CMC Board of Trustees approve leave benefits for part-time staff

At a special meeting held virtually on Dec. 22, the Colorado Mountain College Board of Trustees unanimously voted to revise CMC’s current policy regarding leave benefits for part-time staff at the college.

The board voted to adopt a policy of one hour of annual leave (vacation or personal time off) for every 30 hours worked, and one hour of medical (sick) leave for every 20 hours worked for part-time college staff. The new policy will take effect Jan. 1, 2021.

The college’s new policy exceeds the requirements of Senate Bill 20-205, which also takes effect Jan. 1, 2021. The bill requires employers with six or more employees to provide one hour of sick leave for every 30 hours worked, regardless of full-time or part-time status. This is a “meet or exceed” standard; CMC trustees voted to exceed it.

Prior to this change at CMC, only full-time or three-quarter time staff received medical leave benefits.

“The college often exceeds the benefits and salary typically found in our local markets,” said Matt Gianneschi, CMC chief operating officer and chief of staff. “It helps us improve the college’s competitiveness in the labor marketplace and assists with recruitment and retention.”

Gianneschi said CMC management is still determining the ways in which SB 20-205 applies to, possibly, adjunct instructors since they are employed on a contract basis, and student employees, who are often classified as work study students and funded by federal grants.