Every full-time Nxtbook Media employee will accumulate a set amount of paid time off (PTO) each year to be used for vacation, sickness, or personal use. On the 15th of the month of hire, an employee will receive 5 PTO days. On the 15th of the sixth month of employment, that employee will then accrue additional PTO time based on the schedule (See Figure 1). This schedule is applicable during the first year of employment only.
On the 15th of the seventh month, that employee is then eligible for additional 1 ¼ PTO days and will continue to accrue PTO days on the 15th of each month following, based on the years of service schedule below. PTO will be accrued at the following rates (see Figure 2).
All full-time employees will have 6 PTO days added to their PTO bank on January 1 of each new calendar year. PTO may only be used in whole, half day, or two hour increments. At the end of each calendar year, an employee may carry over a maximum of 5 days of PTO to the following year. Additionally, the Company will buy back a maximum of 6 PTO days at ½ the full value. The maximum carryover of 5 days must be satisfied before any time will be bought back by the Company. Any additional PTO time that is not used, carried over, or bought back by the Company will be forfeited unless special authorization has been granted by the Partners. Nxtbook Media employees who participate in the work from home program, more than one full day per calendar year, are not eligible to participate in the PTO buy-back program. Employees are still eligible to carry over a maximum of 5 days of PTO to the following year; however, for any employee who worked at home more than one full day in any given calendar year, any PTO time in excess of the 5 days eligible for carry over will be forfeited.
PTO should be requested electronically through Workforce Today - Employee Self Service and approved at least two weeks beforehand by Human Resources. The Company has discretion to accept a notice of less than two weeks if business permits and the employee’s absence would not create a scheduling / staffing issue. PTO will be approved on a first come, first serve basis and is subject to business conditions.
PTO should not be requested before the beginning of the calendar year. If you have special circumstances not falling into these guidelines, please see Human Resources. A minimum of 50% departmental coverage is required at all times. An employee must notify the company via email to lancaster@nxtbookmedia.com before their scheduled start time, or as soon as possible in the case of an emergency, to use unscheduled PTO.
If you have PTO accumulated in your bank, you must use it before you will be permitted to take any time off without pay. Those employees who have excessive incidents of unexcused / unpaid absence will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment. The provisions of this paragraph do not apply if you are out on workers’ compensation, disability, or other paid leave. If you are on a leave of absence without pay, you will not accumulate PTO during your leave.
If an individual terminates employment (voluntarily or involuntarily) prior to their seventh month employment anniversary, no PTO will be paid out at the time of termination. In addition, any PTO used during the first six months of employment will be deducted from the employee’s final paycheck.
If you voluntarily resign from the Company and provide at least two weeks’ notice for non-Exempt positions, or four weeks’ notice for Exempt positions, you will be paid for any accumulated, unused PTO. If, however, you voluntarily resign without providing the requisite notice, your accumulated PTO will be forfeited. Unless a written severance agreement provides otherwise, you may not elect to use your accumulated PTO during this requisite notice period or at the end of your employment for the purpose of extending your termination date.
If the Company involuntarily terminates you, your accumulated PTO will be forfeited. The Company may make exceptions in certain cases if the termination is the result of a downsizing, location closing or business restructuring.
Holidays (including your Birthday Holiday and Family Fun Day Holiday), bereavement time, and jury duty, are separate and distinct leave policies and are separate from PTO. Time off for these reasons will be paid in accordance with those policies, and PTO will not be affected.