The University announced Tuesday that employees who are eligible for leave benefits will receive three paid “gift days” for this year’s Reduced Service Days.
Gift days are days in which employees are excused from work with pay without having to charge a benefit.
The Reduced Service Days are from Dec. 29 to Dec. 31. Combined with other holidays and weekends, it will extend the year-end break from Dec. 24 to Jan. 3.
According to a Massmail, paid time off for the holidays is addressed through a required collective bargaining process for employees in union-represented bargaining units.
“The additional paid time off is part of our ongoing efforts to show how much we appreciate your hard work, resiliency, sacrifice and commitment – qualities that have shone brightly throughout the COVID-19 crisis,” said members of  the Office of the President in the Massmail.
This will be the sixth straight year in which employees who are eligible will receive gift days. Before this program began in 2016, employees were required to use their annual pool of paid time off to be paid for the three Reduced Service Days, according to the Massmail.

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