Coporate Policy on certain Holiday pay - California
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Coporate Policy on certain Holiday pay - California
I work for a well known national retail company in southern california. You'll probably see me here a lot, this company is constantly doing things I am forced to question and I want to make sure I don't get screwed just so they can save themselves trouble.
On the last payday, a letter came with the check (stapled to all checks and stubs) stating that the 8 hours of holiday pay that shows in the "unused" account of PTO is to be considered irrelevant (in so many words).
I had known about this holiday pay a year when I realized I didn't know what it was since we always accrue our holiday pay on the holiday and see it in our next check and this same 8 hours is always there regardless. I had checked it with the Orienteering Guide and in short it said that it was a "floating holiday" that can be taken advantage of with advanced notice at the approval of a supervisor. I understood this as extra "vacation" time I can use (given approval) and use up when I can since it doesn't roll over from year to year. But when I tried doing just that, my supervisor told me that I had to use up all of my vacation time first before I could utilize the holiday PTO. There's no way I was willing to burn through my roll-able PTO just to take advantage of the unroll-able kind so I declined. Apparently a good number of my co-workers were told the same.
Now they say to not pay attention to it at all, both the hours available in the positive side of the PTO account AND what information the orienteering guide says. What happened? Were we just screwed out of usable PTO or was this some cruel tease where they couldn't make good on an offer?
On the last payday, a letter came with the check (stapled to all checks and stubs) stating that the 8 hours of holiday pay that shows in the "unused" account of PTO is to be considered irrelevant (in so many words).
I had known about this holiday pay a year when I realized I didn't know what it was since we always accrue our holiday pay on the holiday and see it in our next check and this same 8 hours is always there regardless. I had checked it with the Orienteering Guide and in short it said that it was a "floating holiday" that can be taken advantage of with advanced notice at the approval of a supervisor. I understood this as extra "vacation" time I can use (given approval) and use up when I can since it doesn't roll over from year to year. But when I tried doing just that, my supervisor told me that I had to use up all of my vacation time first before I could utilize the holiday PTO. There's no way I was willing to burn through my roll-able PTO just to take advantage of the unroll-able kind so I declined. Apparently a good number of my co-workers were told the same.
Now they say to not pay attention to it at all, both the hours available in the positive side of the PTO account AND what information the orienteering guide says. What happened? Were we just screwed out of usable PTO or was this some cruel tease where they couldn't make good on an offer?
OverTheStars- Posts : 4
Join date : 2009-01-07
Age : 37
Location : Inland Empire, California
Re: Coporate Policy on certain Holiday pay - California
Hang tough overthestars I P.M'd a few hounds your answer is forthcoming. I honestly do not know the answer to your question.
JoeC (McGruff)
JoeC (McGruff)
JoeC (McGruff)- Admin
- Posts : 705
Join date : 2008-08-31
Location : Seattle Wa
A pure guess
I'm thinking contract common law here.
If the "floating" holiday is stipulated in the employee handbook, or whatever it is you call the written documentation outlining your conditions of employment, it might be construed as binding on the employer. I emphasis might. This kind of thing is very jurisdiction specific and you would need to do the due diligence to find out what courts in your state do in order to take a good guess as to where you would stand on the handbook as contract theory.
I'm thinking, if the handbook will be construed as a contract of employment, you would have to look at past practice. If this extra holiday has traditionally been used to induce employees to use up their vacation time every year instead of rolling it over the employer would likely prevail on such evidence in attempting to continue the practice.
Without seeing all the documentation and speaking to some long time employees that is the best I can offer.
Eric
If the "floating" holiday is stipulated in the employee handbook, or whatever it is you call the written documentation outlining your conditions of employment, it might be construed as binding on the employer. I emphasis might. This kind of thing is very jurisdiction specific and you would need to do the due diligence to find out what courts in your state do in order to take a good guess as to where you would stand on the handbook as contract theory.
I'm thinking, if the handbook will be construed as a contract of employment, you would have to look at past practice. If this extra holiday has traditionally been used to induce employees to use up their vacation time every year instead of rolling it over the employer would likely prevail on such evidence in attempting to continue the practice.
Without seeing all the documentation and speaking to some long time employees that is the best I can offer.
Eric
Eric- Attorney
- Posts : 80
Join date : 2008-09-02
Re: Coporate Policy on certain Holiday pay - California
Thanks Eric I was thinking contract law with common law remedies but this PTO stuff may add some twist to that.
JoeC (McGruff)
JoeC (McGruff)
JoeC (McGruff)- Admin
- Posts : 705
Join date : 2008-08-31
Location : Seattle Wa
Thanks
Thank you. I figured it would have fallen under some kind of contract rule, but it doesn't seem to matter anymore. I just looked up the subject on the Guidebook again, and they've erased it completely, save the explanations on getting paid for the holidays themselves. They've changed alot it looks like, so I'm going to have to re-read everything. They haven't told us about any of these changes, and I doubt they're going to.
OverTheStars- Posts : 4
Join date : 2009-01-07
Age : 37
Location : Inland Empire, California
Re: Coporate Policy on certain Holiday pay - California
Take the old one and new one to a lawyer.
JoeC (McGruff)
JoeC (McGruff)
Last edited by JoeC (McGruff) on Fri Jan 09, 2009 1:12 am; edited 1 time in total
JoeC (McGruff)- Admin
- Posts : 705
Join date : 2008-08-31
Location : Seattle Wa
sounds fishy
Just because they removed items from the handbook type doesnt mean they cannot be held to those items.
A court might get pissed off enough to hold that against the company.
Eric
A court might get pissed off enough to hold that against the company.
Eric
Eric- Attorney
- Posts : 80
Join date : 2008-09-02
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