We are pleased to announce an enhancement to our vacation benefit program, designed to better support your well-being and work-life balance.
Effective the start of the fiscal year (06/02/2025), vacation benefits will increase as follows:
New employees will now begin with 15 vacation days annually (an increase from 10
days).
Employees with 2 to 8 years of service will receive an additional 5 days in their vacation
balance.
Employees with 10 to 17 years of service will receive an additional 2 days in their
vacation balance.
Employees with 17 or more years of service will remain at the maximum benefit of 25
vacation days.
The updated vacation accrual schedule is outlined below:
Years of Service Completed Annual Vacation Benefit
Date of Hire 15 days (was 10)
2 years 17 days (was 12)
5 years 20 days (was 15)
8 years 21 days (was 16)
10 years 22 days (was 20)
15 years 23 days (was 21)
16 years 24 days (was 22)
17 years 25 days (was 23)
These changes will be reflected in your vacation balance over the coming payroll cycle for fiscal
year 2025–2026.
Updated Employee Handbook
We also want to inform you that an updated version of the Employee Handbook is now available
on the HR Portal.
Key policy changes (text) are highlighted in red for your convenience and include:
Employee Categories – Clarified definitions of exempt and non-exempt roles
Transfers – Employees must wait six months between moves, unless in the university’s
best interest
Qualifying Events – Now include change in residence and changes in coverage or cost
Parental Leave – May now be used following sick leave
FMLA Leave – Added restrictions for spouses employed by the same organization
Vacation – Reiterated that faculty and part-time employees are not eligible
Criminal Background Check – Now required for course-contracted SGPP faculty
Work Rules and Conduct Standards – Added 10 new examples of prohibited conduct
Corrective Action – Removed “verbal warning” terminology to reflect current practices
Voluntary Resignation – Removed prior contractual language
Exit Interview – Updated to reflect the current survey process
Recruitment Policy – Updated to reflect current process
New policies include:
Introductory Period – A 90-day trial period for new employees without application of
the disciplinary process
Professional Conduct Expectations – Guidelines specific to Saint Mary’s executives
and unit-level leaders
Recording Policy – Guidelines for preserving privacy for individuals in the workplace
We encourage all employees to review the updated Handbook to stay informed of current
policies and expectations.
If you have any questions regarding the new vacation schedule or handbook changes, please
don’t hesitate to contact the HR Office at hr@smumn.edu.
Thank you for your continued commitment to our community.
Kind regards,
Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota HR Team
Human Resources
OFFICE 507-457-1508
CONFIDENTIAL FAX 507-457-6939
hr@smumn.edu
