Bonus Leave & Special Bonus Leave
Over the last two decades the North Carolina General Assembly has granted bonus leave to eligible state employees in certain fiscal years. This page has information on the bonus/special leave granted during fiscal years from 2002 to 2019, the last year this kind of leave was granted.
Bonus Leave / Special Bonus Leave
Provisions Chart
Bonus / Special Bonus Leave can be used similarly to how regular annual leave is used; however, each type of bonus leave has specific guidelines for its use. See the chart below for more information on the bonus/special bonus granted between the fiscal years 2012 and 2019; bonus/special bonus was not granted for fiscal years 2014-15; 2015-16; and 2016-17.
Table: FY 2012-13 to FY 2018-19
| FY 2012-13 Special Leave |
FY 2013-14 Bonus Leave |
FY 2017-18 Special Bonus Leave |
FY 2018-19 Special Bonus Leave |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Does it Expire? | YES | NO | YES Only upon separation or retirement |
YES Only upon separation or retirement |
| Does it pay out upon separation? | NO Only in the case of retirement |
YES | NO | NO |
| Can it be used before exhausting comp time? | YES | NO | YES | YES |
| Can you donate this leave as Voluntary Shared Leave? | NO | YES | NO | NO |
| Does it have a leave offsetting rule? | NO | NO | NO | YES |
FY 2018-2019
In the 2018 Appropriations Act, the North Carolina General Assembly granted eligible state employees a one-time additional five days (40 hours) of FY 2018-19 Special Bonus Leave, effective July 1, 2018.
View the FY 2018-2019 Special Bonus Leave Policy.
- Will remain available during the length of the employee’s employment.
- Has no cash value.
- Cannot be paid out at the end of employment or applied to total state service.
- Will expire upon an employee’s separation or retirement from UNC-Chapel Hill.
- Will not pay out upon an employee’s separation or retirement from UNC-Chapel Hill.
- Can be used before exhausting comp time.
- Can be used to make up adverse weather liabilities that occurred on or after July 1, 2018.
- Is transferable with the employee who transfers (without a break in service) to another state agency position that is eligible for this Special Bonus Leave.
- Has a leave offsetting provision:
- If FY 2018-19 Special Bonus Leave is used in a year when an employee has more than 240 annual leave hours at the end of the calendar year, it will offset the hours that normally would transfer to the employee’s sick leave hours.
- Any FY 2018-19 Special Bonus Leave used will reduce the amount of annual leave over 240 hours (192 hours for postdoc/house officers) that roll over to sick leave at the end of each calendar year and be add those hours back to the FY 2018-19 Special Bonus Leave balance.
To receive the FY 2018-19 Special Bonus Leave, employees must meet all of the following criteria:
- Full-time employment.
- Employed (in pay status) with the state of North Carolina on July 1, 2018.
- Eligible to earn vacation leave on July 1, 2018.
- Permanent, probationary or time-limited appointment.
Note: Full-time employees who work less than 12 months (nine-, 10-, or 11-month employees) and permanent part-time employees who work less than 40 hours per week shall receive a pro rata amount of leave.
FY 2017-2018
Leave-earning SHRA/EHRA employees were granted a one-time additional three days (24 hours) of FY 2018-19 Special Bonus Leave. SHRA/EHRA employees working less than 40 hours/week (1.0 FTE) received a pro rata amount of leave.
This leave can be used similarly to how regular annual leave is used; however, it differs from regular Bonus Leave and Special Leave previously granted.
View the FY 2017-2018 Special Bonus Leave Policy.
- Employees may use FY 2017-18 Special Bonus Leave for time taken on or after July 1, 2017.
- Only vacation and bonus leave used beginning July 1, 2017, may be submitted for change. No changes prior to July 1, 2017, can be made; changes must have been made by September 27, 2017.
- Any balance of Special Bonus Leave will be transferred with the employee who transfers (without a break in service) to another state agency position eligible for special bonus leave.
- Employees use Special Bonus Leave to make up adverse weather liabilities if the adverse weather leave occurred on or after July 1, 2017.
Prior to 2017
Bonus Leave was credited to SHRA/EHRA employees who were actively working.
Table: Bonus Leave given by the State, 2002-2014
| Amount of Leave | Effective Date |
|---|---|
| 80 Hours | Sept. 30, 2002 |
| 80 Hours | July 1, 2003 |
| 40 Hours | Sept. 1, 2005 |
| 40 Hours | Sept. 1, 2014 |
- Any balance of Bonus Leave on Dec. 31 will be retained by the employee and carried forward into the next calendar year.
- This leave will not be part of the maximum 240 hours of annual leave that can be retained.
- This leave will not be subject to conversion to sick leave.
- Any Bonus Leave balance can be transferred with the transferring employee to another state agency eligible for Bonus Leave.
- Bonus Leave balances can be paid out in addition to regular annual leave payouts if the employee separates or the employee changes to a non-leave-eligible status.
- Bonus Leave may be applied to negative leave balances.
- Full-time, leave-eligible employees who work less than 12 months.
- Permanent, part-time, leave-eligible employees (> .5 FTE).