Vacation time HR shennanigans?

RoundBoy

Any US HR reps around ?

So, I gave notice at my current job the other week, giving them a proper 2 weeks notice. At the time of this writing, i have over 110 hours of vacation time carried over from last year, and 60 some hours accrued for this year.


According to my HR rep, i will be paid out for my 60 some hours.. but my carry over time will NOT be paid out. When I inquired on what is stopping me from just taking that vacation time now, as it was earned.. she told me that "..once i give notice, all old vacation time is forfit."

I understand company policy, but I also understand that there are many company policies that are still in play because nobody ever called them out on it. In speaking with my boss, I asked him what is stopping me from withdrawing my resignation, taking the time off, then re-resigning ? Or for that matter, just walking out the door now?

While a week of vacation time payout is nice, I am comfortable enough financially to just actually take the week to sit around at home..

Does a company have the right to play with earned time like this? To clarify, I actually have earned this time.. as i get x hours per pay period.. so.. this isn't prorated.. its actually my time already earned.

ihmmy

it depends a fair bit on where you live, but I believe (and I could be wrong) that if this was a policy that was explained to you beforehand OR was in a contract you signed, then they can do this. I'm not certain about the legalities of being required to pay vacation pay from a previous year... in truth they should have paid it out to you shortly after that year ended to prevent headaches like this

Daenris

Well, I'm not sure about the legality of them just throwing out your old vacation time. But in terms of you just taking that vacation time now, they are perfectly within their rights to say no to that. At pretty much any job, all requested vacation time actually has to get approved before you can take it off, so you can't just say "hey, I'm taking a week off" and do it. They'll just tell you that you aren't allowed to take that time off right now. And obviously if you withdraw your resignation and try to take the vacation they're still most likely going to tell you no because they know you're going to be leaving.

I'd look into company policies (if they're down on paper somewhere for you to read) and also check out your local and state labor laws. It may be the case that they can't just take away your old vacation time like that, but maybe they can.

RoundBoy

I live in Pa. in the fair old US of A. I *did* find a policy outlining that they will not pay out carryover.. but this was never explained to me when i was brought on, or ever after (been here almost 5 years)

I certainly never signed anything to that affect. Again, company policy is one thing.. but is it legal to take away earned time when people give notice? I really could withdraw it, take a MONTH off, and resign at the end of it.

Advent

Yes, it depends on where you're employed.

In the case of NewYork, if the benefit is enumerated in your company handbook (as vacation time being paid to you in the case of two weeks notice) you would be entitled to that money and able to file a form for due compensation for benefits with the labor board.

Check your state labor web site.

Edit: It depends on your state, if they can take it back or not. If it was New York, it would be legal because it is a perk, rather than time worked. If it were actual time on the clock, they couldn't take it away legaly. (once again, it depends on state)

Daenris

Am I entitled to Sick Leave? Vacation Pay? Severance Pay?

There is no Pennsylvania labor law which requires an employer to pay an employee not to work. Benefits like sick leave, vacation pay and severance pay are payments to an employee not to be at work. Therefore, an employer only has to pay these benefits if the employer has a policy to pay such benefits or a contract with you to pay these benefits. An employer must follow its own rules for these kinds of payments. There may also be federal requirements governing leave that has to be provided under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Family Medical Leave Act.

From http://www.dli.state.pa.us/landi/cwp/view.asp?a=142&Q=61106

So in short, there's no law that says they can't take away that vacation time if that's their company policy.

So since their policy is to not pay carryover, you're screwed on that. And again, with the current vacation time there's no reason they have to let you take it if you request off.

Ruckus

Ya, check with your state law. Here in the Province of Manitoba there are parts of our Labour Code that can't be signed away by contract.

For example, a year or two ago, a Manager at a company had a contract that stated that even though she exceeded 40 hours a week, no overtime would be paid as overtime was an expected part of her salary for her position.

Since the government sets the minimum rate at which overtime must be paid, the labour board ruled that that clause was illegal, and the employer was forced to pay for the overtime.

CooterTKE

RoundBoy wrote: »

I live in Pa. in the fair old US of A. I *did* find a policy outlining that they will not pay out carryover.. but this was never explained to me when i was brought on, or ever after (been here almost 5 years)

I certainly never signed anything to that affect. Again, company policy is one thing.. but is it legal to take away earned time when people give notice? I really could withdraw it, take a MONTH off, and resign at the end of it.

if it was company policy when you started then you cannot have the carryover time. A company does not have to allow you to withdraw your resignation. Contact your state Labor board to find out what the state laws are.

EggyToast

And if you tried to withdraw your resignation, they would simply refuse at this point. You're stuck.

AngelHedgie

Daenris wrote: »

Am I entitled to Sick Leave? Vacation Pay? Severance Pay?

There is no Pennsylvania labor law which requires an employer to pay an employee not to work. Benefits like sick leave, vacation pay and severance pay are payments to an employee not to be at work. Therefore, an employer only has to pay these benefits if the employer has a policy to pay such benefits or a contract with you to pay these benefits. An employer must follow its own rules for these kinds of payments. There may also be federal requirements governing leave that has to be provided under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Family Medical Leave Act.

From http://www.dli.state.pa.us/landi/cwp/view.asp?a=142&Q=61106

So in short, there's no law that says they can't take away that vacation time if that's their company policy.

So since their policy is to not pay carryover, you're screwed on that. And again, with the current vacation time there's no reason they have to let you take it if you request off.

IANAL, but it depends. What that law says is that no, they're not required to give leave. But leave time, especially if it's accrued, can be considered compensation. And if it falls under that, then no, the company cannot just make it vanish, no more than they can say that they're not paying you for time you worked.