(Fayetteville Policies and Procedures 409.2, 509.1; Universitywide
Administrative Memorandum 435.1; Arkansas Code Ann. ยง1-5-101 through 104; AHRMS
Policy Manual 103-1, 2)
The Board of Trustees delegates to the campuses the schedule of official
holidays for each fiscal year. There are ordinarily twelve official paid
holidays and one or two additional days when the University is closed and which
are charged to your annual leave. The usual schedule includes the following
holidays: Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, the Friday following
Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Day, Martin Luther King's
Birthday, the Friday of Spring Break (in lieu of Presidents' Day/Daisy Gatson
Bates Day), Memorial Day, and your birthday. Because the University ordinarily
closes for the entire week between Christmas Eve and New Year's Day, you will be
charged annual leave for any days during that period not covered by regular
holidays or additional holidays declared by the Governor. One of the days will
be a holiday in lieu of your birthday. If you decide to observe your birthday on
the date it occurs, instead of using it in lieu of an annual leave day between
Christmas Eve and New Year's Day, be certain to inform your department leave
representative as far in advance of your birthday as possible.
Starting in 2003, the Governor has given permission for University employees
to work additional hours during the month of December which may be substituted
for annual leave on those days when the University is officially closed which
are not covered by holidays. Specific instructions will be sent to employees and
department leave representatives annually.
When a holiday (except December 25) occurs on a Saturday, the preceding
Friday is observed; when December 25 occurs on a Saturday, the following Monday
is observed. When a holiday (except December 24) occurs on a Sunday, the
following Monday is observed; when December 24 occurs on a Sunday, the preceding
Friday is observed.
If you are assigned a work schedule which requires you to work on a
regularly-scheduled holiday, you may be granted time off on another date that is
convenient for you and your department. If the workload in your department makes
it difficult to arrange an alternate day to observe your holiday, you may be
paid for the holiday, at your regular pay rate, in accordance with provisions of
the Fair Labor Standards Act.
If you are a full-time employee, you are eligible to observe these holidays
at full pay. If you work less than full-time, but half-time or more, your
holiday pay will be proportionate to the time worked. For example, if you work
half-time, your holiday pay will be at a rate equivalent to four hours. You must
be in a paid status (not on leave without pay) on your normally scheduled work
day before the holiday and your normally scheduled work day after the holiday.
If you are a non-student, regular hourly employee and regularly work twenty or
more hours a week, you are eligible for pay for University holidays at a rate
proportionate to the number of hours you regularly work, provided you work your
scheduled day before and your scheduled day after the holiday. Students hourly
employees are paid only for hours actually worked. You are considered a student,
and therefore not eligible for holiday pay, if you are taking six or more
undergraduate credits or five or more graduate credits.