How is the UTHSC-H holiday calendar developed?
A committee selects the holidays and Executive Council approves the annual holiday calendars. The committee is representative of UTHSC-H units and various campus committees.
There are nine national holidays and eight state holidays which state employees are allowed to take. Each component can choose which holidays to celebrate provided they fall on a Monday through Friday. State employees are not entitled to a holiday if it falls on a weekend, hence the variability in the number of holidays from year to year. The model used to develop the calendar is to count the total number of holidays that fall on a Monday through Friday and subtract the CORE holidays for UTHSC-H. The committee then determines the remaining holidays, which vary up to six days.

What are “CORE” holidays at UTHSC-H?
In 1993 Executive Council approved the following nine core holidays to be observed each year:

Labor Day (1 day)
Thanksgiving (2 days)
Christmas (2 days)
New Year’s Day (1 day)
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (1 day)
Memorial Day (1 day)
Independence Day (1 day)

What is the difference between a full holiday and a skeleton holiday?
UTHSC-H is fully closed on national holidays (“circled” days on the calendar). Skeleton holidays (“square” days on the calendar) require that the University “have on hand enough personnel to carry on…public business.” During skeleton holidays each unit and department head must ensure the capability of that unit to respond to inquiries from the public. Department heads must consider whether or not the department must be available to respond to patient needs, student needs, public information queries, fiscal accountability, environmental health and safety, facilities operations, etc. For further information about skeleton holidays, refer to HOOP 2.37 Holidays.

Can anyone work these skeleton holidays and take other time off?
Some departments are designated as critical services and are required to be open on these holidays. An employee “may” work on a skeleton holiday if he or she has the permission of the department head. This may be in lieu of or in addition to other “critical” staff. Employees in these departments who work skeleton holidays have 12 months to use this holiday time. Any time off must be scheduled and approved by the employee’s supervisor.