan for Overtime Compensation
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires state and local government agencies to compensate eligible employees for overtime hours worked. The FLSA allows the use of compensatory time-off in place of overtime pay. Durham Tech will offer non-exempt employees at the college compensatory time at the rate of one and half times for every hour worked over 40 hours in a scheduled work week. Review the Compensatory Time Off policy.
Voluntary Shared Leave
The NC General Assembly has enacted legislation permitting community college employees to share paid leave with their colleagues and with employees of state agencies. The intent of this legislation is to allow one state employee to assist another state employee in the case of a prolonged medical or family medical condition that results in exhaustion of all paid leave.
The State Board of Community Colleges (SBCC) allows each college’s board of trustees to establish policies and procedures related to voluntary shared leave. View the College's Voluntary Shared Leave procedure.