If you are a part-time employee and do not have any vacation banked, the MOU will not apply. If you are a part-time employee, and have a vacation bank that is under the seven-week carry-over allowed in art. 17.08 of the AJC Collective Agreement, then your vacation leave bank will not be reduced. 

If you are a part-time employee, and have a vacation bank that is over the seven-week carry-over allowed in art. 17.08 of the AJC Collective Agreement, then your excess vacation leave credits (i.e., all vacation leave credits over seven weeks) will be cashed out at the rate of 20% each year over the five-year period from March 31, 2022, to March 31, 2026. At the end of the period covered by the MOU (March 31, 2026), all remaining excess vacation leave will be cashed out. 

• Read more about I am a part-time employee; how will the MOU apply to my vacation leave bank?

Yes, you are expected to take all of your vacation leave credits during the fiscal year in which they are earned, and art. 17.05 of the AJC Collective Agreement permits the employer to schedule your vacation leave. This does not however, appear to be a regular practice. 

• Read more about I am expected to take all of my vacation leave credits earned in a fiscal year, can the employer schedule my vacation if I haven’t taken it? 

A mandatory cash out of excess vacation leave credits (i.e., all vacation leave credits over seven weeks) at the rate of 20% will take place each year over the five-year period from March 31, 2022, to March 31, 2026.

Excess leave credits will be calculated as of March 31, 2022.  A cash out of 20% of the excess leave will occur in the fiscal year commencing April 1, 2022.  As an example:

• Lawyer A has 12 weeks of vacation leave in their bank as of March 31, 2022.
• The excess vacation leave is five weeks (i.e., 12 weeks – 7 week carry over limit).
• In the fiscal year commencing April 1, 2022, Lawyer A will receive a cash-out of one week of vacation leave credits (i.e., 20% of the five weeks of excess leave credits).

The same process will be repeated on March 31, 2023, and so on until all excess leave credits are used up or cashed out.  If Lawyer A still has four weeks (20 days) of excess leave credits on March 31, 2023, a cash out of four days of vacation leave would occur in the fiscal year beginning April 1, 2023 (i.e., 20% of the 20 days of excess vacation leave).  At the end of the period covered by the MOU (March 31, 2026), all remaining excess vacation leave will be cashed out.

• Read more about How will the MOU cash out process work?

Vacation leave which was earned but not used in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2022, will be cashed out if a member is carrying over vacation leave in excess of the seven-week limit.  This cash out is in addition to the 20% cash out of excess vacation leave.  The same process applies to each fiscal year covered by the MOU.

Example:

• Lawyer B has ten weeks of vacation leave in their bank as of March 31, 2022, which includes one week of annual leave which was earned in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2022, but was not taken.
• The excess vacation leave is three weeks, or 15 days (i.e., 10 weeks – 7 week carry over limit).
• In the fiscal year commencing April 1, 2022, Lawyer B will receive a cash out of three days of vacation leave credits (i.e., 20% of the 15 days of excess leave credits).
• Because Lawyer B did not take one week of vacation leave earned in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2022, that one week of vacation leave will also be cashed out.
• In total, Lawyer B will be cashed out for eight days of vacation leave, leaving a balance of 42 days (8 weeks + 2 days) in Lawyer B’s vacation leave bank.

• Read more about If I have not used all of my annual vacation leave for the current fiscal year ending March 31, 2022, will this unused annual vacation leave also be cashed out?

No. The cash out payments under the MOU are limited to the amount necessary to reduce a lawyer’s vacation leave carry over to the seven weeks allowed by art. 17.08 of the AJC Collective Agreement.

• Read more about Can the cash out payments under the MOU reduce my vacation leave below the seven-week carry over limit in art. 17.08 of the AJC Collective Agreement?

Under the MOU, a lawyer who does not wish to use up excess vacation leave or does not want to be cashed out at the rate of 20% per year may still request a cash out of 100% of excess vacation leave.  A request for a 100% cash out of excess vacation leave should be made to management.

• Read more about What if I want all of the excess vacation leave cashed out?

The Employer, in consultation with the member, may pause the mandatory 20% cash out in a given year, in certain situations where there is an issue with the completeness or accuracy of a lawyer’s leave data.  This could occur, for example, where a member employed by the DOJ accepts a position with the PPSC, and there is a delay in transferring leave data from one department to the other.

• Read more about What if there are problems with the completeness or accuracy of my leave data?

No, the MOU only applies to vacation leave and does not apply to other forms of leave, including management leave.

• Read more about Does the MOU on vacation leave cash out apply to any other form of leave?