Is it legal if I have 180 hours of paid time off and my company has informed me that I must take 3 weeks off this year to knock it down?
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Is it legal if I have 180 hours of paid time off and my company has informed me that I must take 3 weeks off this year to knock it down?
Asked on May 10, 2012 under Employment Labor Law, California
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
If you do not have an employment contract or union agreement to the contrary, it is legal. Employers are not required to provide vacation time in the first place; and since it is voluntary to provide employees with vacation, they may set rules and requirements for how it is used. Since the employer is not depriving you of a benefit or compensation you earned without providing you with recourse--i.e. it is not simply taking away 3 weeks, but is requiring you to use them within the next 7 months--it is legal. (Note that if the employer does not actually let you take the weeks--it keeps disapproving any proposed vacation schedule--that would likely be illegal; an employer generally cannot simply take away compensation you've earned, either officially or effectively.)
If you do have an employment contract or union agreement, whatever it says about vacation is enforceable.
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