Fiscal Services

Holiday and Inclement Weather Guidance

The George Mason University Inclement Weather/Emergency Closure Policy can be found here: Inclement Weather/Emergency Closure, University Policy Number 2207

Select an item below for guidance related to holidays, inclement weather and University closures:

For full-time employees, the total hours for the week (including the hours the university was closed) should total 40 (unless the employee was authorized to work overtime or they are exempt and on a compressed schedule working 9 hour days).

Traditional Schedule (8 hour day with an unpaid lunch break of 30 minutes)

  • Non-exempt employees (i.e. overtime eligible) record the hours they would have worked as university leave (no more than 8 per day depending upon their schedule).
  • Exempt (i.e. not overtime eligible) employees do not have to record anything on their timesheet

Compressed Schedule

  • Employees should enter the hours they were scheduled to work on the day the university was closed as University Leave.
    • For example, if the employee’s official, current, and approved compressed schedule is 10 hours, 4 days per week, and the university is closed on one of the employee’s 10 hour work days, then they would enter 10 hours of University Leave on their timesheet.
  • If the impacted day is not a scheduled work day, then no action is required. The employee cannot receive compensatory time earned for that day.
  • For in-depth guidance, please review the following page: Compressed Schedules and the Holidays.

For full-time employees, the total hours for the week (including the hours the university was closed) should total 40 (unless the employee was authorized to work overtime or they are exempt and on a compressed schedule working 9 hour days).

Traditional Work Schedule (8 hour day with an unpaid lunch break of 30 minutes)


Employees should account for an 8 hour work day (including the hours the university was closed). For example, if the university opens late at 10:00 a.m. and the employee usually starts at 8:30 a.m., the employee will work for 6.5 hours that day (unless the employee was authorized to work longer).

  • Exempt employees (i.e. not overtime eligible) do not need to record anything on their timesheet.
  • Non-exempt employees (i.e. overtime eligible) record the hours worked on their timesheet.

Compressed Schedule


  • If the impacted day is a scheduled work day, then the employee should account for the total hours (including the hours the university was closed) that the employee is normally scheduled to work on that day (e.g. 10 hours if on a 4/10 schedule).
    • For example, if the university opens late at 10:00 a.m. and the employee usually starts at 8:30 a.m. and works a 4/10 schedule, the employee will work for 8.5 hours that day (unless the employee was authorized to work overtime).
  • If the impacted day is not a scheduled work day, then no action is required.

If the employee was on scheduled leave when the university schedule changed:

  • Non-exempt employees (i.e. overtime eligible) record the hours they would have worked as university leave
  • Exempt (i.e. not overtime eligible) employees do not have to record anything on their timesheet for that day
  • If an employee is on a compressed schedule:
    • And the impacted day is a non-work day, the employee does not record/receive University Leave.
    • And is exempt and was scheduled to be on leave during the closure, the employee does not have to take leave for that day.
    • And is non-exempt and was scheduled to be on leave during the closure, the employee can record the hours they were scheduled to work as university leave.

Guidance for Classified Employees

To view how hours and pay work on a holiday, read the respective documents.

In addition, please note the early submission and approval deadlines for timesheets for the following pay periods.  

Pay Period  Check Date  Timesheet Submission Deadline  Approval Deadline 
SM23 (ending December 9, 2024)   

December 16, 2024 

 

December 6, 2024 

 

December 9, 2024 

BW26 (ending December 14, 2024)   

December 20, 2024 

 

December 10, 2024 

 

December 11, 2024 

SM24 (ending December 24, 2024)   

December 31, 2024 

 

December 13, 2024 

 

December 16, 2024 

BW01 (ending December 28, 2024)   

January 3, 2025 

 

December 17, 2024 

 

December 18, 2024 

Thank you in advance for meeting these early timesheet deadlines as it’s crucial for ensuring the overall efficiency and accuracy of payroll processing. 

  • For how many hours you receive as an employee, view page 1.
  • For how holiday pay works with an alternate work schedule, view pages 2 and 3.

Wage and Student-Wage Employees

Wage employees are not eligible for holiday pay.

24/7 Operations

If you are a 24/7 operation such as Mason Police, Facilities, and Housing & Residence Life, please talk with your supervisor/timekeeper about how your time will be handled.