PEF
agreement saves vacation accruals for computer pros
By KARA E. SMITH
The so-called "year
2000 (Y2K) computer glitch" may cause problems for the
state's computer system come January 1, 2000, but thanks to a new
agreement, it won't wreak havoc with the vacation accruals of the
many PEF members who are working overtime to stave off a
millennium meltdown.
PEF has negotiated an agreement with the Governor's Office of
Employee Relations (GOER) that allows PEF members working on Y2K
compliance to carry up to 50 extra days of vacation accruals.
Heading off
the millennium bug
Since the state ordinarily prohibits its employees carrying more
than 40 days of vacation time from one fiscal year to the next,
many members who had banked a lot of vacation hours but who have
to put off vacationing to meet the millennium deadline, stood to
lose chunks of their accrued time.
"This agreement acknowledges that due to the Y2K deadline,
many members may choose or need to put off vacationing at this
time," said PEF Associate Counsel Elizabeth Hough who
negotiated the agreement.
"However, we want to stress that the agreement does not mean
that we have given up our rights to grieve vacation denials in
appropriate cases," she added.
There is a
way
The PEF-GOER agreement creates a "special vacation"
category for storing vacation accruals in excess of the 40-day
state max.
Employees can accrue up to 50 additional days of vacation time
under the special-vacation category, while still retaining their
regular vacation accruals.
The agreement, which took affect April 1, allows the affected
employees to accrue up to a total of 90 vacation days - 40 days
of regular, plus 50 days of special vacation time.
Affected members will be able to carry the special vacation
credits until April 1, 2002.
They will be back to living with the 40-day vacation cap after
April 1, 2001.
"We're really pleased that for once the state stepped up and
decided to do the right thing from the start," Hough said.
"These members are putting in a lot of hours to make the
state's system Y2K-compliant. It's good to see the state
acknowledge their efforts."
Save A Tree & Stop The Presses. I'll read the Communicator online!