DHMH POLICY NUMBER: 02.09.06
Cross-Reference: Personnel Services Administration
TITLE: POLICY FOR THE PAYMENT OF UNUSED ANNUAL LEAVE IN EXCESS OF THE MAXIMUM ACCUMULATION ALLOWED
I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This policy establishes the criteria for payment to employees for unused annual leave days in excess of the maximum accumulation allowed. It provides the administrative procedures to be followed by management when rare and unusual administrative conditions result in the denial to an employee of requested leave days and the employee is asking payment for the unused leave.
Payment for unused annual leave in excess of the maximum allowed will be awarded only when the days for which payment is being asked were requested by the employee during the previous calendar year and were denied by management. The reason for the denial must be uncommon administrative situations that have existed throughout the greater part of the calendar year. Situations which are temporary, such as legislative hearings, or closeout, will not be considered as reason for payment. If the employee used compensatory leave in lieu of annual leave during the year for which payment is being requested, payment will be considered only for the number of annual leave days in excess of the number of compensatory days taken.
Employees shall be responsible for requesting the use of annual leave days and for planning the use so that an excess above the maximum shall not occur. When a request for payment for unused annual leave is made by management, the employee must provide written documentation that the annual leave was requested and subsequently denied. An employee's absence from work on extensive sick leave or accident leave is not considered to be an uncommon administrative situation. If payment for excess annual leave is requested because of a prolonged use of sick leave, the Director, Personnel Services Administration, shall recommend that the extra annual leave days be exchanged for sick leave days.
All requests for payment of unused annual leave, with supporting documentation, must be submitted to the Director, Personnel Services Administration, DHMH, by the unit director. (See definition.) If submitted by a supervisor, assistant supervisor, or a unit authority working under the authority of a Program Director, the request must have
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written approval of the respective Program Director. All requests will be reviewed by the Director, Personnel Services Administration in compliance with the attached procedures.
If the Director, Personnel Services Administration, DHMH, finds the request not to be in compliance with the provisions of this policy, he shall discuss the request with the program director. If the problem cannot be resolved, the request will be submitted to the Secretary, DHMH, or his designee for a determination. If the Director, Personnel Services Administration, or the Secretary, DHMH, finds the request and documentation for payment of unused annual leave to be in compliance with the provisions of this policy, the Director shall sign the request, along with the Secretary and/or his designee, then submit to payroll for payment. The Director, Personnel Services Administration, DHMH shall notify the Program Director, and the employee of such approval and or disapproval.
II. BACKGROUND
According to the State Personnel and Pensions Article, Annotated Code of Maryland, Section 9-304. Unused annual leave - Accumulation, an employee may accumulate unused annual leave and may carry over from 1 year to the next year up to 50 days or 400 hours of that unused annual leave. Part-time employees are permitted to carry over a percentage of the 50 days equal to the funded percentage of their positions. Any accumulated and unused annual leave in excess of 50 days or 400 hours shall be forfeited at the beginning of the first full pay period of the next calendar year. If an employee is denied the opportunity in a calendar year to use annual leave days in excess of the 50 days or 400 hours allowed to be carried over to the next year, the head of the employee's principal unit may allow the employee compensation, at the employee's regular rate of pay, for those excess leave days. The head of a principal unit may approve a request for compensation under this subsection only if the appointing authority documents the unusual administrative reasons for having denied the employee the use of annual leave, and funds are available for that purpose.
This policy is established in order to implement the procedures, describe some of the unusual administrative conditions which may prohibit the use of annual leave, and provide the criteria for requesting and approving payment for excess, unused annual leave.
III. POLICY STATEMENTS
A. Definition
The term "Program Director," when used in this policy, means Superintendent, Health Officer, or Director of a Division, as appropriate.
B. General Provisions
1. The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, in certain rare cases in which unusual administrative conditions exist, and if funds are available, will provide payment to a full-time or part-time employee for unused annual leave days in excess of the maximum accumulation allowed. A full-
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time employee may accumulate a maximum of 50 days of annual leave and a part-time employee may accumulate a percentage of 50 days equal to the funded percentage of his or her position.
2. Conditions under which payment for unused annual leave days in excess of the maximum will be considered are:
a. The employee has requested and subsequently been denied the use of annual leave for which payment is being requested;
b. The number of days being requested for payment does not exceed the number of days the employee has been denied leave;
c. The employee did not use compensatory leave in lieu of annual during the calendar year; and,
d. The annual leave requested for payment was denied because of uncommon situations that existed during the greater part of the calendar year.
3. Management is responsible for ensuring that an employee is able to use his or her accumulated time, so that the leave will not exceed the maximum allowed. The only exception to this are uncommon administrative situations, which prevent the employee from using the available leave.
4. It is the employee's responsibility to schedule leave during the year so that at the end of the year, they are not requesting leave and being denied.
5. An employee's absence from work due to a prolonged illness does not constitute an uncommon administrative situation to warrant payment of unused annual leave. For these instances the Director of Personnel, DHMH, will recommend that the employee's sick leave be converted to annual leave for the excess of 50 days.
IV. RESPONSIBILITIES
A. Requests for payment of an employee's unused annual leave in excess of the maximum amount allowed shall be made by the Program Director.
B. Each request for payment of unused annual leave shall be sent to the Director, Personnel Services Administration, DHMH and shall include the following:
1. Written request from employee for payment in excess of 50 days. With this request the employee must submit copies of requests for leave which were denied during the calendar year for which payment is being requested.
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2. Written documentation from the employee's supervisor as to what administrative conditions existed to prevent the employee from using his or her accumulated annual leave.
3. Written recommendation from the Program Director for approval and/or disapproval.
4. The request for payment form.
B. The Director, Personnel Services Administration, DHMH, will review the request and the supporting documentation to ensure compliance with the provisions of this policy. The Director of Personnel will then recommend approval and/or disapproval and forward the request to the Secretary, or his designee for final approval/disapproval.
C. Once approval or disapproval is received from the Secretary, DHMH, Personnel will send a copy to the appropriate Program Director, with a copy to the employee.
D. An additional copy will be forwarded to Payroll for inclusion in the employee's next available paycheck.
IV. REFERENCES
APPROVED: Martin P. Wasserman, M.D., J.D.
Secretary
Signature on File Effective Date: April 15, 1998