During the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, PEF and the State reached multiple agreements allowing eligible employees to carry over unused vacation accruals that would otherwise have been forfeited on April 1, 2020, and April 1, 2021. Employees had until December 31, 2021, to use those carried-over accruals. Now, pursuant to a further agreement with the Governor’s Office of Employee Relations, employees have until December 31, 2022, to use those carried over accruals.
In addition, eligible employees may again carry over accruals beyond the contractual cap in April 2022. Those accruals will also have to be used by December 31, 2022, in order to avoid forfeiture.
It should also be noted that pursuant to a side letter contained in the 2019-2023 PEF/State Agreement, the Article 12.4(c) vacation accrual cap of 40 days was increased to 50 days for one year effective April 1, 2022, and will revert back to 40 days on April 1, 2023. Vacation credits earned on or after April 1, 2022, are not impacted by these extensions or the December 31, 2022, deadline to use carried over accruals, but rather, will be subject to the April 1, 2023, contractual cap, which at that time, reverts back to 40 days as noted above.
If you are unsure about your balance of accruals which were carried over beyond the contractual cap in April 2020 and April 2021, you should request that information from your agency. If you have any questions, please contact your Field Representative.