Win for student workers? New leave policy approved by Regents

Sam Cruse is an undergraduate student worker at Norlin Library. He and his coworkers work 12 hours a week sorting and returning books to shelves, finding books that students request and cleaning up the library. Prior to a new policy change, vacation leave wasn’t guaranteed by the University of Colorado (CU) to others like him, but that recently changed

On September 10, a proposal was passed by the CU Board of Regents that guarantees unpaid leave for all CU workers who are paid on a biweekly basis.

Undergraduates and students with work-study fall under the biweekly designation. Faculty, staff and graduate students are paid at different times.

The new plan guarantees vacation time off for these employees that accumulates based on the number of hours worked. The change was proposed on August 23 by Lisa Landis, CU’s Associate Vice President of Employee Services.

Before this change, workers paid biweekly were not guaranteed leave, unlike faculty and staff, who accrue leave at a rate of 14.67 hours per month. For undergraduates, it was determined by individual employers and departments through the CU System.

“I think in terms of the employers,” Cruse said, “they probably benefit more from not offering vacation leave.” Cruse believes that employers on campus can maximize their margins if student workers aren’t given vacations.

The proposition changed Regent Law/Policy 11.E, which outlines how time away is accrued for student employees. Biweekly pay workers now earn five minutes and six seconds off for every hour worked. Because there are nine and 10 pay periods in the Fall and Spring semesters, students can earn 38.25 and 42.5 hours of vacation leave per respective semester if they work all 50 hours allowed in a pay period.

“It’s still not a lot,” said Cruse, “and ultimately it doesn’t seem that fair.” He believes laborers should be given more benefits because they make CU operate. Despite skepticism about the policy, Cruse believes it’s an improvement.

The proposal states that a fiscal review is not required for these changes and that the new policy affects accrual rather than the total amount given to workers. CU had the monetary ability to guarantee vacation time away, but didn’t.

The policy is part of the upcoming Time & Labor (T&L) project, which will centralize and replace the different ways CU employees clock hours and are paid. The project is scheduled to take effect on Feb. 28, 2027.

Currently, most employees use MyLeave to clock in and out, request sick and vacation time off and access other things related to their job. After the change, Oracle PeopleSoft T&L will replace MyLeave. According to CU, T&L will improve payroll accuracy and will be easier to use.