Annual Leave

The Commissioner shall establish policy and procedures for administering annual leave in accordance with T.C.A. § 8-50-801. (1) Amount Earned and Maximum Accumulation. Eligible employees will accrue, at minimum, twelve (12) annual leave days on the first day of their service anniversary month. Newly hired employees will accrue the same amount on the date of hire and then annually on the first day of their service anniversary month. The amount of annual days accrued will depend on the employee’s amount of creditable service. Employees should consult the Department’s attendance and leave resources for more information on their particular service group’s accumulation schedule. (2) Temporary (employees with less than six (6) months of service), emergency, and limited term full-time employees are eligible to receive longevity, if hired before June 30, 2015, but are not eligible to accrue annual or sick leave. ATTENDANCE AND LEAVE CHAPTER 1120-06 (3) Creditable Service. Any month, which was a part of a fifteen hundred sixty (1,560) hours or greater annual schedule, in which an employee is scheduled to work a full month, and actually works one-tenth of one (1) hour more than half the scheduled hours, shall be creditable for maximum accumulation purposes. (4) Transfer of Annual Leave to Sick Leave. Leave earned in excess of the maximum allowable accumulation based on years of service as defined in T.C.A. § 8-50-801 shall be transferred to the employee’s sick leave account annually on the last day of the month preceding the employee’s service anniversary month. (5) Annual Leave Paid as a Lump Sum. When separating from the state service, an employee shall be paid for any annual leave accumulation in a lump sum unless that employee is dismissed or terminated from state service for gross misconduct, or resigns from the state service to avoid dismissal for gross misconduct, or was guilty of gross misconduct prior to leaving the state service. In cases involving gross misconduct, the employee forfeits all accumulated annual leave. (6) Annual Leave Returned as a Result of Separation. Employees who separate within their first year of employment may see their lump sum payment reduced if the number of annual days used exceeds the number of months worked (subject to federal minimum wage requirements). An employee’s credit for service will also be reduced proportionally. (7) Annual Leave as Terminal Leave Prior to Retirement. An employee may use annual leave as terminal leave when retiring from state employment or may receive a lump sum payment for annual leave balances. (8) Employee Meetings. Annual leave may be used to attend meetings of employee associations which are qualified for payroll dues deduction. Except as enumerated in T.C.A. § 8-50-110, leave allowed for this purpose cannot exceed two (2) days per year. (9) Annual Leave Transferable. Unless there is a break in service, annual leave shall be transferred to and shall be accepted from state agencies and higher education institutions, legislative and judicial branches.