Policy 5409 - Unpaid Holidays For Reason Of Faith Or Conscience

Each district employee may request up to two unpaid holidays per calendar year, unless otherwise stated in the employees’ Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), for a reason of faith or conscience or an organized activity conducted under the auspices of a religious denomination, church or religious organization. In compliance with state law, the Superintendent or designee or the employee’s supervisor will grant the request(s) unless he or she determines that the employee’s absence would impose an undue hardship on the district or the employee is necessary to maintain public safety. Employees should also refer to their Collective Bargaining Agreement for information specific to their bargaining unit regarding faith or conscience leave. 

Employee Request Process 

An employee seeking to take unpaid holidays (or holidays per the CBA) for reasons of faith or conscience will submit a leave of absence request to their supervisor with as much notice as practicable. 

Undue hardship is defined as action requiring significant difficulty or expense to the district. The supervisor in partnership with the superintendent or designee will determine whether a request for unpaid leave constitutes an undue hardship for the district on a case-by-case basis, taking into account specific objective facts and circumstances present at the time of each request. 

In determining whether an employee’s request for unpaid leave would impose an undue hardship on the district, the following factors will be considered: 

1. The number, composition and structure of the staff employed by the district or in the requesting employee’s program; 
2. The number of employees requesting leave for each day subject to such a request; 
3. Impact on the district, the requesting employee’s program or public safety; 
4. Type of operations of the district or the requesting employee’s program; 
5. Nature of the requesting employee’s work; 
6. Deprivation of another employee’s job preference or other benefit guaranteed by a collective bargaining agreement; 
7. Any other impact on district operations or the requesting employee’s program due to the employee’s absence. 

The request may be denied for any of the following reasons: 

1. The request was not based on a reason of faith or conscience or an organized activity conducted under the auspices of a religious denomination, church or religious organization. (Note: The requested time off need not conform to a specific holiday or event); 
2. The employee has already exhausted the number of days allowable per calendar year (Note: Unpaid holidays are not cumulative from year to year); 
3. The employee is necessary to maintain public safety; 
4. Granting the request would impose an undue hardship, as defined above, on the district. 

A written response will be provided to the employee within five (5) business days, if feasible, approving or denying the request. If the request is denied, the response will state the reason(s) therefor. 

Approval of unpaid holiday time does not constitute approval for an employee to take compensated or other types of leave in conjunction with that time unless otherwise stated in the employees Collective Bargaining Agreement. 

Legal References:

Adoption: