Paid time off....use it or lose it...

[Cajungaltx]

Okay....I'll be calling the folks doing the USERRA stuff tomorrow....but thought I'd ask...

Brad accrued paid time off/vacation time while he was deployed....he went to work on Wednesday and was told that he had 64 hours of accrued PTO and that he has to take it before the end of the month...

If he had been at work...he would have used it....but he was deployed, so obviously he wasn't THERE to use it...

I swear... I love his employer....I do....

Anyone know what Texas laws are regarding PTO earned while deployed and the whole 'use it or lose it' kind of stuff?

[groovyone]

NASA civil servants have it, it is a federal service deal. Usually they don't have to until the end of the fiscal year though.

[Rson]

PTO is a perk and not a guarantee. I don't know it the military aspect comes into play but the general rule is that it is a perk. I would call HR from his company and discuss. Get everything in writing.

[SCone]

Sounds to me like he has the rest of the month off?

[Cajungaltx]

Originally Posted by Rson

PTO is a perk and not a guarantee. I don't know it the military aspect comes into play but the general rule is that it is a perk. I would call HR from his company and discuss. Get everything in writing.

His company is union ran, so it's a set amount for hours worked kind of thing.


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[MikeyG1965]

I work for Fed.

If we don't use our Annual Leave by the end of the calendar year, it is forfeited.

Options for us are:

1. Ask for a waiver if there was a good reason why you couldn't use it (such as response to an emergency or critical incident).

2. Donate it to a leave bank

3. Donate it to someone who is ill/sick and has run out of leave.

I normally end up with 40 hours (five days) of Annual Leave left at the end of each year. I donate it to our leave bank.

[srwatters]

Texas differs from California in that respect. The "use it or lose it" policy is indeed allowed here. In California once a benefit if given, it cannot be taken away. They can however stop accrual when a limit is reached. So once you hit your yearly cap, you get no more. As a manager, I typically get around the policy using liberal "flex time" or send my employees to "button sewing seminars" I'd try to work with his individual manager. Good luck!

[Flores]

my company has a similar policy, 'use it or lose it', but they are willing to let it accrue up to 200 hours. I usually have about 100 or so 'in the bank', just in case something comes up.

The underlying pain for this is that it shows up on the balance sheet as unpaid compensation, so if they are 'forcing' you to take it or lose it, that's why.

[KJ Smith]

Donna,

I have said this before, he has a Union Rep. That is what they are for.

It will be in the contract.

In general our PTO has to be used by the end of the year.

In fact, by contract, if you have not scheduled it by 10/1, they can schedule it for you.

A guy that is deployed may fall under different rules. His Rep should know, or be able to find out.

[Charles Putnam]

Your hubby's situation is unusual, so his employer's HR department needs to pull their head out of their bunghole, and make some accomodations.

When I relocated from California to Texas for my employer, they "conveniently" forgot to tell me that the PTO rules were different in Texas. As Scott notes, you can't lose PTO in California. They told me on December 27th that I'd be loosing almost 6 weeks of PTO because I hadn't taken it. I no longer work for them.....

[SCone]

§ 1002.153 If employment is interrupted by a period of service in the uniformed services, is the employee permitted upon request to use accrued vacation, annual or similar leave with pay during the service? Can the employer require the employee to use accrued leave during a period of service?
top

(a) If employment is interrupted by a period of service, the employee must be permitted upon request to use any accrued vacation, annual, or similar leave with pay during the period of service, in order to continue his or her civilian pay. However, the employee is not entitled to use sick leave that accrued with the civilian employer during a period of service in the uniformed services, unless the employer allows employees to use sick leave for any reason, or allows other similarly situated employees on comparable furlough or leave of absence to use accrued paid sick leave. Sick leave is usually not comparable to annual or vacation leave; it is generally intended to provide income when the employee or a family member is ill and the employee is unable to work.

(b) The employer may not require the employee to use accrued vacation, annual, or similar leave during a period of service in the uniformed services.

[L Stegall]

Forget what the Texas laws are on paid time off. Talk to someone familiar with USERRA, which would trump the collective bargaining agreement and the applicable state statutes, if any. I would be happy to research exactly how this should play out for you, except I am just swamped right now.

[BethG]

Originally Posted by Cajungaltx

His company is union ran, so it's a set amount for hours worked kind of thing.


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My husband has a bunch of Union employees. Everything is done according to Union contract. Contact the Union Steward and get it worked out through him/her. Jeff said as long as it's in the contract he's OK...if not .... it's up to the company.

[Cajungaltx]

Originally Posted by MikeyG1965

I work for Fed.

If we don't use our Annual Leave by the end of the calendar year, it is forfeited.

Options for us are:

1. Ask for a waiver if there was a good reason why you couldn't use it (such as response to an emergency or critical incident).

2. Donate it to a leave bank

3. Donate it to someone who is ill/sick and has run out of leave.

I normally end up with 40 hours (five days) of Annual Leave left at the end of each year. I donate it to our leave bank.

Mike -
He works for a comm company - and was deployed last year....got home ....returned to work in December.... was told this week that he had 64 hours of personal time off that he had to take or he would lose....

Time that was accrued at his civilian employer during his year deployment with the national guard...

I'm calling the USERRA folks Monday.... it's annoying...

[Bruce M. Morris]

Donna,
I dont see the problem. He is being told he HAS to take paid time off. Does he not want to??