myPTO Program

Glossary of Terms

Accrual rate:The rate at which an employee earns paid leave.
Accrued: Unused paid leave accumulated by an employee.
Assistance animal training leave: Up to 10 days of paid leave each fiscal year available for employees with a disability as defined by the Texas Human Resources Code, Section 121.002, to participate in an animal assistance training program. 
Benefits eligible:An employee who is appointed to work at least 20 hours per week (0.5–1.0 FTE) in a position that does not require student status as a condition of employment and who is eligible for health benefits and paid leave.
Catastrophic illness/injury: A severe condition or combination of conditions affecting the physical or mental health of an employee or an employee’s immediate family member that is immediately life-threatening or likely to be fatal within the next 12 months. 
Continuous leave: Type of leave taken by an employee in one, continuous period of time.
Court appointed special advocate (CASA) volunteer leave: Up to five hours of paid leave each month to serve as a Court Appointed Special Advocate or to participate in mandatory training. 
Direct EIB access: Situations in which an employee is able to directly access their EIB without first using 16 hours of PTO, other available accruals or leave without pay.
Elimination period: A period of time an employee must wait before income protection benefits become payable. 
Exempt: Position that is salaried and not subject to FLSA laws pertaining to minimum wage and overtime pay.
Extended illness bank (EIB): Income protection for the extended illness/injury of an employee or an employee’s immediate family member. 
Family and Medical Leave (FMIL): Up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a rolling 12-month period for specified family and medical reasons.
Fiscal year: The 12-month budgeting period beginning Sept. 1 and ending Aug. 31.
Floating holidays: Hours equivalent to the amount of time granted for five floating holidays that is rolled into an employee’s monthly PTO accrual rate each fiscal year.
FTE:Full-time equivalency. 
FTE status:An employee’s total appointed hours in relation to a 40-hour workweek; FTE status is used as the pro-rata basis for determining leave accruals.
Funeral leave: Up to three days of paid leave for the death of an employee’s immediate family member; for the purposes for funeral leave, an immediate family member is defined as a spouse, child, parent, sibling, grandparent and grandchild.
Holiday compensatory time:Time off granted to an employee required to work on an official holiday. 
Holiday pay: Compensation for the time worked by an employee on an official holiday; pay is in addition to regular or overtime compensation. 
Immediate family member:For the purposes of the myPTO program, an employee’s immediate family members are limited to parent (includes biological parent or individual who acted in the capacity of a parent); spouse (includes opposite-sex or same-sex spouse); and child who is either under 18 years of age or is 18 years of age or older and is incapable of self-care (includes biological, adopted, foster, or step children, legal wards and other individuals for whom the employee acts in or acted in the capacity of a parent).
Intermittent leave:Type of leave taken by an employee in separate blocks of time over a period.
Jury and witness service: Paid leave for employees with a court order to report for jury duty or to testify in a case on behalf of UTMB or the state.
Leave: An absence from work, with or without pay, granted to an employee.
Leave for employees certified as firefighter, emergency medical service volunteer, disaster service volunteers, amateur radio operators, and reserve law enforcement officers:Up to five days of paid leave per fiscal year to attend volunteer firefighter or emergency medical service training schools conducted by state agencies or institutions of higher learning. Up to 10 days of paid leave per fiscal year to participate in specialized disaster relief services for the American Red Cross. Up to 10 days of paid leave each fiscal year to participate in specialized disaster relief services for the Federal Communications Commission. Up to 10 days of paid leave each fiscal year for those who hold a current amateur radio station license issued by the Federal Communications Commission to participate in specialized disaster relief services. Up to five working days of paid leave per fiscal biennium (two-year fiscal period) to attend training required for reserve law enforcement officers.
Leave for employees donating an organ, bone marrow, or blood:Up to 30 days of paid leave per fiscal year to serve as an organ donor; up to five days of paid leave per fiscal year to serve as a bone marrow donor; and sufficient time to donate blood. 
Leave without pay: Unpaid, protected leave that may be granted when an employee has exhausted all available leave accruals.
Long-term disability insurance:Optional insurance that replaces a portion of an employee’s income for a non-work related illness/injury after a consecutive 90-day absence.
Major Disaster Recovery Bank (MDRB):A temporary leave-sharing plan that permits employees to donate accrued PTO and/or EIB hours to a leave pool for use by other employees adversely affected by a major disaster, as declared by the U.S. President.
Maximum carryforward limit:The maximum number of PTO hours an employee can roll into the next fiscal year, as defined by UTMB.
Military leave:Up to 15 days of paid leave each federal fiscal year (October – September) for employees called to active duty or authorized training as a member of the state military forces or any of the reserve components of the U.S. Armed Forces. 
Non-exempt: Position that is paid hourly wages and is subject to FLSA laws pertaining to minimum wage and overtime pay. 
Official holidays: Paid time off in observance of national and state holidays designated by the Texas legislature.
Paid time off (PTO):A bank of hours that an employee may use with supervisor approval for vacation, short-term illness/injury and any other personal situation that requires time away from work.
Parental leave: Up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a rolling 12-month period for the birth of a child or the adoption or foster care placement of a child; only available for employees who do not qualify for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
Pay code:An alphabetic or a numeric identifier used within the Kronos timekeeping system to indicate the type of pay an employee receives. 
Pay rate: The monthly or hourly rate by which an employee’s wages are paid. 
Personal holiday: Paid time off previously granted to eligible employees that does not expire and is paid upon separation from UTMB.
Personal wellness activities:Situation in which employees will be able to directly access their EIB accruals; personal wellness activities include routine and preventative medical, dental and vision care as well as other health-related events.
Reduced paid leave (RPL): A new benefit funded by UTMB that offers expanded income protection for an employee who has exhausted their accruals and needs more time away from work for a personal illness/injury, the catastrophic illness/injury of an immediate family member, or parental leave. 
Roll over: To move accruals from one myPTO bank to another or from one fiscal year to another.
Scheduled absence: Time off that is requested and approved prior to the absence as outlined in UTMB’s Attendance Policy.
School-sponsored educational activities for dependent children in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade:Situation in which employees will be able to directly access their EIB accruals; school-sponsored activities include parent-teacher conferences, tutoring, volunteer programs, field trips, classroom programs, school committee meetings, academic competitions, and athletic, music, or theater programs.
Serious illness/injury: An illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental health condition affecting an employee or an employee’s immediate family member that requires continuing treatment by a licensed practitioner or inpatient care in a hospital, hospice, or residential medical care facility. 
Short-term disability insurance: Optional insurance that replaces a portion of an employee’s income for a non-work related illness/injury after a consecutive seven-day absence. 
Sick leave balance: Sick leave hours accrued under the state-sponsored sick leave plan.
State agency transfer:An employee who transfers from one Texas state agency to another without a break in service.
Time off for voting: Paid leave that allows employees a reasonable amount of time off to vote in national, state or local elections. 
Unscheduled absence: Time off that is not requested and approved prior to the absence as outlined in UTMB’s Attendance Policy.
Vacation leave balance: Vacation leave hours accrued under the state-sponsored vacation leave plan.
Work hours: The hours an employee is scheduled to work within a seven-day period.