Governor’s special holidays: frequently asked questions
The state provides employees with 11 paid holidays each academic or fiscal year. CSU observes the holidays on a schedule that varies from the state’s schedule to better serve university needs.
Occasionally, after the holiday schedule is determined, the Governor of Colorado will designate one or more additional days as holidays for one-time observance. Often, but not always, these extra days of paid leave are adjacent to previously designated holidays.
These designations often are usually announced by the governor within a few weeks of the extra day or days. When this occurs, Human Resources will alert the university community to the additional paid leave holiday and have provided the following FAQs for additional information.
Who is eligible to take holiday days?
All state classified employees, along with salaried administrative professional, research, post-doctoral fellows, graduate assistants and faculty are eligible.
Non-student hourly and student employees are not eligible and should work with their supervisors to determine their work schedule.
I am an employee with essential or critical duties and am required to work on a holiday. What are my options?
Employees with duties that prevent them from taking paid leave on special holidays should coordinate with their supervisor to schedule paid administrative leave before the end of the fiscal year (on June 30) for the year the holiday is observed.
For example, if an employee cannot be on leave on a holiday that falls in November, they should take alternative days before the end of the fiscal year on the following June 30.
Are administrative professional hourly and state classified hourly employees eligible for additional holidays designated by the governor?
Administrative professional hourly employees are not eligible for holiday pay, so they will not receive administrative leave for the additional holiday days.
State classified hourly employees will earn administrative leave on a pro-rated basis based on the number of hours worked in the month of the holiday. Pay should be calculated and applied to the first pay period following the day the holiday is observed by the university.
See the Human Resources Manual for more details on properly calculating holiday pay.
I work on a sponsored research project; can I participate in additional holiday days?
Yes, all employee classifications listed under the first question in this FAQ as eligible for administrative leave to observe additional holiday days.
How will time for the holiday be reflected in the TimeClock Plus system?
Employees do not need to enter leave in the TimeClock Plus system for special holidays. Leave will be categorized as administrative leave.
More information for departmental Human Resources professionals:
Human Resources will create approved “Admin Leave” entries for salaried employees for designated special holidays, according to the employee’s full time equivalent: 8 hours each day for a 40 hour/week employee; 6 hours each day for 30 hour/week employee, etc.
Department Human Resource users are responsible for ensuring the accuracy of TimeClock Plus entries, particularly if the employee’s full-time equivalent changes prior to the holiday, if they work an alternative schedule, or if they will be working on a university holiday and observing the holiday with time away at a later date.
What is the deadline to edit administrative leave and holiday pay to ensure it is recorded accurately for payroll purposes?
See payroll deadlines for more information.
I have already submitted a leave day that coincides with a designated holiday day; can I participate in the holiday day instead of using my leave?
Work with your department human resources representative to align your annual leave requests with administrative leave if you have submitted a request for annual leave on a holiday.
My role and department are not considered essential and we are planning to work on the governor’s appointed extra holiday; is this allowable?
Work with your supervisor to determine if your role and duties are required to meet business needs on the observed days.
If there is a business need requiring you to work, collaborate with your supervisor to identify a future date for you to observe the special holiday during this fiscal year.