Your Time Away from Work

• New Year’s Day
• Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday
• Inauguration Day
• George Washington’s birthday
• Spring break (except 12-month employees)
• Eid al Fitr
• Eid al Adha
• Memorial Day
• Juneteenth
• Independence Day
• Labor Day
• Yom Kippur
• Wednesday before Thanksgiving Day
• Thanksgiving Day
• Friday after Thanksgiving Day
• Christmas Eve
• Christmas Day

Generally, holidays are observed on the day designated as the federal holiday. If a holiday falls on a Saturday, it is usually observed on the Friday before the actual holiday. If a holiday falls on a Sunday, it is usually observed on the Monday after the actual holiday.

For more information, refer to regulations 4421: Work Hours, Noninstructional Time, Length of Work Year, and School Calendar and 4817: Religious Accommodation for Employees.

Employees are granted 14 days of sick leave at the beginning of the fiscal year. Employees may use sick leave for personal illness or injury and for the care of immediate family members as defined by FCPS.

If employees are transferring from another public school division in Virginia, they may request to have up to 60 work days of accumulated sick leave transferred to FCPS. This request must be in writing to the Office of Payroll Management and must be submitted within the 12-month period after separation from the previous school district.

For more information, refer to Regulation 4819: Sick Leave.

FCPS allows instructional staff, and all other employees who work fewer than twelve months each year to use up to five days of sick leave as personal leave. Personal leave not used in one contract/work year is carried over to the next contract/work year as sick leave only.

Only 12-month employees are eligible for annual leave. The earnings rate is dependent on the number of eligible years of service with FCPS. Annual leave is allotted at the beginning of the fiscal year.

During the first 10 continuous years employment, 12-month employees may accumulate up to a maximum of 30 days of annual leave. Beginning in year 11, 12-month employees can accumulate up to a maximum of 40 days of annual leave. At the end of each fiscal year (June 30), any annual leave beyond those maximums will be converted into sick leave.

For more information, refer to Regulation 4813: Annual Leave.

FCPS allows a voluntary transfer of sick leave balances between specific employees. To be able to participate in this program, both the leave donor and leave recipient will both need to meet specific program requirements as described below:

• The leave donor (the employee with leave) must donate leave to a specific employee referred to as a recipient (the employee who needs leave). The donor will complete the Leave Donation form. To be eligible to donate, the donor must be actively working at the time of the donation and must be able to maintain a minimum balance of 180 hours after the requested leave donation is transferred to the recipient. Donations cannot exceed 160 hours per fiscal year (July 1 to June 30).    
• The leave recipient is the employee receiving the sick leave transfer. The recipient must be eligible to earn sick leave and must have exhausted all available leave balances. Additionally, the recipient must be on approved FMLA (excluding paid short-term disability), pending worker’s compensation, or pending short-term disability. The recipient can receive leave from multiple donors but will not be provided their names.

After the leave donation form is submitted via StaffConnect, the Disability and Leaves Section will verify the status of the recipient and advise the Payroll Office. If approved, Payroll will process the leave donation one month in the arrears. If you would like to discuss your desire to donate leave or receive leave, please contact us at 571-423-3200.  

For more information, refer to Regulation 4819: Leave Donation.

FCPS provides eligible employees with 8 weeks of paid leave for childbirth, adoption, or gaining custody of a child, beginning July 1, 2024. (The event must occur on or after July 1, 2024). Employees who have worked for FCPS for at least 12 months may be eligible for PPL. Visit the Paid Parental Leave (PPL) webpage for more information.

• Growing your family? FCPS offers an Expecting Parents Workshop, which provides information on leave options that may be available to you as well as additional resources that are available through your health plan. Sign up for a session or view the workshop materials.

All employees who have worked for FCPS for at least 12 months may be eligible for an absence qualified under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). FMLA may be granted for incapacity due to pregnancy, prenatal medical care or for childbirth; caring for newborn, newly adopted or foster child(ren); caring for a family member with a serious health condition; or for a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform their job. Visit the Family Medical Leave (FMLA) webpage for more information.

FCPS provides two types of leaves of absence (LOA) to help employees meet their personal and professional needs: designated and non-designated. Visit the Leave of Absence (LOA) webpage for more information.

If you sustain a personal illness, injury, have been diagnosed with a serious health condition, or will serve as an organ donor, the short-term disability (STD) benefit provides income replacement after satisfying a 10 continuous workday elimination period. The STD program provides benefits from the 11th day of illness/injury to a maximum of 5 months. Visit the Short-term Disability (STD) webpage for more information.

After your short-term disability benefit ends, you may be eligible for long-term disability (LTD) benefits. LTD provides income replacement of 66 2/3% of your pre-disability pay. Visit the Long-term Disability (LTD) webpage for more information.

If you are injured on the job or have sustained an occupational illness, you may be eligible to receive workers' compensation (WC) benefits. If your injury or illness is considered compensable under WC, you will receive benefits for covered medical expenses. You may be eligible for 66 2/3rd of your lost wages if you are disabled for more than 7 calendar days. Visit the Workers' Compensation (WC) webpage for more information.