Sec. 661.152. ENTITLEMENT TO ANNUAL VACATION LEAVE. (a) A state employee is entitled to a vacation in each fiscal year without a deduction in salary, except for a state employee who is:

(1) an employee of an institution of higher education as defined by Section 61.003, Education Code, who:

(A) is not employed to work at least 20 hours per week for a period of at least four and one-half months; or

(B) is employed in a position for which the employee is required to be a student as a condition of the employment;

(2) a faculty member employed for a period of fewer than 12 months by an institution of higher education as defined by Section 61.003, Education Code; or

(3) an instructional employee employed for a period of fewer than 12 months by the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, the Texas School for the Deaf, or the Texas Juvenile Justice Department.

(b) The amount of vacation accrues and may be taken in accordance with this subchapter.

(c) A part-time employee accrues vacation leave on a proportionate basis. The maximum amount of vacation leave a part-time employee may carry forward from one fiscal year to the next is also on a proportionate basis.

(d) An employee accrues vacation leave and may carry vacation leave forward from one fiscal year to the next in accordance with the following schedule:

(e) In this subsection, "duty day" means an employee's last physical day on the job. An employee accrues vacation leave at the applicable rate beginning on the first day of state employment and ending on the last duty day of state employment. An employee accrues and is entitled to be credited for one month's vacation leave for each month of employment with the state beginning on the first day of employment with the state and on the first calendar day of each succeeding month of state employment. An employee who is employed by the state during any part of a calendar month accrues vacation leave entitlement for the entire calendar month.

(f) An employee may not take vacation leave until the employee has six months of continuous employment with the state, although the employee accrues vacation leave during that period.

(g) If an employee's state employment anniversary date occurs on the first calendar day of a month, the employee begins to accrue vacation leave at a higher rate in accordance with Subsection (d) on the first calendar day of the appropriate month. Otherwise, the employee begins to accrue vacation leave at the higher rate on the first calendar day of the month following the anniversary date. An employee who begins working on the first workday of a month in a position that accrues vacation leave is considered to have begun working on the first calendar day of the month for purposes of this subsection.

(h) An employee is entitled to carry forward from one fiscal year to the next the net balance of unused accumulated vacation leave that does not exceed the maximum number of hours allowed under Subsection (d). All hours of unused accumulated vacation leave that may not be carried forward at the end of a fiscal year under this subsection and Subsection (d) shall be credited to the employee's sick leave balance on the first day of the next fiscal year.

(i) In computing the amount of vacation leave taken, time during which an employee is excused from work because of a holiday is not charged against the employee's vacation leave.

(j) An employee who is on paid leave on the first workday of a month may not take vacation leave accrued for that month until the employee has returned to duty.

(k) An individual who is reemployed by any state agency in a position under which the employee accrues vacation leave within 30 days after the individual's date of separation from state employment is entitled to reinstatement of the unused balance of the employee's previously accrued vacation leave.

(l) For purposes of computing vacation leave under Subsection (d) for a state employee who retired from state employment on or after June 1, 2005, and who receives an annuity based wholly or partly on service as a state officer or state employee in a public retirement system, as defined by Section 802.001, that was credited to the state employee, years of total state employment includes only the length of state employment after the date the state employee retired.

Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 279, Sec. 19, eff. Sept. 1, 1999. Amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1310, Sec. 43, 44, eff. June 20, 2003.

Amended by:

Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 899 (S.B. 1863), Sec. 13.05, eff. September 1, 2005.

Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 734 (H.B. 1549), Sec. 109, eff. September 1, 2015.