UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State President Eric Barron has announced that employees will receive a close-down day on Friday, Nov. 27, the day after Thanksgiving, as they have for the past several years.
“Penn State employees across the state make the University run year-round. This is a way to say thank you to them for all they do to help Penn State continue to provide a world-class education to our students,” Barron said. “We truly appreciate the work of our faculty and staff, and hope that they can take this extra day to enjoy time with family and friends.”
Thanksgiving
The Thanksgiving holiday will be observed on Thursday, Nov. 26. Thanksgiving Friday will be considered a close-down day. It will not be considered a “holiday,” so provisions for premium pay and the like do not apply. Human Resources Guideline HRG10, “Handling ‘Weather Day’ Absences of Official University Closedowns Due to Weather Conditions,” provides the needed guidance for staff and technical-service employees. In general, the following will apply:
- Employees who normally work Fridays and are not required to work, including wage payroll employees who are eligible for earned time, will receive pay for the day as if they had worked. Employees who had previously scheduled a vacation day or other paid time off will not have such time charged.
- Employees who are required to work Thanksgiving Friday, including wage payroll employees who are eligible for earned time, will receive time off equivalent to the number of hours worked.
- Full-time staff and technical-service employees whose regular day off falls on Thanksgiving Friday will receive an additional day of equivalent time off to be scheduled at another time mutually agreeable to the employee and the supervisor. Although this represents an expansion of the benefit provided for in the guideline, it is in keeping with the intention of the provision of this unique benefit.
Information regarding the other 2015 holidays is listed below.
Independence Day
The Independence Day holiday will be on Saturday, July 4. Friday, July 3, will not be a University holiday. However, classes at University Park and several other campuses will not be held July 3.
University policies provide that if a University holiday falls on an employee's regularly scheduled day off, the employee receives holiday compensatory time to be used at another time. Employees who normally do not work Saturdays will receive holiday compensatory time for the Independence Day holiday.
Labor Day
The Labor Day holiday will be on Monday, Sept. 7.
December/January holidays
University offices and operations, except for essential services, will close at the normal end-of-business times on Wednesday, Dec. 23, and will resume at normal starting times on Monday, Jan. 4, 2016. The official University holidays will be Thursday, Dec. 24; Friday, Dec. 25; and Monday, Dec. 28 through Friday, Jan. 1.
This schedule is not applicable to the Penn State College of Medicine at the Hershey Medical Center.
For more information, contact your human resources representative.