Dear Colleagues,
As you know, under Article 23.2e of the Contract, UUP employees can carry over 40 vacation days into the new year. Many of you have asked whether that maximum will be increased as a result of Covid this year. UUP has sought to modify the carryover cap this year, but so far have been unsuccessful. While we continue to seek this change, we want to encourage you to use your vacation, even if you can’t travel. In the event you still have excess vacation, we want to remind you of the vacation leave donation program.
In case you don’t know it, you can carry forward only 40 of your vacation days into the next calendar year.
If you have accrued more than 40 days and do not use them by December 31, the state will take them back.
Instead of losing those days, we ask you instead to consider donating any extra vacation days to fellow UB employees who are very sick or seriously injured and have run out of sick time.
The vacation days will be converted to sick days for their use. Otherwise, they will fall off the payroll and also lose their health insurance, which could be catastrophic to many employees and their families.
Whenever we have made this request, you have been very generous in donating days to your colleagues. It has saved many of them heartache, anxiety and financial problems and they have all been very grateful.
Please note:
- You can donate only those days you would otherwise forfeit. You can’t donate ten days on December 28 because you wouldn’t have been able to use ten days yourself before December 31. So you have an extra ten days (for instance), you must anticipate that you will not uses them and donate them before December 19 (allowing for holidays). So time is of the essence.
- You can donate ONLY vacation days (not sick days) and you must have at least 10 vacation accruals left after your donation. All faculty members can receive donations but only faculty members on 12-month contracts can donate days because they, unlike those on 10-month academic year contracts, earn vacation days.
If you are interested in donating excess days, please click the following link: *Please note – there is no need to attach your timesheet*
Questions? Contact State Benefits, Human Resources at 716-645-7777 or ub-hr-timeandattendance@buffalo.edu or Moriah Bolinsky Hegmann at 645-0898 or hegmann@buffalo.edu
Thank you for your generosity.
In Solidarity,
Ken Kern
Chapter President
UUP Buffalo Center