One of the great joys of working at USC is being surrounded every day by faculty and staff who bring amazing talent and dedication to support the university’s mission. We see firsthand the immense talent and dedication you bring to your teaching, research, artistic expression, professional practice, and community service. Your investment in our success is one of the many things that sets us apart from our peers. And, with USC Competes we are committed to investing in you: our world-class faculty and staff.

In recognition of your hard work, we are pleased to announce that USC will be offering an extended Winter Recess for all eligible employees, to begin on Thursday, December 21, 2023 and end on Tuesday, January 2, 2024.

Eligible employees include all USC staff except those who, as part of our commitment to our patients, spend a majority of their time providing patient care – this is constituted by a cost funding allocation of 50% or more from clinical accounts (e.g., CHLA medical group, USC Care medical group) and who will be working during this period/time.

Resource employees, per diem employees, faculty, and those claiming student status (including teaching and research assistants) are also not eligible for these hours.

Eligible staff will receive their normal allocation of Winter Recess hours. To check your normal allocation of hours, refer to the Paid Winter Recess policy.

Eligible staff will receive the following:

• 37.5-hour workweek = 22.5 hours of Extended Winter Recess
• 40-hour workweek = 24 hours of Extended Winter Recess

Recess hours will be reflected in Workday and Kronos by Friday, Dec. 15.

If your area uses a different timekeeping system, please speak to your HR Partner or Payroll representative.

All eligible staff must check with their supervisor to establish how best to coordinate time off schedules.

As in past years, after confirming with your supervisor, you must submit your Regular and/or Extended Winter Recess time off request in Workday or Kronos to gain approval from your supervisor.

When entering time off, request Extended Winter Recess for Dec. 21-22 and Jan. 2 and Winter Recess for Dec. 26-29. Remember that Monday, Dec. 25 and Monday, Jan. 1 are paid university holidays and should not be entered as Winter Recess time.

All units are encouraged to close unless the nature of the business requires them to remain open (e.g., the hospitals do not close). We ask leaders with direct reports to assess their operations so departments may close as much as possible.

Eligible staff who must work during Winter Recess will not lose this paid time off, but you must use it within the designated periods below:

• Use Extended Winter Recess hours – as early as Friday, December 15 of this year and as late as June 30, 2024.
• Use Regular Winter Recess hours – as early as December 15 of this year and as late as December 1, 2024.

Please note that approval of time off is always dependent on business needs, so be sure to discuss your time off requests with your supervisor as early as possible.

No. All pay dates and payroll deadlines remain the same.

For the Regular Winter Recess, refer to the Paid Winter Recess policy. Or, you may contact your HR Partner or the HR Service Center at uschr@usc.edu or 213-821-8100. The HR Service Center will be open for the following limited hours during Winter Recess:

• Thursday, Dec. 21 – Friday, Dec. 22 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Tuesday, Dec. 26 – Friday, Dec. 29 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Tuesday, Jan. 2 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Normal hours resume Wednesday, Jan. 3 (8 a.m. to 6 p.m.).

This extension does not apply to employees of Keck Medicine of USC. Eligible Keck Medicine staff will receive up to 24 hours of Winter Recess hours already available under the policy or any applicable collective bargaining agreement.