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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
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    4

    Default Vacation/Sick Time Deduction

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

    Situation:

    Salary Exempt (No Overtime Pay)
    Work Week: Monday - Friday 8-5 with an hour lunch

    Is it legal for an employer to force an employee to use Vacation or Sick time for Friday, if the employee has worked 48 hours thru Thursday?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Massachusetts
    Posts
    24,521

    Default Re: Vaction/Sick Time Deduction

    Yes, it is. In all 50 states.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Posts
    4

    Default Re: Vaction/Sick Time Deduction

    So the employer gets best of both worlds with a Salary Exempt employee?

    Employee can work 70 hours one week and 50 hours Mon-Thursday the next week but be forced to use a vacation day to take off on that Friday?

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Posts
    2,357

    Default Re: Vacation/Sick Time Deduction

    Yes, that is correct.

    BTW, the downside for the employer is if a salaried exempt employees works one HOUR on Friday, he has to be paid for the whole day (with one exception-intermittent FMLA). Even if the employee is out of vacation/PTO.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Massachusetts
    Posts
    24,521

    Default Re: Vacation/Sick Time Deduction

    You are operating on the mistaken assumption that the number of hours an exempt employee works has any meaning. It does not.

    An exempt employee not paid on the basis of how many hours they work; they are paid on the value of the job to the company. So working over or under 40 hours is meaningless. You have to be paid the exact same amount regardless of the number of hours you work, whether it's 15 or 75, with limited exceptions.

    However, the Federal government has gone on record saying that they do not have any interest whatsoever in what happens to vacation balances, and while a state CAN implement additional protections over and above Federal, as yet no state has done so (certain limitations in CA, but not ones that would affect this situation even if you were in CA). It is entirely up to the employer whether or not to charge an exempt employee for a vacation (or sick) day if they do not come in, regardless of how many or how few hours they may have worked at other times in the week.

    In fact, in many situations, it would be legal for that last day to be UNPAID, even for an exempt employee (see reference to exceptions, above). So allowing vacation (or sick) time to cover that time is, in itself, a protection.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Posts
    4

    Default Re: Vacation/Sick Time Deduction

    Quote Quoting cbg
    View Post
    You have to be paid the exact same amount regardless of the number of hours you work, whether it's 15 or 75, with limited exceptions.
    Maybe it is just my interpretation but the statement above says to me that I shouldn't be docked a vacation or sick day regardless of how many hours I work.

    Can someone explain why?

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Posts
    2,357

    Default Re: Vacation/Sick Time Deduction

    Yes, because that isn't what it says. It does not say that paid time off cannot be substituted for salary. It says that (with very limited exceptions), you must receive your full salary for any week in which you perform any work; the law cares not a whit what "bucket" the salary comes out of.
    Here the the actual regulation. You will notice that nowhere does the regulation address substitution of "salary" with paid time off.
    http://www.dol.gov/dol/allcfr/ESA/Ti...CFR541.602.htm

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Posts
    4

    Default Re: Vacation/Sick Time Deduction

    Thanks for everyone's help.

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