11—63.2 (8A) Vacation leave.
	 63.2(1) Nontemporary employees shall earn vacation for continuous state employment as follows:
	  a.   	 Two unscheduled holidays to be added to the vacation accrual each year.
	  b.   	 Two weeks of vacation during the first and through the fourth year of employment.
	  c.   	 Three weeks of vacation during the fifth and through the eleventh year of employment.
	  d.   	 Four weeks of vacation during the twelfth year and through the nineteenth year of employment.
	  e.   	 Four and four-tenths weeks of vacation during the twentieth year and through the twenty-fourth year of employment.
	  f.   	 Five weeks of vacation during the twenty-fifth and all subsequent years of employment.
	 63.2(2) Vacation is subject to the following conditions:
	  a.   	 Vacation shall be subject to the approval of the appointing authority. The appointing authority shall approve vacation so as to maintain the efficient operation of the agency; take into consideration the vacation preferences and needs of the employee; and make every reasonable effort to provide vacation to prevent any loss of vacation accrual.
	  b.   	 Probationary and permanent part-time employees shall accrue vacation in an amount proportionate to that which would be accrued under full-time employment.
	  c.   	 Vacation shall not accrue during any absence without pay.
	  d.   	 An employee who is transferred, promoted, or demoted from one state agency to another shall be credited with the vacation accrued.
	  e.   	 Employees, including employees who are paid from a pay plan having annual salary rates, who leave state employment for any reason shall be paid, or have payment made according to law, for all accrued vacation. Payment shall be included with the employee’s final paycheck and shall be based on the employee’s total biweekly regular rate of pay at the time of separation. When other pay is to be included in the calculation, that other pay must have been in effect for at least three pay periods. Vacation shall not be granted after the employee’s last day of work.
	  f.   	 An employee may, at the appointing authority’s discretion, be required to use all accrued vacation before being granted any leave without pay, except as otherwise provided in these rules.
	  g.   	 Vacation shall be charged on the employee’s workday basis. Officially designated holidays occurring during an employee’s vacation shall not be counted against the employee’s accrued vacation.
	  h.   	 In the event of an illness or disability while on vacation, that portion of the vacation spent under the care of a physician shall be switched retroactively to and charged against the employee’s accrued sick leave upon satisfactory proof from the physician of the illness or disability and its duration.
	  i.   	 Vacation shall not be used in excess of the amount accrued, and shall not be used until the pay period after it is accrued.
	  j.   	 Vacation shall be cumulative to a maximum of twice the employee’s annual rate of accrual, including sick leave conversion. An appointing authority may require an employee to take vacation whenever it would be in the best interests of the agency. The employee shall be given reasonable notice of the appointing authority’s decision to require the use of accrued vacation. However, an employee shall not be required to reduce accrued vacation to less than 80 hours.
	  k.   	 One week of vacation shall be equal to the number of hours in the employee’s normal, regular workweek.
	  l.   	 Any employee who is laid off, or an employee who separated due to qualification for long-term disability benefits or an on-the-job injury or illness and subsequently returns to state employment within two years following the date of separation, shall have previous continuous service and the period of separation counted toward the vacation accrual rate.
	  m.   	 Reserved.
	  n.   	 Time spent in military service, within the specified time limits of the military training and service Act, shall be considered continuous service for the purpose of computing vacation accrual, provided the employee returns to state service within 90 calendar days following discharge from military duty. Vacation shall not accrue to an employee while on military leave without pay.
	  o.   	 If on June 1 an employee has a balance of 160 or more hours of accrued leave, the employer may, with the approval of the employee, pay the employee for up to 40 hours of the accrued annual leave. This amount will be paid on a separate warrant on the payday which represents the last pay period of the fiscal year. Decisions regarding these payments will be made by each department director and are not subject to the grievance procedure provided for in these rules. This paragraph applies only to employees not covered by a collective bargaining agreement.