Vacation and sick leave are earned monthly, but the full year’s accrual is credited at the beginning of January, in anticipation of continued employment for the full year. New AFT professional staff employees’ leave balances are credited from their first day of work through the end of the calendar year. AFT professional staff employees may use time before it is earned, however, if they separate from employment during the calendar year the dollar amount of any unearned used time would be owed back to the University.

AFT professional staff employees must use the Time Accrual/Leave Request form to request and get approval for any and all time off they plan to use. Every effort should be made to submit the Time Accrual/Leave Request form before the time is taken.

All AFT professional staff employees must submit a bi-weekly timesheet documenting all time taken or earned outside of normal scheduled hours (exception time). Departments use either Web Time Entry through Banner Self-Service or timeclock software to submit time. AFT professional staff employees should consult with their specific office or department to understand how timesheets are managed and submitted for their specific area. AFT professional staff employees should consult their current union contract to view max number of compensatory hours that can be carried.

Sick leave accrual never expires and all employees are encouraged to build their sick leave bank. Only one year's worth of vacation accrual can carry into the next calendar year. Refer to the Leave details in Banner Self-Service to see "Use or Lose" time for all leave types.

If an AFT professional employee separates from the University, earned vacation time is paid out.  Earned sick leave and earned compensatory time are not eligible for payout. Employees who have a Paid Leave Bank balance from a prior furlough program will receive those hours in their final pay.

If an AFT professional staff employee retires from a New Jersey state pension system, earned vacation time is paid out to the Retiree Leave 403b Plan.  Sick leave is also payable to the Retiree Leave 403b Plan under the provisions of the State of New Jersey Supplemental Compensation on Retirement (SCOR) program. Earned compensatory time is not eligible for payout.