Paid Time Off (PTO)
Time away from work to relax and pursue special interests is very important. After all, work is only part of who we are. Our policy permits you to pick-and-choose how you desire to make use of your leisure time.
Paid Time Off (PTO) is available to regular full-time employees, and it’s really important to the success of this organization that you use your days off! Employees are granted a specific allotment of paid personal time off each calendar year based upon their length of service with Gorilla.
Employees who are employed on a full-time basis as of the first of January of each year are entitled to paid personal time according to the schedule below.
- 0-2 years: 15 days
- 2-4 years: 17 days
- 4-6 years: 20 days
- 6+ years: unlimited
Newly hired employees will receive PTO days on a prorated basis. You may not “carry over” unused PTO from one year to the next, so make sure to use your days. Let us know ahead of time of your PTO needs via BambooHR. We’ll make every reasonable effort to accommodate you and approve your request.
We don’t track the occasional sick or mental health day. Just please keep in mind that your team counts on you and getting you back as fast as possible is important to all of us. We do reserve the right to request a note from your doctor in cases of frequent absences. In the instance of prolonged absence, please see our Short-Term Disability program.
Holidays
Gorilla 76 observes eight national holidays annually. The following days are the traditionally observed holidays:
- New Year’s Day
- Memorial Day
- Independence Day
- Labor Day
- Thanksgiving Day
- The day after Thanksgiving
- Christmas Eve
- Christmas Day
Holidays that occur on Saturday are normally observed on Friday and holidays that fall on Sunday are normally observed on Monday. In the event an employee terminates, remaining holidays are not paid out.
Additionally, we typically close the office down for a week in the winter (around Christmas time) and in the summer (around the 4th of July).
At the end of each year, the holiday schedule for the coming year will be communicated. Additionally, if there are holidays that are important to you that we’re not observing, please talk to us. While we can’t guarantee we can meet your request, we’ll certainly try to accommodate the best we can. We want to make sure you can celebrate days of meaning with family and friends.
Jury duty
A paid absence for jury duty will be granted to any full-time employee who has been notified to serve. During this leave, employees will continue to be compensated their normal pay for up to seven workdays. An employee on jury duty is expected to report to work any day they are excused from jury duty.
Upon receipt of the notice to serve jury duty, the employee should immediately notify us. Please bring your notice to serve when you request time off.
If the jury duty falls at a time when the employee cannot be away from work, Gorilla 76 may request that the court allow the employee to choose a more convenient time to serve.
Medical and pregnancy leave
There may be times when you need a more extended work absence. Normally these absences are the result of an illness, accident or pregnancy.
Our Short-Term Disability (STD) Program provides up to 13 weeks income protection for full-time employees. Should you qualify for these benefits, you will receive 100% of your pay. Insurance will cover 60% and Gorilla will pick up the additional 40%. In addition, Gorilla will return you to your same position or an equivalent one after your approved Short-Term Leave.
If your disability extends beyond 13 weeks, you may qualify for our Long-Term Disability (LTD) Program. This plan continues to provide a percentage of your pay. If your absence extends beyond 13 weeks, Gorilla reserves the right to fill your position.
As with any disability plan, you’ll need to provide our benefits provider medical documentation and return to work promptly at the conclusion of your leave. In addition, where possible, please let us know 30 days in advance of any anticipated leave.
Provided the employee pays their share of any health benefits, coverage will continue during the leave.
Paid parental leave
Employees who have been employed at Gorilla 76 for at least one year are eligible for up to six weeks of Paid Parental Leave at 100% of their current salary. Eligible new parents may take Paid Parental Leave for the birth or adoption of a child. This Paid Parental Leave is available to employees in all payroll categories.
Paid Parental Leave must be taken within four months of the child’s birth, adoption or placement with the employee, and will only be enacted after our Short-Term Disability (STD) program (if applicable) is completed. The time taken off for the STD program DOES NOT count toward the six-week Paid Parental Leave. So if you get six weeks off per STD programming, you still get six weeks of Paid Parental Leave for a total of 12 weeks.
Health benefits coverage will continue during the leave.
As an extension of Paid Parental Leave, the employee will be allowed to work 80% of the time for the first six weeks back for 100% of their pay. We know the transition back can be tough. We want to make it as easy as possible.
Bereavement leave
In the very unfortunate event of a death in your family, time off with pay is available to you. Up to five days with pay may be taken within a reasonable time of the day of the death or day of the funeral.
“Immediate family” is defined as: partner, parent, child, sibling, grandparent or grandchild.
If after five days, you feel more time is still needed, please – talk to us. We will accommodate you and your individual situation the best we can.
Family first at Gorilla.
Military leave
If you are or were a member of the military, thank you for your service.
Gorilla 76 follows the guidelines established by the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) regarding Military Leave. This covers short “summer training” leaves and more extended deployments.
This Act ensures that employees who serve or have served in the Armed Forces, Reserves, National Guard or other “uniformed services”:
- Are not disadvantaged in their civilian careers because of their service
- Are promptly reemployed in their civilian jobs upon their return from duty
- Are not discriminated against in employment based on past, present or future military service
Please remember that you have certain obligations to notify us of any upcoming leave and to return on a timely basis after the leave ends.
Personal leave
There may be an occasion when you need time to address an important issue that cannot be done during your normal off hours. Gorilla may be able to help you with a personal leave of absence.
Full-time employees in good standing may request an unpaid Personal Leave for up to six weeks. Before requesting Personal Leave, the employee must have used all of his or her PTO. A variety of factors will be considered by Jon and Joe when considering Personal Leave requests.
Gorilla 76 will hold your position open during the Personal Leave if it is six weeks or less. If the absence is beyond six weeks, the company reserves the right to fill the position. Health benefits coverage will continue during the leave.
Sabbatical leave
To thank our employees for their hard work, loyalty and dedication to making our results-driven marketing company successful, we’ve created the Gorilla 76 Sabbatical Leave.
At seven years of continuous full-time Gorilla employment, employees receive 30 days of continuous PTO (that’s six weeks!) to take leave. That’s on top of the normal PTO you get. Additionally, you get $6,000 to spend however you want. This is of course subject to tax, but it’ll help you make the most of your time out of the office. Employees receive this benefit again at 13 years of continuous full-time employment.
Expectations while you’re on sabbatical? None. It’s up to you. But we do encourage you to do something you’ve always dreamed about doing. Enjoy yourself!
Whatever you do, we’d like to know your plans before you go. We know that you will come back rejuvenated and ready to make the company even better than when you left it.
Some mechanical considerations. Only one person may be out of the office on sabbatical. And we obviously need to plan for your absence, so we ask that you apply for your leave at least six months in advance. If two or more employees qualify (and ask to take leave) at the same time, we’ll flip a coin (literally) to see who gets first pick on scheduling. We’ll use a U.S. quarter.
We’ll guarantee your position and pay when you return, but we want you to guarantee you’ll be coming back and planning to stay for a while longer (hopefully – a lot longer). You don’t have to write or sign anything official. We just want a handshake and you being good on your word.
While out, all benefits will continue as elected, and deductions will continue as usual. Employees taking sabbatical must be in good standing with Gorilla.
It’s a “use it or lose it” with our Sabbatical Leave, and we ask that you use it in your qualifying year. You’ll not be paid for time unused. If a holiday falls during your sabbatical, it will be paid as a holiday and will not count towards sabbatical time off. In addition, an employee may not receive cash in lieu of time off. And finally, any Sabbatical Leave may not be converted into cash upon separation of employment.
