Leave Policy

Leave Policy A. Vacation Leave. All VACATION LEAVE (Personal Leave in excess of five (5) days and Personal Leave during the months of November and December) requests must be submitted in advance for approval by the Executive Director and, if approved, shall be scheduled and approved to accommodate the employee’s requests but must be consistent with the overall requirements of the Mississippi State Port Authority. All vacation leave, as defined herein, shall be approved in advance by the Executive Director. All personal leave for vacation shall be submitted on the form provided by the MSPA, and shall be first submitted to the employee’s immediate supervisor, forwarded with his or her recommendation to the Department Manager, and sent to the Executive Director for approval. All vacation leave requests shall be submitted at least two (2) weeks in advance of the request. The time that vacation may be taken is subject to the needs of the Mississippi State Port Authority. All requests for vacation not submitted two (2) weeks in advance shall include a reason for the request and for the failure to submit it two weeks in advance. B. Personal Leave. All PERSONAL LEAVE, other than Vacation Leave described above, shall be submitted for approval in advance to the Supervisor or Department Manager. Requests for personal leave shall be made to the immediate supervisor, on the form provided by the MSPA. The Supervisor may forward leave requests with his/her recommendations to the Department Manager, or if designated, the Supervisor may approve or disapprove the requested personal leave. Normally, requests for personal leave when recommended by the Supervisor shall be granted. All requests for personal leave 9480012.2 shall be made with as much notice as is practical and feasible and shall be granted on the basis of the Port’s operational requirements. All personal leave not for vacation purposes and in excess of twenty-four (24) working hours shall require the approval of the Department Manager. C. Personal Leave Credit. Personal leave credit commences after one month of continuous employment. D. Six Month Employment Requirement. Personal leave for vacation purposes may not be used until after six (6) months of continuous employment. E. Accrual of Personal Leave. Employees who were hired prior to July 1, 1984, who have continuous service of more than five (5) years but not more than eight (8) years shall accrue fifteen (15) hours of personal leave each month. Temporary employees who work less than a full workweek and part-time employees shall be allowed credit for personal leave computed on a pro rata basis. For the purpose of computing credit for personal leave, each employee shall be considered to work not more than five (5) days each week. F. No limitation. There shall be no limit to the accumulation of personal leave. 1. Upon retirement, unused personal leave in excess of thirty (30) days shall be converted as credited service for retirement. 2. Upon termination of employment, for any reason, employees will be paid in a lump sum for the amount of accumulated, unused personal leave, up to thirty (30) days maximum. 3. The beneficiary or designee of an employee who dies with unused personal leave may receive payment for all personal leave accumulated but not used by the employee. 4. Exceptions to this policy may be made only in writing and signed by the Executive Director.