Holidays and Leave

Time Away From Work

• Annual Leave - Vacation or Personal Leave

  Full-time classified and non-faculty administrative employees accrue annual leave at the rate of 9.38 hours per month. After completion of 10 years of service, full-time classified employees earn additional time increasing each year up to a maximum of 18.75 hours of annual leave per month in the 22nd year. Part-time employees working at least half-time earn annual leave on a pro-rated basis. Leave accrued each month cannot be taken until the following month. An employee in a pay status one-half or more of the working days of the month will earn annual leave for that month and also while on sick or annual leave. No leave is earned while an employee is in a Leave Without Pay status.

  Leave is requested, granted and recorded in the departments. There are specific departmental policies and procedures concerning leave, which must be followed. All leave requests are subject to departmental approval. Leave Request Forms should be completed in advance unless an emergency situation exists. In this instance, verbal approval should be obtained.

  An employee may carry 337.50 hours of annual leave from one calendar year to the next and may use a maximum of 225 hours a calendar year. Employees are paid for up to 337.50 hours of annual leave upon retiring or leaving employment. Grant-funded employees may be required to use or forfeit leave upon separation. Leave may be transferred from one state agency to another under certain circumstances.

  • Annual Leave Earnings Chart
• Sick Leave

  The sick-leave benefit is provided to administration, classified (staff), unclassified (faculty) and eligible grant employees who are unable to perform their job due to illness or injury. Sick leave is also used for medical and dental appointments during working hours.

  Full-time employees earn 9.38 hours of leave a month. Employees working less than full-time earn sick leave on a pro-rated basis. Ten hours a month is the maximum monthly accrual and may be taken in the month following the first month of earned leave. The total accrual of sick leave that may be carried from one calendar year to the next is 1,350 hours. The number of Sick Family Leave days used (10 days max. a calendar year) is deducted from the sick leave balance. Employees are not paid for their sick leave balances upon retiring or leaving employment.

  Advanced sick leave of 15 days may be requested by the employee under extenuating circumstances. The written employee request, along with medical documentation, must be approved by the department and Human Resources. Once the employee returns to work, no sick leave is used until the entire 15 days is repaid.

  Sick leave is requested, recorded and approved in the department. Notification of a sick leave request should be done as soon as possible and should follow departmental guidelines. Written medical evidence to support the use of this leave may be requested by the department. Sick leave used for serious medical situations may fall under the guidelines of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) (flag FMLA in HR Policies) and, if so, will run concurrently.

• Holiday Leave

  State holidays are observed with pay. Certain state holidays not observed by the College earlier in the calendar year are observed during the Christmas season holiday. Employees in permanent and grant-funded positions with benefits who are first employed during the calendar year before Christmas will receive the Christmas season holidays with pay.

  View the full College of Charleston observed holidays at the bottom of this page. 

• Leave Without Pay

  This pay status may apply for extended military leave, hazardous weather or emergency situations. An Employee who has used all annual and sick leave may also be put in a leave without pay status. Hours used under this leave must be recorded on the employee's time report. Leave taken under this status may also be part of a FMLA situation. Leave without pay may be requested by the employee and must be approved by the department. Unauthorized leave without pay for three consecutive work days may result in dismissal based on abandonment of position.

• Transferred Leave

  If an employee transfers from another South Carolina state agency with no break in service, the sick and annual leave may be transferred to our agency. Supporting documentation from the former agency is required. Leave of employees not funded by state sources is not transferable to other South Carolina state agencies.

• Responsibility and Computation of Leave

  Leave is authorized and recorded in the departments. Paid annual or sick leave should only be approved if it is available. The supervisor is responsible for this verification. The head of the department is responsible for the accuracy of leave taken and recorded on the employee time reports. Time reports are sent to the payroll office for computation and adjustments. The Office of Human Resources is responsible for interpretation of the leave policy. Abuse or violation of this policy may lead to disciplinary actions. (Please see Hours of Work Policy.)

• Annual Leave - Payoff

  Upon leaving employment or at the time of retirement, an employee may be paid for up to 337.50 hours of annual leave.

  Retirees hired by the state after June 30, 2005, will not receive payment for unused annual leave following termination.

  Employees with benefits who are funded by other than state sources, such as grant funding, may not be entitled to payment for unused annual leave, nor is it transferable to another S.C. state agency.

• Other Types of Leave

  Administrative Leave

  • State employees in full-time equivalent (FTE) positions who are physically attacked while in the performance of official duties and suffer bodily harm as a result of the attack must be placed on administrative leave with pay by their employers, rather than sick leave. The period of administrative leave for each incident may not exceed 180 calendar days. Denial of the use of administrative leave by the agency will be grounds for review by the Division of State Human Resources (DSHR) upon request of the employee. Administrative review by the DSHR will be final. 

  (S.C. Code Ann. Section 8-11-40)

  Adoption Leave (Sick Leave)

  • An adoptive parent who is employed by this state, its departments, agencies, or institutions may use up to six weeks of earned sick leave to take time off for purposes of caring for the child after placement. The agency shall not penalize the employee for requesting or obtaining time off according to this Section. The leave authorized by this Section may be requested by the employee only if the employee is the person who is primarily responsible for furnishing the care and nurture of the child. Available only for adoptions which occur prior to October 1, 2022. Refer to the Parental Leave for information about leave available for adoptions that occur on or after October 1, 2022. 

  American Red Cross Certified Disaster Service Leave

  • An employee who is a certified disaster service volunteer for the American Red Cross may use up to 10 days of paid leave in a calendar year to participate in specialized disaster relief services with the approval of the agency designee.

  (S.C. Code Ann. Sections 8-11-180)

  Blood Drive and Donation Leave

  • Employees are permitted to participate in a blood drive during their work hours without using sick leave and annual leave.
  • The employee desiring to donate blood shall notify their agency of the scheduled donation and the amount of time needed for the donation as far in advance as may be practicable. The agency may deny the employee's request for time to donate if the absence of the employee would create an extraordinary burden on the agency. The agency may, as condition of approving the request, require the employee to provide documentation of the donation. 

  (S.C. Code Ann. Section 8-11-175)

  Bone Marrow/Donor Leave

  • An employee who works an average of 20 hours or more a week and who seeks to undergo a medical procedure to donate bone marrow may be granted bone marrow donor leave with pay. The total amount of paid leave may not exceed 40 work hours unless a longer length of time is approved by the agency head. Such leave may require verification by a health care practitioner of the purpose and length of each request. 

  (S.C. Code Ann. Section 44-43-80)

  Court Leave

  • Jury Duty (With Pay)
    • An employee who is summoned as a member of the jury panel shall be granted court leave with pay. Any jury fees and travel payment shall be retained by the employee. This court leave with pay shall not apply to agencies whose employees are exempt from jury duty by law. 
    • An employee, who is excused from jury duty and is not required to be at court the number of hours equal to the employee's workday, is required to return to the job according to arrangements between the employee and agency designee. The employee must be on authorized leave for any time the employee is excused from jury duty and does not return to work.
    • An employee who is summoned to jury duty will be required to work on any given day only the number of hours that equal the employee's work schedule, minus the hours required to be at court.
  • Subpoenaed as a Witness (With Pay)
    • An employee, who is subpoenaed as a witness and who will not received any personal gain from the outcome of the litigation, shall be entitled to court leave with pay for those hours required for the subpoena and may retain any witness fee and travel expense. 
  • Victim or Witness (With Pay)
    • An employee, who is victim of or witness to a crime and must attend court in relation to the case or in order to obtain an Order of Protection or restraining order, shall receive court leave with pay. 

  Death in Immediate Family Leave

  • An employee, upon request, shall be granted up to three consecutive workdays of leave with pay on the death of any member of the employee's immediate family. Immediate family is defined as the spouse, great-grandparents, grandparents, parents, legal guardians, brothers, spouses of brothers, sisters, spouse of sisters, children, spouse of children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren of either the employee or the spouse. 

  (S.C. Code Ann. Section 8-11-177)

  Extended Disability Leave

  • Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA), and other applicable law, certain extended impairments may be protected as disabilities and may require reasonable accommodation. In certain State Human Resources Regulations cases, the use of leave may be considered a reasonable accommodation. Determinations regarding reasonable accommodations should be made on a case-by-case basis as dictated by the circumstances.
  • The agency shall require, prior to approval of leave as a reasonable accommodation, certification by the health care practitioner to a reasonable degree of medical certainty to include at a minimum: (a) the date on which the disability commenced; (b) the probable duration of the condition and a probable return date; and (c) appropriate medical facts within the knowledge of the health care practitioner regarding the condition and any work limitations. Dates set forth in the health care practitioner's certificate may be amended. The agency may require additional documentation from the health care practitioner issuing the certificate or may secure additional medical opinions from other health care practitioners. If an employee's health care practitioner or the employee identifies a disability as long-term, the agency may suggest to the employee to contact the Public Employee Benefit Authority (PEBA) as soon as possible to evaluate eligibility for any appropriate benefits, such as insurance or retirement, if the employee believes it would be appropriate. 

  Organ Donor Leave

  • All employees who wish to be an organ donor and who accrue annual or sick leave as part of their employment are entitled to leaves of absence with pay for one or more periods not exceeding an aggregate of thirty regularly scheduled workdays in any one fiscal year during which they may engage in the donation of their organs. Saturdays, Sundays, and state holidays may not be included in the 30-day aggregate unless the particular Saturday, Sunday, or holiday to be included is regularly scheduled workday for the officer or employee involved. The employee must show documentation from the attending physician of the proposed organ donation before leave is approved that confirms that the employee is the donor. 

  (S.C. Code Ann. Section 8-11-65 (A.))

  Voting Leave

  • An employee who lives at such distance from the assigned work location as to preclude voting outside of working hours may be authorized a maximum of two hours of leave with pay for this purpose. To work at the polls during election, an employee must be on authorized leave.

  Workers' Compensation Leave

  • If there is an accidental injury arising out of and in the course of employment with the state, which is covered under Workers' Compensation, an employee who is not eligible for or who has exhausted his paid administrative leave, shall make an election to use either earned leave time (sick and/or annual) or Workers' Compensation benefits awarded in accordance with Title 42 of the South Carolina Code of Laws.

  (S.C. Code Ann. Section 8-11-145)