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Paid Time Off and Leaves of Absence

Paid Time Off

Note, staff employees accrue vacation and sick leave based on both their status (full-time vs. part-time) and years of service to the University. Faculty candidates, please contact Human Resources for time off and leave details.

Sick Leave

Paid sick leave for full-time employees: 10 days per year (20 days after 5 years of service).

Sick pay accrues at the following rates for regular staff on 40-hour per week assignments. (The accrual rate would be prorated for eligible employees working fewer hours).

  • Employees with 0-5 years of continuous service earn 3.08 hours per biweekly pay period or 6.67 hours per monthly pay period;
  • Employees with 5+ years of continuous regular employment earn 6.16 hours per biweekly pay period or 13.34 hours per monthly pay period.

Please note that sick pay may be accrued to a maximum of sixty (60) days, i.e., 480 hours.

Employees may share their accrued (but unused) sick leave hours with other staff employees who have special needs. The donor may give up to 40 hours of accrued but unused sick leave per calendar year, provided he/she must maintain a minimum of 80 hours in his or her personal sick leave account balance, and must donate in 8-hour increments. For more information regarding sick leave donation, please see the policy manual or contact Human Resources. 

Vacation Leave

Paid vacation leave for full-time employees: 10 days per year for the first 5 years; 15 days after 5 years; 20 days after 15 years.

Assuming a 40-hour per week assignment:

  • Employees with 0-5 years of continuous service earn 3.08 hours per biweekly pay period or 6.67 hours per monthly pay period
  • After five years of continuous regular employment, employees earn 4.62 hours per biweekly pay period or 10 hours per monthly pay period.
  • After 15 years of continuous service, employees earn 6.16 hours per biweekly pay period or 13.34 hours per monthly pay period.

Holidays

Employees receive 13 paid holidays per year, which includes one full week at Christmas. Additionally, employees receive two floating holidays each calendar year after completing 6 months of continuous service.

View the holiday schedule.

Jury Duty

The University considers jury duty to be an important civic responsibility. Having loyal, conscientious, honest citizens serving on our juries is a basic and essential element of our American system of justice. Therefore, Pepperdine encourages jury service by its employees when their duties to the University permit.

An employee called to serve will be excused to serve on jury duty, and for up to ten (10) work days shall be paid at their regular base salary for such service. For an employee serving on a jury in which the trial extends beyond ten (10) paid work days, his/her absence will be excused until the trial is completed, even though the employee will be paid a maximum of ten (10) work days.

Bereavement Leave/Death in the Family

All employees with at least 30 days of service are eligible to take up to five business days of bereavement leave due to the death of a person related to the employee by blood, adoption, marriage, or registered domestic partnership. Regularly assigned, full-time staff employees working a minimum of 30 hours per week are eligible for three paid bereavement days during this leave. All employees may choose to use accrued vacation or sick leave, or floating holidays, to be paid during this time.

Leaves of Absence

Expectant Parent Leave

Federal and California law provides for job protection in certain cases for time taken off of work due to pregnancy or becoming a new parent.  Employees may coordinate their vacation and sick time along with time taken under California Pregnancy Disability (PDL), Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), or the California Family Rights Act (CRFA) Leave(s) and State Disability or Paid Family Leave income from the state of California to ensure their job is protected, and they are paid for time taken off of work due to pregnancy or becoming a new parent.

For more information please refer to our Expectant Parent Leave Resource page.

Family and Medical Leave

As soon as an employee becomes aware that they or an eligible individual are (or will become) temporarily disabled for any medical reason, the employee must promptly advise his or her supervisor in writing of the reason for the leave and the anticipated commencement date. A doctor's certificate specifying the expected duration of the time away from work is required. A formal leave of absence begins on the 31st day following the last day of work. Human Resources must be notified of any leaves that will exceed 30 days in duration.

For more information please refer to our Medical Leave Resource page. Additional information for Supervisors can be found at the Supervisor Family and Medical Leave Resource Page.

Volunteer Staff Leave

After 5 years of service, staff employees are invited to apply for short-term absences to participate in volunteer service projects. Eligible employees should complete an application and submit the form to Human Resources for consideration. For more information, please review Section 17.9 of the University Policy manual.