Meet and Confer: Leave Usage before Service Retirement
- UPE
- Sep 17
- 2 min read
On September 11, 2025, UPE held its third meeting with the County regarding their proposed plan to implement a new policy regarding the use of leave balances (vacation, CTO, and Holiday in lieu) prior to service retirement. The policy will limit the use of this leave to 60 days. The County chose sixty days because SCERS rules generally only allow someone to submit retirement paperwork 60 days prior to their selected retirement date.
The policy also requires that members fill out a specific form to request leave, and as part of that form, they must sign a letter of resignation effective the service retirement date listed on the form. The County stated this was necessary to allow the Department to begin the process to backfill the position while the member was on vacation prior to their retirement.
UPE strongly rejected the inclusion of the letter of resignation. There are no other policies requiring a letter of resignation, and there are no other leave types that require resignation to qualify for the leave. In addition, the 008 contract and the County Personnel Ordinance state clearly that letters of resignation are voluntary. This policy makes a resignation mandatory to access the leave the member has already earned. UPE intends to file a grievance against the County for violation of our contract when they implement the policy.
Important points about the policy:
The policy applies to employees seeking to use these leave balances prior to service retirement who have notified the County of their service retirement date.
You are not required to notify the County of your service retirement date unless you are requesting leave under the policy.
If you are requesting time off, the County cannot ask you if you are planning on retiring.
The policy does not apply if you have informed the County of your service retirement date but intend to use less than 30 days of leave and return prior to your service retirement date.
The policy does not apply to the use of sick leave.
The policy does not interfere with your right to retire at any time under SCERS rules.
