Accruals
PTO is accrued at the following rates for full-time employees:
| Employee Type | Calendar years beginning prior to completion of 5 years of full-time status | Calendar years beginning after completion of 5 years of full-time status* |
| Executive | 31 days per year | 31 days per year |
| Full Time 12 Month Employee | 24 days per year | 31 days per year |
| Full Time 10 Month Employee | 20 days per year | 26 days per year |
| Full Time 10 Month, Half time 2 (10 and 2) | 22 days per year | 26 days per year |
| Full Time 9 Month Employee | 18 days per year | 24 days per year |
PTO Earning, Balances, and Milestones
On January 1st of each year, Full time staff employees will have their PTO entitlement for the entire calendar year deposited into their PTO bank and available for immediate use. Although it will be available for immediate use, it will be earned on a pro-rated basis each month.
For example, a 12-month Full Time employee who has worked for CCS less than five years will have 24 days of PTO deposited into their PTO bank on January 1. The employee can begin using this immediately. Employees are permitted to take more PTO than they have earned, if approved by their supervisor. An employee who does so will be considered to have a “negative PTO balance,” even if a negative balance does not show in their paycheck. Employees cannot borrow PTO from future years.
PTO will be prorated accordingly when an employee is hired or terminates mid-month. When hired on or before or terminated on or after the 15th of the month, a full month’s accrual will be credited. If hired after the 15th of the month or terminated before the 15th of the month, no PTO will be accrued for the month. An employee may carry over a maximum of 1 year of PTO into the new calendar year. Excess PTO that is not taken and cannot be carried over will be forfeited.
Note: Employees start accruing at the 5-year rate on January 1st following their 5-year anniversary of their hire date. Example: Hired May 1, 2025; 5-year PTO allowance begins January 1, 2031.
Part Time Staff Employees
Part-Time, hourly staff employees who work more than 10 hours per week will accrue PTO at a rate of .0923 hours for each hour worked regardless of how long they have worked for CCS.
Employees are permitted to take more PTO than they have earned, if approved by their supervisor. An employee who does so will be considered to have a “negative PTO balance.” Employees cannot borrow PTO from future years. Part-time employees may carry over PTO into the new calendar year, but they generally may not use more than one year of carried over PTO the next year.
ESTA Allocation For Non PTO Eligible Roles Employees who do not Receive PTO, but Receive ESTA
The following categories of employees do not receive PTO, but receive time off that can be used for ESTA purposes only:
- Part-Time Employees working less than 10 hours per week
- Temporary employees
- RAs
- CE Mentors
- Graduate Assistants
- Work Study
- CAP instructors
- CE Instructors
- Models.
Part-Time Employees working less than 10 hours per week, temporary employees, Graduate Assistants, Work Study, CAP instructors, CE Instructors, and Models will earn ESTA at the rate of one hour for every 30 hours worked. These employees will be permitted to carry over unused ESTA from year to year, but they may not take more than 72 hours of ESTA in any calendar year. RAs and CE Mentors will have their ESTA time front loaded based on estimated hours worked each program session with a true up at the end of the semester if the employee works more hours than expected. These employees will not be permitted to carry over ESTA from year to year because it is front-loaded.
Using PTO
Employees should follow their department procedures when requesting time off.
Use of ESTA
The first 72 hours of PTO used per year is considered to satisfy the Michigan Earned Sick Time Act, regardless of the reason the employee uses PTO.
When using any portion of the first 72 hours of PTO in a calendar year for an ESTA reason or if you are an employee who receives only ESTA, if the absence is foreseeable, you are required to provide seven days’ notice of the intent to use PTO for ESTA reasons or take ESTA. If the need to use PTO for ESTA reasons or take ESTA is not foreseeable, you must provide notice of your intention to take PTO for ESTA reasons or to take ESTA as soon as practicable. Excluding special circumstances that make it not practicable, the college’s call-in policy still applies for unforeseeable time off for ESTA reasons. Time off for ESTA reasons may be taken in increments of one hour. For ESTA absences of more than three consecutive days, employees are required to provide reasonable documentation that the time has been used for an ESTA purpose. This documentation must be provided on time.
For employees utilizing TimeClock Plus (TCP), the ESTA hours code is to be used to record absences taken for ESTA-related reasons.
| Employee Type | Method | Hours | Tracking Method | Usage | Carryover |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full Time Salary | Covered by existing PTO Bank – Front Load | 72 | TCP – ESTA Code | Immediate | None |
| Full Time Hourly | Covered by existing PTO Bank – Front Load | 72 | TCP – ESTA Code | Immediate | None |
| Full Time Faculty | Front Load Annually | 72 | Department Office | Immediate | None |
| Part Time Hourly | Accrual – Earn based on hours worked and included in existing PTO calculations | As earned | TCP – ESTA Code | As accrued | Yes, up to 72 hours of unused PTO |
| Adjunct Faculty | Front load based on course tally ea. Semester of 15 weeks | Lecture = 3.38 hours per course/semester Studio = 7.75 hours per course/semester | Substitute form or Gold form | Immediate with true up at semester end | None |
| RA’s | Front Load based on estimated hours worked each semester of 15 weeks | 7.5 hours per semester | One-time payment form | Immediate with true up at semester end | None |
| CE Mentors-Stipend | Front load based on estimated hours worked each program session | 5 hours per program work session | One-time payment form | Immediate with true at session end | None |
| Graduate Assistantship | Accrual – earn based on hours worked | Please contact payroll | TCP-ESTA Code | As accrued | Yes – up to 72 hours of unused ESTA time |
| Work Study | Accrual – earn based on hours worked | Please contact payroll | TCP-ESTA Code | As accrued | Yes – up to 72 hours of unused ESTA time |
| CAP Instructors, CE Instructors, Models, Temporary & other hourly | Accrual – earn based on hours worked | Please contact payroll | TCP-ESTA Code | As accrued | Yes – up to 72 hours of unused ESTA time |
All Other Use of PTO
When using the first 72 hours of PTO during a calendar year for reasons other than the ESTA, and for all use of PTO after the first 72 hours of PTO in a calendar year is exhausted, non-exempt employees may take PTO in increments as small as 1 hour. Exempt employees may take PTO in increments as small as one-half day. All PTO is to be used before time is taken without pay. PTO should be scheduled in advance and approved by the employee’s supervisor except in the case of last-minute illnesses, injury or emergencies. In these instances, employees should notify their supervisor as soon as possible and no later than one hour before the beginning of the employee’s shift.
Please note that even if an employee has PTO available, excessive use of unscheduled time off is disruptive and may lead to disciplinary action (other than absences for ESTA reasons during the first 72 hours of PTO used per calendar year or ESTA absences for employees who do not receive PTO, assuming that appropriate notice and documentation are provided, or where PTO is used for other absences protected by law, such as the Family and Medical Leave Act). See Attendance and Timeliness policy or Facilities and Environmental Services Attendance Policy. CCS’s PTO policy is intended to and will be interpreted to comply with the provisions of Michigan’s Earned Sick Time Act.
PTO In Conjunction With STD And Workers’ Compensation
- A seven (7) calendar day waiting period is required before short term disability begins to pay any benefits. Employees are required to use their PTO during the seven-day waiting period. Employees will not accrue PTO while on Short Term Disability, but they will accrue PTO during the seven-day waiting period when PTO is used. If the seven-day waiting period when PTO is used ends on or after the 15th of the month, PTO will be accrued for that month. If the seven-day waiting period ends before the 15th of the month, PTO will not be accrued for the month. An employee cannot use PTO to bring their pay up to 100% if they are receiving less than 100% of their pay through the Short-Term Disability program. If employees do not have PTO to cover the waiting period, this time will be unpaid, provided this is consistent with applicable law.
- An employee receiving benefits under workers’ compensation will not be paid from both PTO and workers’ compensation for the same hours. They may use PTO if there is a waiting period before income replacement benefits begin.
Payout Of PTO
Payment of earned, unused PTO time will be made at the employee’s regular rate of pay when employment terminates. If a negative PTO balance exists at the time of termination, the employee’s last paycheck will be reduced by this amount (subject to compliance with applicable law). The employee’s Timeclock Plus record must be up to date before any PTO payout is issued. PTO payouts are generally paid on the pay date after the employee’s last paycheck.
Employees who earn ESTA, but not PTO, are not entitled to payout of unused ESTA at termination.
Compliance with Applicable Law
This policy is intended to and will be interpreted to comply with all applicable laws, including the Michigan’s Earned Sick Time Act. Employees will not be subject to adverse action for using or attempting to use time off under the Earned Sick Time Act. This policy may be administered differently for employees who work in states other than Michigan, depending on the applicable state law.