UCLA will close for 11 days between Saturday, December 22, 2018, and Tuesday, January 1, 2019, with plans to reopen on Wednesday, January 2, 2019. The closure period includes four University paid holidays (December 24, 25, 31, 2018, and January 1, 2019) and three days that are not paid holidays (December 26, 27 and 28, 2018).
The benefits of the annual Winter Holiday Closure are important in saving approximately $200,000 in energy costs, while reducing campus greenhouse gas emissions by more than one-million pounds of CO2. The decrease helps preserve natural resources and moves the University closer to its 2025 Carbon Neutrality goal.
In accordance with University personnel policies on curtailment leave and applicable labor agreements, employees will have the choice of the following options to cover the three days during the closure period that are not University paid holidays:
- Use of accrued vacation;
- Use of vacation days in advance of actual accrual is permissible to cover the three non-holidays during the closure period.
- Newly hired employees, represented and policy-covered, may utilize their vacation accruals during the closure before acquiring six continuous months on pay status.
- Use of compensatory time (if available); or
- Request for leave without pay, with departmental approval.
- Employees who choose leave without pay will not lose hourly vacation or sick leave accruals for these three days.
The above options may be used in combination. Employees should notify their respective supervisors in advance as to which option or combination of options they propose to use.
For exclusively represented employees, labor contracts may include similar provisions, and requirements under the Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act will be observed.
During the planned break period, UCLA Health and certain essential-service facilities will continue to remain open. Deans, Vice Chancellors and Organization Heads to whom this responsibility has been delegated will need to determine if any facilities under their management will need to remain fully or partially open during the closure and, accordingly, arrange for appropriate staffing. Please send copies of these approval decisions to the offices of the Assistant Vice Chancellor, Facilities Management, and to Employee & Labor Relations.
If you have questions, please contact Anthony Solana, Director of Employee and Labor Relations in Campus Human Resources at asolana@chr.ucla.edu or Jane Miller, Interim Director of Employee and Labor Relations in Health Sciences Human Resources at janemiller@mednet.ucla.edu.
