Paid holidays, vacation/scheduled time off, sick leave and other leave types
The County of Santa Clara supports the need for employees to get away from work and recharge throughout the year. To this end, the County is pleased to offer our employees 13 annual paid holidays, generous vacation/scheduled time off accruals, and significant sick leave accruals. Though time off amounts and accrual timelines are unique to each bargaining unit, employees have access to generous time off banks as needed.
County-observed holidays
The County of Santa Clara recognizes 13 paid holidays each year celebrating our community and our diverse workforce. They currently include:
| New Year’s Day (January) | Labor Day (September) |
| Martin Luther King Day (January) | Indigenous People's Day (October) |
| President's Day (February) | Veteran's Day (November) |
| Cesar Chavez Day (March) | Thanksgiving (November) |
| Memorial Day (May) | Day after Thanksgiving (November) |
| Juneteenth (June) | Christmas Day (December) |
| Independence Day (July) |
Vacation/scheduled time off
Known generally as "PTO" or "vacation," scheduled time off is the time off you accrue for each day of service, based on an 8-hour workday. This time can be used for any purpose you wish.
Sick leave
Most coded employees are eligible to accrue up to 96 hours of sick leave per year.
Other leave types
Several other types of leave may be available to employees:
- Military leave - governed by the State California, for serving in the national or state military.
- Bereavement leave - in the event of the death of an immediate family member.
- Jury Duty - to serve on a jury without a loss of pay.
- Paid Family Leave - Part of California's State Disability Insurance (SDI) program. See details in our Disability and Unemployment Benefits section here.
- Leave Without Pay - may be granted to employees for up to one year.
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