11.00 Leave Policies

11.0 Paid Time Off

Paid time off is available to all full-time employees and can be used for vacation, personal, sick leave, and/or maternity leave/paternity leave. Bereavement leave is a separate category of leave and is discussed further in section 11.3. You will start accruing paid time off when you begin employment and may use your accrued paid time off only after a successful 90 day probationary period of continuous employment.

First Environments will allow employees to use their PTO accrued as they choose to do so. It is the employee’s responsibility to enter desired amount of PTO hours to be used each pay period into the Timekeeping app. After time off requests are approved, employees may request to use or not use PTO for planned absences. These requests must be submitted in advance through the Time Works Plus app and approved by the Director.

Paid Time Off (PTO) accrual is based on the number of years employed at First Environments. Paid time off is for full-time employees and is earned each pay period as follows:

Years Completed Full-time Employees (working 36 – 40 hours per week)

·      0-3 years of employment 5 hours

·      4-6 years of employment 6 hours

·      7-9 years of employment 7 hours

·      10+ years of employment 8 hours

Full-time employees who have accrued unused paid time off at the end of the calendar year can roll over up to 80 PTO hours to the next calendar year. If an employee chooses to no longer be employed by First Environments, then all accrued unused paid time off will be paid upon a successful completion of a 2 weeks’ notice of leave (separation) from the Center. If your status changes from full-time to part-time, then any accrued unused paid time off can continue to be used until exhausted. Paid time off will no longer be earned/accrued once an employee is part time (less than 30 hours per week).

11.1 Requests for Paid Time Off

You must submit requests for Paid Time Off at least 2 weeks in advance, using the forms that are available by the calendar in the Director’s office. All requests will be granted on a first-received basis and if the employee has available PTO hours to use. You may only request time off within the four posted months. Any requests received outside of that time period will be considered unapproved and placed in a separate bin until that time period is posted.

For requests received at the same time, the Director will consider the employee’s position and seniority of service, as well as any mutual agreement among staff.

The Center’s ability to maintain the continuity of its program to the children is the Center’s priority. For this reason, only one teacher per classroom will be granted Paid Time Off at any given time. The Director may consider hardship cases and holidays as exceptions.

For unexpected absences, such as those resulting from illness or injury, you should contact the Center as soon as you know you will be absent or at least 2 hours prior to your scheduled shift. Employees must call (919) 541-9452 and leave a message before 6:30am and call/ text the Director at (984)234-9301.

If you have an extended illness and require more than 2 days off, you will need to provide the Director with a doctor’s note.

For any unplanned absences (“Call-Outs”): If an employee calls out and the time off is not pre- approved, PTO must be used to cover the absence.

For any unexpected early departures: If an employee leaves work early without prior approval, this will be considered an unplanned absence and PTO will be applied.

PTO Carry Over (for all employees with less than 25 years of employment):

First Environments will allow employees with less then 25 years of employment to carry over up to 80 hours of unused PTO. Since employees are allowed to use/not use their PTO per pay period as they choose to do so, then employees understand that any hours over 80 will be lost at the end of the year. Employees, also, understand that they cannot save large amounts of PTO to request at the end of the year with the hopes of being approved. Due to the end of the year holidays and the high number of requests for time off, not all requests may be approved.

PTO Carry Over (for long-term employees with 25+ years of employment):

In recognition and commitment of long term (25-plus years) employees, FEELC will allow a 25- year plus employee to carry over additional time. If the employee chooses to carry over additional PTO (over 60 hours PTO) that time will remain in your PTO bank to be used at a later date or to paid out upon separation from the Center.

FEELC Voluntary Leave Transfer Program

First Environments Early Learning Center, FEELC, recognizes that employees may have a medical emergency resulting in a need for additional time off more than their available PTO. To address this need, all eligible employees may voluntarily donate accrued PTO from their unused balance to another employee who has exhausted their available PTO in accordance with the policy. This policy is strictly voluntary. Please see the Director for more information.

11.2 Health Days 

First Environments provides 5 health days for all full-time employees who have successfully completed FEELC’s probationary period. This time will automatically be added to your PTO bank. Staff who start at FEELC after that point will receive a prorated amount.  These days must be scheduled and approved by the Director.

11.3 Bereavement Leave

First Environments will provide employees, who have successfully completed their 90 day orientation period, with bereavement leave for making funeral arrangements, attendance at any wake, and funeral attendance for an immediate family member. “Immediate family members” are identified as your spouse, domestic partner*, parents, children, brother, sister, parents of the spouse, grandparents, grandchildren, grandchildren of the spouse, step-sister, step-brother, half-sister, half-brother, step-mother, step-father, step-children, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, and foster children. The length of the leave will depend on the location of the services. The employee will be allowed 3 days of leave if the immediate family member’s services are located in North Carolina. The employee will be allowed 5 days of leave to travel out of state and attend services for the deceased outside of North Carolina (for part-time eployees, leave is prorated based on thier weekly schedule). As a kindness to employees, First Environments will pay Bereavement leave while an employee is out on FMLA. 

*Domestic Partner will be viewed as spouses and are defined by the same regulations as our health insurance (must share a single permanent residence and have done so continuously for at least the past 12 months; and that such residence is owned by or leased to the Employee and Domestic Partner as joint tenants, are jointly the holders of joint credit or bank accounts at least one of which is a checking account, at least one of them has designated each other as beneficiary of a life insurance policy or been named executer and/or residuary beneficiary of his/her estate under a last will and testament, agreed to assume financial responsibility for the welfare of the other, are no less than 18 years of age, are not now or have been within the past 12 months married to any other person including a common law marriage, and are not related by blood in any degree which would prevent marriage to each other.) 

11.4 Military Leave

First Environments will grant an authorized absence to employees who elect or are required to perform service in the uniformed services, to the full extent required by the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (“USERRA”) and other applicable law. 

An individual employee’s service limitations, available benefits, and reemployment rights will be determined in accordance with applicable provisions of this law. In order to be entitled to the reemployment rights afforded by USERRA, you must provide advance notice of the impending service (either orally or in writing and by yourself or through an appropriate officer of the uniformed service in which the service is to occur) to your supervisor. You should provide a copy of your orders. Advance notice will not be required if precluded by military necessity or if, under all of the relevant circumstances, it is impossible or unreasonable. 

Generally, military leave will be without pay, unless you apply paid time off toward the absence. 

 

11.5 School Leave

Any employee who is a parent, guardian, or person standing in loco parentis (person acting in the place of a parent) of a school-aged child is eligible to take school leave of up to 4 hours per year so that the employee may attend or otherwise be involved at that child’s school. “School” includes (a) a public school: (b) a private church school, church of religious charter, or nonpublic school that regularly provides a course of grade school instruction; (c) a preschool; or (d) a child care facility that regularly provides day care for more than 5 children under the age of 13 (not including the operator’s own children) at least once a week for more than 4 hours but less than 24 hours a day. In order for school leave to be authorized, you must provide the Center with written notice at least 48 hours before the time desired for the leave. Upon return from school leave, you may be required to provide the Center with written verification from your child’s school that you attended or otherwise were involved at that school during the time of the leave. 

School leave must be taken at a time mutually agreed upon between you and the Center. Time away from work for school leave will be without pay, unless you apply available paid time off toward the absence. 

11.6 Holidays

First Environments follows set holidays throughout the calendar year. You will receive holiday pay for these holidays. Employees will be paid for holidays at their regular salaries or rates of pay for their normal workday or part of a workweek. Holidays do not count as hours worked for purposes of computing overtime. If a holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, it generally will be observed on either the preceding Friday or following Monday, whichever is closest to the holiday. 

First Environments recognizes the following holidays: 

  • New Year’s Day

  • Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.

  • Washington's Birthday

  • Juneteenth National Independence Day

  • Independence Day

  • Labor Day

  • Columbus Day

  • Veteran’s Day

  • Thanksgiving Day

  • Fall Break (day after Thanksgiving Day)

  • Winter Break (week between Christmas and New Years)

  • Christmas Day

First Environments realizes that an employee may wish to observe other days that are not recognized holidays as provided above. The Center will make every effort to accommodate your request without disrupting it’s operations. You will be required to use paid time off or unpaid leave for such days. 

11.7 Jury Duty

If called for jury duty, you will be paid at your base rate of pay for up to five working days (up to 40 hours maximum) that you are required to spend at court based on the normally scheduled hours worked for full-time and part-time employees. If you are dismissed early or not required to report for jury duty service on any of those days, you are expected to return to work. To be eligible for jury duty pay, you must furnish a statement from the court clerk indicating the time served on the jury. 

11.8 Personal Leaves of Absence (Non-FMLA) 

First Environments understands that in extenuating circumstances you may require time off from work for unique or extraordinary reasons that may not apply to other types of leave or when paid time off is unavailable. We will consider a personal leave of absence without pay for a minimum of five days and up to a maximum of 30 days. If you are classified as a regular full-time employee who has completed at least 12 months of consecutive service, you are eligible to apply for a personal leave of absence. This leave is not able to be combined with or followed by another type of leave offered such as FMLA. 

Job performance, absenteeism, and Center requirements will all be taken into consideration before a request is approved. A written request for a personal leave of absence must be submitted to the Executive Director at least 30 days prior to the dates being requested. Requests for unpaid personal leaves of absence may be denied or granted for any reason by the Executive Director at the Executive Director’s sole discretion. 

You are required to return from the unpaid personal leave of absence on the originally scheduled return date. Upon the expiration of the leave, you will be returned to your former position, if available. If the position is not available, you may be offered another available position for which you are qualified. 

While on an approved personal leave, First Environments will pay its portion of the cost of your elected benefits for up to 30 days. You must continue to pay for your portion of elected benefit costs while on an approved personal leave of absence, by check, which must be submitted to the Center each pay period unless other arrangements have been made. If you fail to pay your portion of elected benefits as outlined, we will terminate your elected benefits and, when eligible, you will be offered COBRA to continue benefits. 

While out on leave, you will not continue to accrue Paid Time Off or be paid for Holidays or days in which the Center is closed. You will also not be eligible for Bereavement Leave.

11.9 FMLA leave

When First Environments is in employment of 50 or more employees, we follow the Family Medical Leave Act. For more information, contact the Director. 

Last updated: 2/4/2026