(a) An employee shall be entitled to combined vacation, personal business and religious holiday leave of 20 workdays annually and, unless otherwise provided in this Part, shall be entitled on his or her anniversary date to one additional day for each completed year of continuous service in the Unified Court System up to a maximum of 27 workdays annually. Thereafter, such employee shall earn annual leave for completed biweekly pay periods at a rate equal to 26 days for 26 such pay periods, and also shall earn one additional day of annual leave on his or her anniversary date.

(b) An employee who has completed 25 years of service in the Unified Court System or the State shall be entitled on his or her anniversary date to one additional annual leave day each year.

(c) An employee who has completed 30 years of service in the Unified Court System or the State shall be entitled on his or her anniversary date to one additional annual leave day each year, in addition to the one additional annual leave day provided in subdivision (b) of this section.

(d) Employees who were officially entitled prior to April 1, 1977 to receive additional annual leave days and religious holiday leave days, and who have received such additional leave days continuously thereafter, may continue to receive such leave, provided that such leave is limited to a maximum of 30 annual leave days and three religious holiday leave days per year. Religious holiday leave days shall be credited on a calendar-year basis. Such days may be used only in the calendar year in which they are credited and may not be carried over from one calendar year to the next. Religious holiday leave days may be used only for recognized days of religious observance for which the faith requires its members to make religious observance.

(e) Employees entering the service of the Unified Court System shall be entitled to accrue annual leave from their initial date of hire. An employee shall not earn annual leave credits for any biweekly pay period unless he or she is in full-pay status for at least seven workdays during such biweekly pay period.

(f) A part-time, per diem or hourly paid employee eligible to earn annual leave credits pursuant to this Part shall earn annual leave credits as provided herein, but such employee's total pay when absent on such leave shall be the amount which would have been due if the employee had worked his or her usual number of hours or days during such period.

(g) The time at which annual leave may be drawn by an employee shall be subject to the prior approval of the administrative authority.

(h) Annual leave credits shall be used in units of not less than 15 minutes.

(i) No accumulation of annual leave credits in excess of 54 days may be carried over from one fiscal year to the next. Any such accumulation in excess of 54 days at the end of a fiscal year shall be converted into sick leave. The administrative authority may grant an employee specific permission to exceed the 54-day maximum for a period of no longer than one year where the needs of the court or agency require that the employee postpone his or her vacation.

(j) A leave of absence without pay, or a resignation followed by reemployment in the Unified Court System within one year following such leave of absence or resignation, shall not constitute an interruption of continuous service for the purposes of this Part; provided, however, that leave without pay for more than six months or the period between resignation and reemployment during which the employee is not in the service of the Unified Court System, shall not be counted in determining eligibility for additional annual leave credits under this Part.

(k) To the extent practicable, annual leave credits shall be used prior to appointment, promotion, reassignment or transfer to a different court or agency. The court or agency to which an employee is appointed, promoted, reassigned or transferred shall credit him with all of his accumulated annual leave credits not used prior to such appointment, promotion, reassignment or transfer.

(l) In the event the administrative authority determines that operations in a particular court or courts will be recessed for at least four consecutive workdays, the administrative authority may require employees during such recess to charge up to four days' annual leave in each fiscal year.