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U.Va. Human Resources
Holiday Schedule for 2009 and 2010
October 19, 2009

From: Susan Carkeek, Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer
Date: October 19, 2009
Subject: 2009 & 2010 Holiday Schedule for the Academic Division

As the holidays approach, here's a reminder of the remaining days off for 2009 and announce the 2010 holiday schedule for U.Va.’s academic division. This information should be useful to you as you make plans to take time off, both this year and next.

Each year, we field a number of questions about the difference between the state’s holiday calendar and ours. I thought it would be helpful to clarify how holidays are scheduled at the University. The state and the University observe the same number of days off each year, but we take different holidays because of the student-centered nature of our business. This cuts down on the number of days that our administrative offices would have to stay open despite it being a “holiday.” For example, the state will observe George Washington Day on Feb. 15, 2010, but we have classes on that day and would have to ask many people to work in order to provide required services. Instead, since there are no classes on the day before Thanksgiving in 2010, we have designated that day as a holiday and are able to allow the majority of our employees to be at home with their families.

Often, the Governor announces additional holidays later in the year. When he does, we treat those as comp time, because he usually awards days already listed as holidays on the University’s calendar.

2009 Remaining Holidays:

Wednesday, November 25, 2009 Half Day Before Thanksgiving
(four holiday hours in the afternoon)
Thursday, November 26, 2009 Thanksgiving
Friday, November 27, 2009 Day after Thanksgiving
Thursday, December 24, 2009 Christmas Eve
Friday, December 25, 2009 Christmas Day
Monday, December 28, 2009 Day After Christmas
Thursday, December 31, 2009 New Year's Eve Day


2009 Comp Time Already Awarded:

In addition to those holidays, eight hours of comp special leave were credited to Classified Staff, University Staff, and Research Assistants on Jan. 10, 2009, and must be used within 12 months of the date earned. An election to University staff status during the current open enrollment period does not affect this earned time.

For twelve-month faculty, the additional 8 hours of leave should be worked out with individual managers. Please refer to the Provost’s policy on leave for more information: http://www.virginia.edu/provost/docs_policies/leaves.html

Hours for part-time qualifying employees will be pro-rated.


2010 Official Holidays

The following are the officially observed 2010 U.Va. Academic Division holidays:

Friday, January 1, 2010 New Year's Day
Monday, January 18, 2010 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Friday, March 12, 2010 Spring Break Day
Monday, May 31, 2010 Memorial Day
Monday, July 5, 2010 Independence Day
Monday, September 6, 2010 Labor Day
Wednesday, November 24, 2010 Day Before Thanksgiving (FULL DAY)
Thursday, November 25, 2010 Thanksgiving
Friday, November 26, 2010 Day After Thanksgiving
Thursday, December 23, 2010 Christmas Eve (observed)
Friday, December 24, 2010 Christmas Day (observed)
Monday, December 27, 2010 Day After Christmas (observed)
Friday, December 31, 2010 New Year's Day (observed)

The University will also award four hours of comp time for 2010 on Dec. 21, 2009, the start of the new leave year. Policies on taking this comp time are the same as for 2009, above.


Special Note Regarding Essential Services

Even with careful scheduling, on certain University holidays some departments need to be open and should arrange at least limited coverage to provide essential services. For example, most University offices will need to be open on Labor Day because classes are held on that day, and it is expected that your supervisors will arrange for adequate coverage. It is important for all of us to understand how necessary our services are and to work with each other to arrange an equitable schedule from year to year.

When you are asked to work on a holiday, compensatory leave will be awarded. Supervisors should give adequate advance notice to the affected employees for planning purposes.

Your supervisor or department administrators can answer questions about required coverage during other holidays.


Additional Holiday Information:

As always, if you wish to take additional leave or use your comp time around the holidays, you will need to have approval in advance from your supervisor. Supervisors are encouraged to be as flexible as possible in granting leave requests, especially during holiday periods.
  • Procedures and eligibility rules for administering holiday leave are posted under the Holiday Schedule: http://www.hrs.virginia.edu
  • The University of Virginia’s Health System administration will distribute holiday information pertaining to the Medical Center and Clinics.
  • The University of Virginia’s College at Wise administration will distribute information pertaining to the College at Wise.
If you have any questions concerning these holidays please call the HR Service Center at
982-0123 or send an email to hrdept@virginia.edu

I wish you a very happy 2009 and 2010!