Effectively managing leave and absences is key to fostering a supportive work environment while maintaining smooth operations. This page provides key resources for managers and employees to navigate absence management, understand leave accruals, and ensure smooth coordination of time off. Access guides tailored for both managers and employees below to help you make informed decisions and uphold compliance with leave policies. Whether you're tracking leave balances or planning for time away, these resources are here to assist you at every step.
Tools and Guides for Absence Management
Leave Types and Accrual Information
How Much Sick Leave Do I Accrue?
- Full-time, eligible employees accrue 8 hours per month after meeting a qualifying pay period. A qualifying month of service is 11 days on pay status in a pay period.
- Employees who work less than full time but are eligible to receive sick leave credit, accrue on a pro-rated basis. Example: employees who work 20 hours per week accrue 4 hours per month.
For more information use Sick Leave
Vacation Credit- for each qualifying pay period is earned at a rate applicable to your length of state service and HEERSA (Collective bargaining) Status (see table below). Part time employees earn vacation on a pro-rata basis.
Compensatory Time Off (CTO) is authorized time worked in excess of forty (40) hours in a seven day period. CTO should be taken within the year earned.
Holiday Credit- is the time credited to an employee when he/she worked on a holiday prior to the advent of collective bargaining. Holiday credit is now posted at CTO.
Personal Holiday- an employee is entitled to one (1) Personal Holiday which must be taken on one (1) day during the calendar year. Part-time employees earn Personal Holiday on a pro-rata basis.
Vacation Accruals (Vacation is accrued at a Pro-rata basis)
Employees earn vacation time depending on their classification and length of service.
Summary of Vacation Accrual Rates for Full-Time Staff in Units 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 (Vacation is accrued at a Pro-rata basis)
| Length of Service | Vacation Accrual Rate (hours) |
| 0-3 Years: 1 To 36 Months | 6 2/3 |
| 3-6 Years: 37 To 72 Months | 10 |
| 6-10 Years: 73 To 120 Months | 11 1/3 |
| 10-15 Years: 121 To 180 Months | 12 2/3 |
| 15-20 Years: 181 To 240 Months | 14 |
| 20-25 Years: 241 To 300 Months | 15 1/3 |
| Over 25 Years: 301 Months and up | 16 |
Summary of Vacation Accrual Rates for Executive (M98), Management (M80), Confidential (C99), Faculty in 10 and 12 month positions (Unit 3)*
| Length of Service | Vacation Accrual Rate (hours) |
| N/A | 16 |
*After one (1) full year of employment, a faculty unit employee shall take at least forty (40) hours of vacation each calendar year. Any part of the forty (40) hours not taken during the calendar year shall be forfeited as of January 1 of the subsequent year.
Maximum Vacation and CTO Credits
Summary of Maximum by Bargaining Unit
| Employee Classification |
Annual CTO Max (hours) |
FLSA Annual CTO Max (hours) |
Max Vacation: Less than 10 Years of Service (hours) |
Max Vacation: More than 10 Years of service (hours) |
| M98 | N/A | N/A | 480 | 480 |
| M80 | N/A | N/A | 384 | 440 |
| Unit1 | N/A | N/A | 320 | 440 |
| Unit 2 | 120 | 240 | 320 | 440 |
| Unit 3 (10 & 12 month only) |
N/A | N/A | 320 | 440 |
| Unit 4 | 120 | 240 | 320 | 440 |
| Unit 5 | 120 | 240 | 320 | 440 |
| Unit 6 | 240 | 240 | 320 | 440 |
| Unit 7 | 120 | 240 | 320 | 440 |
| Unit 8 | 200 | 480 | 320 | 440 |
| Unit 9 | 120 | 240 | 320 | 440 |
| Unit 11 | N/A | N/A | 80 | 80 |
| E99 | 120 | 240 | 272 | 384 |
| C99 | 120 | 240 | 384 | 440 |
- Employees must work 11 workdays in the pay period to accrue vacation credits for that pay period. Vacation credits may not be used prior to their accrual, which occurs on the first day of the following pay period.
- Vacation requests must be submitted in advance to an employee’s supervisor for approval. Based upon the operational needs of the department, vacations shall be scheduled and taken only as authorized by the appropriate administrator.
- Upon separation from the California State University, employees are entitled to a lump sum payment of unused vacation time.
- Eligible employees may accrue unused vacation credits up to the maximum allowed as of December 31. When computing the maximum allowable vacation limits, include December vacation accrual that is available the following January 1. Maximum vacation carryover is listed above.