Page 19 - Florida Aquarium Benefits-at-a-Glance Guide 2022-2023

Paid Time Off

Rest, Relax & Recharge!

The Aquarium believes that employees should have opportunities to enjoy time away from work to help balance their lives and
recognizes that employees have diverse needs for time off from work. Our Wellness Leave and Holiday policies give you the chance
to take breaks from work to rest, relax, recharge, tend to personal matters, and devote some time to fun, friends, and family!
WELLNESS LEAVE
Wellness leave is an Aquarium benefit that allows you to get refreshed and take time off when you need it, taking the most common
forms of paid time off (vacation and sick leave) and combining them into one account for you to manage. You will be compensated
from your wellness leave bank, if time is available, at your base wage when you are absent from work for purposes such as approved
vacation, illness, family emergencies, preventive health and dental care, personal time and other authorized absences. The vice
president of your department must approve in advance wellness leave requests for more than two consecutive weeks at one time.
Eligibility
All regular full-time employees are eligible for accruing wellness leave from their first day of employment. You must be employed on
a full-time basis for three (3) months before being eligible to take paid wellness leave, personal or vacation time. Employees may
however, use available wellness leave for illness/sick leave during their first three months of employment.
For non-exempt employees, wellness leave days are based on the number of hours actually worked, up to 40 in a workweek. Non-
exempt employees can determine how much wellness time they have by multiplying the hours worked percentage factor in the chart
below by the actual number of hours worked. For exempt employees, wellness leave days are based on 40-hours per week,
regardless of how many hours are actually worked. In instances where you are being paid by a third party or on an unpaid leave of
absence, employees will not accrue wellness during this specified unpaid time off. See wellness chart below to determine all accrual
rates.

Hours Worked Total Maximum Hours/Day Per Year
Years of Service
Percentage Factor Hours Days
0 < 5 0.077 160 20
5 – 14 0.096 200 25
15 – 20 0.115 240 30
20 + 0.135 280 35
The numbers in this chart have been rounded off to the next highest hours/days per year
Carry Over
At the end of each Fiscal Year (September 30), the maximum number of hours or days you may carry over is 200 hours or 25 days. In
the event September 30 falls in the middle of a pay period, we will use the end of a pay period closest to September 30 for the
wellness cut-off date. All wellness leave remaining in excess of these amounts will be forfeited.

HOLIDAYS
Do you look forward to spending certain holidays with friends and/or family? The Aquarium observes seven (7) Federal holidays and
one (1) mission-based holiday in addition to earned Wellness leave, and provides benefit eligible employees with paid time off to
recognize them:

Full-time, non-exempt employees are automatically assigned Holiday pay for all eight observed holidays. If a full-time non-exempt
employee works on a designated paid holiday, they will receive payment for the holiday at their regular rate of pay (straight time), in
addition to being paid a holiday premium equivalent to one and a half times their regular rate of pay for all hours worked on the
holiday. Part-time and/or seasonal non-exempt employees are not eligible for Holiday pay but will be paid a holiday premium
equivalent to one and a half times their regular rate of pay for all hours worked on any of the eight designated holidays. Please refer
to the employee handbook for more detailed information.

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