As you may have seen in the May 2nd email from CU President Todd Saliman and the CU Denver News email on May 3rd, Colorado officially recognized Juneteenth as a state holiday. This marks an important step in our journey to celebrate the great diversity of our state and show our commitment to equity and inclusion both here at CU and across Colorado.
Juneteenth, or June 19, marks the date in 1865 when word finally reached communities of enslaved people in Texas that the Civil War had ended and they were freed from slavery. This was nearly two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation to end slavery.
For Black Americans, Juneteenth is a celebration of freedom and a day of independence. It’s also an important step in our continuous journey for racial and social justice in the United States – one we can all learn from. The federal government designated Juneteenth as a national holiday last year. The university supports the recognition of Juneteenth.
Given the proximity of the holiday to our existing summer academic calendars, the university has decided to give employees an additional holiday this year as a paid personal day of observance that they can take on Juneteenth or another day of their choosing.
Personal Observance Day for Fiscal Year 2022 should ideally be used by June 30, 2022, but employees will have until Dec 31, 2022, to use this day due to the short turn-around since being announced.
Eligibility:
Employees who are eligible for paid holidays are eligible for the Personal Observance Day.
Only employees who are hired in FY22 are eligible for the FY22 Personal Observance Day. Employees hired after June 30, 2022 will be eligible for the FY23 holiday (further information will be communicated at a later date).
Employees leaving the university before December 31, 2022, may use the Personal Observance Day before they depart. The day is not paid out if an employee does not take it, as with any other holiday that is not taken.
Timekeeping:
Please discuss the use of this and all types of leave time with your supervisor and/or submit a leave request in MyLeave prior to your time out of office and as far in advance as possible (except in the case of illness), in coordination with business needs.
There are several steps in the approval process, so submitting leave requests as early as possible (prior to your time away and prior to submitting your monthly timesheet) helps process your timesheet smoothly before the payroll deadline.
When you are recording the use of this day in MyLeave, please use the new code: Personal Observance Day, which is scheduled to be available in MyLeave by Friday, May 6th.
With any questions, please reach out to sehdhr@ucdenver.edu