Dear Colleagues,
I am following up on the Upcoming Changes to Administrative Staff PTO Policy message that you received last week.
Over the past several days, we’ve heard from many of you about the upcoming changes to our Paid Time Off (PTO) policy, and want to thank you for your honesty, thoughtfulness, and engagement. I also acknowledge this comes at a busy time of the year when we are making difficult decisions that impact all of us as we navigate through the complex environment facing all of higher education.
Many of you have shared concerns about the timeline for using accrued, but as yet unused, PTO balances if you wished to receive a new allocation of PTO on July 1, 2025. I want to acknowledge that these concerns are real and valid and that we have made important changes to the policy based on your feedback.
Effective July 1, 2025, pursuant to the newly revised HR Policy 602, administrative staff will receive their full annual PTO allotment in addition to maintaining the use of their remaining accrued PTO.
Beginning July 1, any PTO used will first draw from accrued balances before reducing the new annual allotment. This ensures that staff do not lose access to newly granted time, to be used on an annual basis, while still preserving the opportunity to use previously earned accrued leave. We recognize the realities that not every employee will find it feasible to take all of these hours in one year, though they’re available for use. In recognition of that, employees will have access to their earned accrued and newly allotted PTO hours under this new policy. Accrued hours earned before July 1, 2025 will carry over and remain available for use through June 30, 2027. Allotted hours, granted at the start of each fiscal year, do not carry over but refresh annually. We hope that this long horizon allows you to fully use the time you’ve earned while benefiting from the new program in this period once accrued leave is fully utilized.
Time off is a vital part of what makes Georgetown a great place to work. Since 2022, we’ve made significant enhancements to our leave policies, including:
- Increasing PTO for non-AAP staff with fewer than 5 years of service
- Adding an annual allotment of 5 sick days (with carryover up to 30 days)
- Reducing the unpaid waiting period for paid disability benefits from 15 to 5 days
- Implementing 8 weeks of fully paid parental leave
The move from an accrual-based PTO model to an annual allotment was never about reducing the opportunity to take time away from work. Rather, it reflects our responsibility to address the university’s growing liability from large unused leave balances and to encourage employees to regularly take time away to rest and recharge. Managers receive quarterly reminders to support this goal by actively encouraging staff to use PTO.
While this change has been under thoughtful consideration for some time with a more gradual rollout originally envisioned, the current challenges facing higher education have required us to act with greater urgency.
You can find more detailed information about this change on the Benefits website.
Managers are encouraged to approve reasonable PTO requests whenever possible. We understand that operational needs vary and there may be peak times when long absences are difficult to accommodate. In those cases, we ask that teams work together to find a fair and workable balance.
A few additional guidelines as we move forward:
- Employees should discuss PTO plans with managers in advance to ensure work coverage, especially when requesting consecutive time off over two weeks.
- To allow for proper orientation, a supervisor may restrict an employee’s use of PTO during the first 90 days in a new position, unless otherwise specified and agreed to during hiring and onboarding.
- Managers with questions should reach out to their HR Business Partner for guidance.
It pains me to see that this change has caused distress in our community. Please know that we valued your input and we remain committed to a fair, transparent, and supportive implementation. Thank you again for the care and courage you’ve shown in sharing your perspectives.
We will be holding community Q&A sessions via Zoom Webinar with the Office of Faculty & Staff Benefits to provide a platform for you to ask questions. If you have questions you would like to pre-submit, you can do so via this Google Form. This will help advise the presentation content. Please register in advance of the session you plan to attend.
- Wednesday, May 14, 12:30-1:30 p.m.
- Thursday, May 15, 1-2 p.m.
- Tuesday, May 20, 11 a.m. – noon
With gratitude,
Charles DeSantis
Chief Benefits Officer
Associate Vice President, University Benefits and Wellness