New NBA Vacation Scheduling Provisions in Effect

October 31, 2019

Seniority rights are waived on vacation hold back; hours paid out at end of each year

BCNU members are currently being asked to submit their annual vacation requests for 2020, ahead of the December 31, 2019 deadline for employers to approve and post vacation schedules. As this process gets underway, members are reminded of the specific language related to vacation scheduling (Article 45 - Leave - Vacation).

Vacation Hold Back - Article 45.04 (D)

Members now have the option to set aside up to 37.5 hours or 44 hours, depending on their shift length, out of the total number of vacation leave hours they are entitled to each year. These hours must be scheduled by August 1, 2020 and are subject to the operational requirements.

For those members who choose to hold back vacation hours, it is important to remember that all requests made after December 31, 2019, including those pertaining to this block of time, are not required to be approved in order of seniority.

Hours set aside as 'vacation hold back' are not the same as hours that are 'carried over' into the following year.

Vacation Carry Over - Article 45.04 (F)

All unused vacation hours from 2019 will be paid out at the member's straight-time rate of pay by the last pay period of February 2020. Members may only carry over unused vacation hours at the end of the calendar year in the following circumstances:

When the vacation is cancelled due to operational requirements, a member can carry over up to seven (7) days of vacation to be used no later than June 30, 2020.
When a member is off on a maternity leave (Article 38.06 (B)), they have the option of carrying over vacation hours accrued during the leave.

For further questions, please talk to your steward or contact your region chair.