Time Off & Leaves of Absence

Employees in a position classified as full-time will receive 8 hours for each observed company holiday. You are also entitled to two floating holidays to be used however you choose. Floating holidays renew on your original hire date anniversary and are not eligible for carryover.

Part-time employees will receive holiday pay at a pro-rated amount according to your scheduled weekly hours in Workday. For any questions regarding your scheduled weekly hours, please reach out to your direct leader.

As a Western Governors University employee, you are eligible for sick pay. If your position is classified as full-time, you may accrue up to 48 hours of sick leave per year, up to an overall maximum balance of unused/accrued sick time of 144 hours. If your position is classified as part-time, you may accrue up to 24 hours per year, up to a balance maximum of 72 hours. You will accrue one hour of sick time for every 30 regular hours worked (excluding any overtime hours or paid time off paid). For example, full-time employees earn 2.66 hours per pay period based on a 40-hour work week. A year for the purpose of earning sick time is based on your Western Governors University anniversary date. If you attain the sick time balance maximum, no further accruals will be credited until you use sick time to lower your balance below the maximum.

Regular, full-time employees are eligible to accrue vacation pay on a bi-weekly basis. Part-time employees are not eligible for vacation pay accrual. Vacation pay will not be earned during a continuous leave of absence. WGU encourages employees to use their vacation time during the same year in which it is accrued. However, any unused/accrued vacation hours at the end of an anniversary year may be carried over into the following year, up to the vacation balance maximum reflected in the accrual schedule below. If you attain the vacation balance maximum, future vacation accruals will be forfeited until you use vacation time to lower your balance below the maximum.

Life happens. And there may come a time where you may need to take a leave of absence (LOA) for reasons such as the birth/bonding with a new child, military duties, furthering your education, attending to urgent personal matters, or medical needs for you or an eligible family member. Whatever the reason may be, WGU is here to support you when that need goes beyond the occasional use of available sick or vacation time. 

We understand that the past few years have been filled with unprecedented challenges for both employees and businesses. During this time, WGU partnered with an external vendor to handle the administration of leaves of absence, disability coverage, and workplace accommodations. While this change was well-intentioned, it has proven to be unsuitable for WGU. As a company, we prioritize the employee experience, and we have learned that an external partner cannot care for WGU employees like our own team of P&T experts.

With this recent experience in mind, and as we continue to listen to the needs of our employees, we are excited to highlight key enhancements that began April 1:

• A dedicated team of WGU P&T Leave and Disability Specialists who will carefully shepherd leave and disability cases and respond to general inquiries
• A robust and secure technology platform (AbsenceTracker) where employees and leaders and will have improved visibility to leave and accommodation details
• Enhancements to all employee-facing and leader-tailored communications channels
• Improved administration of short-term disability and long-term disability insurance coverages
• Regular and timely business leader metrics

For more information and resources, or to contact the P&T Leave & Disability Specialists Team, please visit the Leaves & Disability section of the WGU People Center. Any questions about leaves or disability at WGU should be directed to the P&T Leave & Disability Specialists Team.