Paid Time Off (PTO) for US
Purpose
To provide regular part-time and regular full-time associates with time off to be used for leisure, illness, vacation, personal business or staying home to care for a sick family member.
Eligibility
Regular part-time (20 to 31 hours per week) and full-time associates (32 or more hours per week).
Accrual of PTO
Regular Full-time associates accrue PTO hours each pay period based on years of service, following the schedule below. Regular Part-time associates accrue at one-half the full time rate. Accrual of PTO hours begins on the associate’s hire date. There is no waiting period for new hires.

Accrual Schedule

Completed Years of service
Bi-weekly
26 pay periods
Semi-monthly
24 pay periods
Weeks / Hours per year
1 thru 4 years
4.62 hours
5 hours
3 weeks (120 hours)
5 thru 9 years
6.15 hours
6.67 hours
4 weeks (160 hours)
10 thru 19 years
7.69 hours
8.34 hours
5 weeks (200 hours)
20+ years
9.23 hours
10 hours
6 weeks (240 hours)

Associates will be credited with their accrued hours each pay period. When associates reach their 5th, 10th, or 20th anniversary with the company, the accrual rate will increase according to the schedule above in the pay cycle within which the anniversary falls. For example, if your hire date is 7/20/02, your PTO accrual will increase to the next level within the pay cycle of your 5th anniversary, or 7/20/07.

Use of PTO

Associates choose how to use their paid time off and must coordinate all time off with their managers to ensure business needs are met. Your manager must approve your time away and may ask you to reschedule to meet business demands. Guidelines for the use of PTO are as follows:

  • PTO is to be used for leisure and vacation time, short-term personal illness, including days of disabling illness before you are eligible for short-term disability benefits, as well as for other personal business such as doctor’s appointments, observing a religious holiday or staying home to care for a sick family member. PTO may also be used to supplement your pay during short-term disability (STD).
  • For planned absences, you should obtain approval from your manager at least 24 hours in advance (two weeks notice is preferred). Your manager will give you as much notice as possible if he/she must cancel your request for time off.
  • For unplanned absences such as illness, notify your manager at least one hour before your normal start time.

When a company holiday falls within the period of your PTO, it will be paid according to our holiday policy.
Full-time associates are permitted to have a negative balance of paid time off hours up to a maximum of 80 hours (part-time associates up to a maximum of 40 hours), as long as there is time left in the year to accrue enough PTO to restore their balance to zero by year end.

PTO Carryover
Beginning January 1, 2004, eFunds will allow carryover of PTO from one calendar year to the next. Associates may carry up to five (5) PTO days into the following calendar year. These carryover days must be used by the end of March in the new year or they will be forfeited.
Termination
If employment is terminated and a negative PTO balance exists, the corresponding amount will be deducted, as permitted under applicable law, from an associate’s last paycheck. If an associate has a positive PTO balance, PTO will be paid out. Associates will be credited with accrual hours for their last pay period if the full pay period is worked.
Leave of Absence
Paid time off will continue to accrue during the first 30 calendar days of a leave of absence, including STD. After 30 days, PTO will not accrue until the associate returns to work on a full-schedule basis. If the leave of absence is greater than three months, when an associate returns to active work, s/he will not receive credit for the time off in excess of three months when years of service are calculated.
PTO and Other Paid Time Off Programs
PTO time may be combined with other paid time policies including military, jury duty, holiday, and bereavement pay.

Procedure
Non-exempt associates must record their PTO in half hour increments. PTO for exempt associates should be recorded in full-day increments only; partial-day deductions should not be made unless an exempt associate is taking intermittent leave under FMLA.

Exempt PTO requests are to be forwarded to the manager for approval and then included on the Exempt PTO Department Summary sheet that managers submit to payroll monthly. Non-exempt PTO requests are to be submitted to the manager (NOT PAYROLL) to include on the timesheets or electronic time files.

Request forms for both non-exempt and exempt can be found under the Forms link in eServe.
If you have any questions on any of these policies, please contact your HR representative.