Can I open a lawsuit against a company that wouldn’t give me sick time?
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Can I open a lawsuit against a company that wouldn’t give me sick time?
I used to work for a big retail store until 3 months in Massachusetts where I live and they wouldn’t allow me to take sick time. Anything related to sick time or doctors appointment I had to use PTO. And they would force me to start PTO on a Sunday when that wasn’t a company’s policy just the district manager. They would also not let me leave on the time I was scheduled to, they would force me to work until later. Sometimes I would be scheduled until 10:30 pm and I wouldn’t leave there until after midnight. They also wouldn’t give us the right lunch breaks time. Does that sound like I would have a case against them?
Asked on September 15, 2017 under Employment Labor Law, Massachusetts
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
There is no legal requirement to give you sick time: none. An employer can require you to use your PTO if you need to miss work: that is completely legal. Employers decide when or for what purposes you have to use PTO, not employees. An employer also sets your work schedule or hours and can change them at will--e.g. the employer can have you work later, but if you were hourly, must pay you for the time; so long as you were paid, it was legal. You do not appear to have any case based on these factors.
If you worked more than 6 hours in a day, your state required that you get a half-hour unpaid lunch break; that was the only break requirement in your state.
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