(1) An eligible employee shall receive holiday benefits for legal state holidays. This benefit is paid time off or pay at the regular rate. Holiday benefits shall not exceed eight hours per holiday.

(2) Holiday benefits are calculated based on an employee's regular schedule. For purposes of this policy, changes to an employee's schedule which extend beyond one pay period are changes to the regular schedule. An employee's regular schedule may be changed in ways including:

(a) a change initiated by management, or

(b) a change initiated by an employee and approved by management, including, but not limited to, requests to work fewer hours on an ongoing basis, or requests to use leave without pay by itself or in combination with accrued paid leave.

(3) An employee must be in a pay status either the last regularly scheduled working day before or the first regularly scheduled working day after a holiday is observed to be eligible to receive holiday benefits.

(4) An employee shall not be eligible to receive holiday benefits if:

(a) the employee is a new employee to state government and begins work on the day after a holiday is observed; or

(b) the employee is reinstated or re-employed following a reduction in force, returns to work following a leave of absence without pay of more than one pay period or a disciplinary suspension, or is called back to seasonal or temporary employment on the day after a holiday is observed.

(5) A short-term worker, as defined in 2-18-101 , MCA is not eligible to receive holiday benefits.