Updates to Processing of Designated Holidays and Paid Days Off

In an effort to simplify time entry procedures for employees and best align University paid days off with our academic calendar, Idaho State University is pleased to announce an administrative change to how time entry and paid leave will be processed for the upcoming 2023 University-recognized holidays, designated holidays, and winter break closure. 

All employees who accrue paid leave (classified staff, non-classified staff, and 12-month faculty) will all now be allocated 3 days of paid leave, as designated holidays, during the winter closures. 

Traditionally, ISU has remained open for Indigenous People’s Day and Veteran’s Day while students attend classes and employees report to work. The holiday compensatory (comp) time earned for working on these holidays was then later applied to leave used during designated University closures (the 4th Friday in November and the winter break closure between Fall and Spring semesters). 

With this processing change, the University will continue to celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day and Veterans’ Day, and remain open, consistent with our standard academic calendar that has been in place for many years. However, rather than earning holiday comp time for working these two days, the University will designate 3 new paid days off (the 4th Friday in November, and two days during winter break) to align with days that ISU is closed. This change will significantly simplify time-entry and payroll procedures while improving consistency with our sister institutions.

This administrative change in how we process designated holidays to align with winter closures does not impact our commitment to celebrating the important holidays of Indigenous Peoples’ Day and Veterans’ Day.  Students and employees are encouraged to continue to participate in celebratory events and workshops associated with Indigenous Peoples’ Day and Veterans’ Day. 

This change will impact University-recognized paid days off for the remaining 2023 schedule as shown below:

*Paid holiday or designated holiday

Why is this change being made?

• Better alignment of University paid days off with the academic calendar and winter break closure (because ISU is closed Nov. 24, and also the week of Dec. 25, 2023 - Jan. 1, 2024)

• Classified, overtime-eligible employees who work the newly designated holidays (Nov. 24, Dec. 26, and Dec. 29) when ISU is closed will benefit from this change with their ability to earn compensatory or paid time and a half for days actually worked during ISU closures. Prior to this change, classified staff who worked on the three newly designated holidays during the winter closure would not earn time and a half for working during the closure.

• All classified staff, non-classified staff, and 12-month faculty will all now earn 3 paid days off in lieu of the previously recognized 2 paid days off. Prior to this change, classified staff who worked on Indigenous Peoples’ Day and Veterans’ Day would earn 3 days of holiday comp leave to use during the winter closures, and non-classified staff and 12-month faculty earned only 2 days to use during the winter closure. This new approach maximizes the amount of paid leave all employees receive and are able to use or accrue during the University winter closure.



• This change will streamline and simplify time entry and processing for all employees who accrue paid leave in recognition of University-recognized paid days off to better align with winter campus closure days, rather than having to process these hours twice (as hours earned, then hours taken on different days).

As a next step, ISU will be working to update ISU policies and procedures to reflect this approach in recognition of newly designated holidays and paid time off. For planning purposes, based on this new model, a 2024 University-recognized paid days off calendar is available here.