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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2016
    Posts
    3

    Question Can Your Employer Take Away Holiday Pay if You Call in Sick the Day Before a Holiday

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

    Hi there-

    I am a FT employee in the Health Care field. As part of my benefits package, I have PTO, sick time, and paid holidays. We have to work at least one major holiday (Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years Day) but we get compensated for each one regardless if we work or not. To figure out your holiday pay, they calculate average number of hours worked per day. So if I regularly work 6 and 7 hour days, I'll get somewhere around 6.5 hours pay.

    Anyways, my regularly scheduled days off are Friday and Saturday. This year, Christmas was on Sunday. I called out sick on Wednesday. I have documentation of a doctors apt. I was told that I am loosing my holiday pay because "anyone who misses their last scheduled day before a holiday or next scheduled day after a holiday forfeits their holiday pay."

    I'm wondering if this is legal. This policy even applied to people who work ON the holiday and miss the next scheduled day.

    Extra info: holiday pay used to be bunched in with PTO. My company has since separated paid holidays and subtracted the amount from PTO total days. So it is an earned benefit. Doesn't that make that a wage? Does the MA Wage Act come into play? I understand this may be legal in other states but MA has additional laws that I hope will help me out.

    Any info and resources will be great, I can't seem to find anything clear!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Posts
    38,867

    Default Re: Forfeiting Holiday Pay Due to Being Sick

    I'm missing something. You called off Wednesday. That doesn't appear to be your last scheduled day before or after the holiday. How did that disqualify you from recieving holiday pay?

    If you called of wednesday and your next scheduled day off
    is Friday and Saturday. So you worked Thursday, right? Then Friday and Saturday off. Presuming you worked Sunday....I guess im just missing something.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    Lake Chapala
    Posts
    3,043

    Default Re: Forfeiting Holiday Pay Due to Being Sick

    Unless you are non-exempt and have a CBA that clearly states you must be paid holiday pay no matter what, then your employer is legally free to not pay you for any days you aren't at work (including holidays).

    If you are exempt, please post back.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Massachusetts
    Posts
    24,521

    Default Re: Forfeiting Holiday Pay Due to Being Sick

    Holiday pay issues in Massachusetts can be very, very different from the laws of any other state with the possible exception of Rhode Island. However, they are very convoluted and apply to only certain jobs and in certain fields. Since it appeared that you did work ON the actual holiday, it is POSSIBLE that the state laws may help you here. However, to know for certain I need to know not just that you are in the health care field, but exactly what your employer is (hospital? doctor's office? Nursing home? etc.) and exactly what your position is. If you don't want to post that publicly you can PM me.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Dec 2016
    Posts
    3

    Default Re: Forfeiting Holiday Pay Due to Being Sick

    I tried to PM you but your inbox is full.. anyways, here it is:

    Thanks for the help - I'm new to all this so I'm just trying to figure the forum out. I am a rehab therapist in a nursing home. They didnt provide paid holidays before, but they have since taken away 5 days of PTO and provide holiday pay - whether or not you work on that specific holiday doesnt change you getting holiday pay.

    I did NOT work on Christmas. Just missed the last scheduled day before it - I even attempted to come in on Friday on my day off to avoid the loss.

    As per their policy, even if I did work on Christmas and missed the scheduled day before or after, I would loose the pay.

    It just seems to me that the holiday pay is a benefit, and just like PTO, would be considered a wage. Am I wrong?

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Massachusetts
    Posts
    24,521

    Default Re: Forfeiting Holiday Pay Due to Being Sick

    Yes, you are wrong. Massachusetts considers PTO to be the same as wages, but not holiday pay. Not if you didn't work the holiday. MA law is very different for people who did work the holiday than for those who didn't.

    Since you didn't work the holiday, your employer's policy is legal under MA state law and they have no obligation to provide holiday pay.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Dec 2016
    Posts
    3

    Default Re: Forfeiting Holiday Pay Due to Being Sick

    That was a complete typo - I called out sick on Thursday. Sorry about that!

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Massachusetts
    Posts
    24,521

    Default Re: Forfeiting Holiday Pay Due to Being Sick

    That doesn't change the answers I need to determine if your employer is legal or not.

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