Vacation Pay After Resigning

[ssketch]

My question involves labor and employment law for the state of: Kentucky

I had started working for a title agency in October of 2009 and received a company handbook. The handbook stated that each employee was entitled to 2 weeks paid vacation and 5 sick/personal days and may take their first week after being employed six months. Six months go by of being employed and I take my first five vacation days scattered throughout the next six months until my year mark and then take my 2 week's vacation. (My sick days had been used throughout the year.) After my year mark in October 2010 came and went, we are asked to turn in our vacation time the first of the year 2011, which I did, planning a few vacation days thru the year and a week long on in this upcoming November. March 2011 comes and I have come to the decision that to continue my college education that I can no longer take classes around the company's schedule and chose to resign. Before resigning I had checked my employee handbook to see the policy about what it had to say about unused vacation pay. It stated that when an employee chooses to end their employment any vacation due would be compensated to them (note, there is no mention of how this is due, acrued, or pro-rated, just that if here 1-10 years you have 2 weeks vacation and 5 sick days). After having a bat of pneumonia earlier in the year they added 5 sick days to my pay check since I was out sick, they added it on without asking and I chose to use one day of vacation to handle college requirements, I knew that I still had 9 days to use for the year. I gave a verbal two weeks to my bosses and one asked if I could please give them something in writing for their records, I gladly typed up a respectful letter resigning from my position, giving a full two weeks notice, and kindly and specifically asked for my 9 unused vacation days to be added to my last paycheck. I worked my last two weeks and since not hearing a thing about my vacation days during this time, I figured I was correct in thinking I was to be paid those days. A few days after my last day I went in to pick up my pay check and was pulled aside by one of the bosses to tell me that they didn't give me my vacation pay, and since I was only there January - mid March this year they pro-rated my vacation and figured that since I already used 6 days (5 sick) that I was not entitled to the rest and that in pro-rating it that I would have only had accumulated 3.5 days and that they were happy to "call it even". I am confused on how this happened, and if this was how it worked, why was it not in the handbook provided and why was it not discussed within my last two weeks when I was still working there after I personally gave them a letter requesting it? Is this something I can fight, or even should? Something just doesn't make sense and this pay is very important in helping pay my rent. Any advise is greatly appreciated!

[flyingron]

They're under no obligation to pay you for vacation when you leave the employment. Prorating vacation entitlement when you leave in the middle of the year is pretty common. Do you really think that you were going to get two weeks of vacation credit when you quit 2 1/2 months into the year?

[SChinFChin]

I'm the guy figuring vacation pay at my place. Employees here get 20 days per year.

This means that someone earns 1.67 days each month they work here, so from the beginning of the year, someone who worked all the way to Mar 31 would accrue a total of 5 days. Accrual is made at mid month, at the 15th, and is earned when you work the month.

We have a lady who would be leaving us the end of the month, so we are paying her the 5 days she earned till Mar 31. She came by to ask how many days she is due, and she is told she earned a total of 5 days, plus a few days from last year that hasn't expired.

I don't know reading your post if you think this lady is due ALL 20 days, just because the calendar hit the year 2011. The way we look at it, it's not "pro-rated", but earned. and on our books, accrued, as she worked the months required.

The way I described it is the way all my prior employers handled it.

[flyingron]

Yep, that's pretty much the way most people handle it. Some companies will let you use this years amount before it accrues but that doesn't mean you get to take it with you when you leave.

[ssketch]

Thanks for the replies, I think since they were very unprofessional on a daily basis (examples: throwing driver's licenses at me to pick up off the floor, taking pens straight out of my hand while using one, using it briefly, then throwing it down on my desk, throwing their garbage on my desk while I am working when the garbage can was closer to them than my desk was..) that I would not put it past them to be sneaky about something like vacation pay when I have seen them squeeze pennies out of people before. I didn't think I was "entitled" to it. Looking for outside perspective on the policy, so I thank the posts explained it clearly, and kindly, for your time and help!

[cbg]

State law determines whether earned but unused vacation is payable at termination or not.

In most states, including Kentucky, earned but unused vacation is only payable at termination if a written company policy or past practice says it will be. There are a few states in which failure to address the situation in writing means that the employer must pay it out, but KY is not one of them. Unless a written policy or consistant past practice specifically states that it WILL be paid out, it needn't be.