As was recently shared, with the USC Competes initiative, we are committed more than ever to investing in you: our world-class faculty and staff. Every day, you bring immense talent and dedication to support the university’s mission and are critical to all aspects of our organizational success. Our recent Trojan Family Weekend, when we hosted more than 150 sessions and united a near record 7500 Trojans is the perfect example. If ever there were a moment to feel such incredible gratitude for all your hard work, now is the time.

In that spirit, we are pleased to announce that USC will be adding an additional week to our Winter Recess, which will now begin on Monday, December 19 and end on Monday, January 2. We refer to this additional week of Winter Recess as “Extended Winter Recess” in this FAQ.

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

Regular Winter Recess hours are already available in Workday and Kronos. Extended Winter Recess hours will be reflected in Workday and Kronos by Thursday, 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, so your supervisor can approve the request.

When entering time off, request Extended Winter Recess for December 19-23 and Winter Recess for Dec. 27-30. Remember that Monday, December 26 and Monday, January 2 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 Wednesday, December 15 of this year and as late as June 30, 2023.
• Use Regular Winter Recess hours – as early as December 15 of this year and as late as December 1, 2023.

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:

• Monday, Dec. 19 – Friday, Dec. 23 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Tuesday, Dec. 27 – Friday, Dec. 30 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Normal hours resume Tuesday, 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.