My employer is changing our Sick Leave Policy, including reducing the maximum accrued sick time. Our current maximum accrual is 480 hours (which I've accumulated) and it is being decrease to 120! My employer is revoking 360sick hours that I have earned! Can he do that???
2007-04-11 03:42:53 · 9 answers · asked by MagsG78 1 in Business & Finance ➔ Careers & Employment
Sure, they can do anything like that they want to do. Sick leave is a benefit, not a right, and is not guaranteed. If you don't like it, you can always find another job.
Sick leave is only meant to be used if you get sick. It is not like a "vacation time bank" or anything like that. Your employer obviously feels that if you are sick for longer than three straight weeks, you should probably be going on some sort of disability leave. Hopefully, they offer that to you as part of your insurance benefits (even if you have to pay for it)...if not, you can certainly find a private insurer that will sell you such a policy.
Believe me, if your employer ever has to lay off people (assuming you aren't "protected" by a labor union), they may look at such things as who misses a lot of days out sick in deciding who to lay off. You are better off not missing work for being sick unless you absolutely have to.
2007-04-11 03:56:04 · answer #1 · answered by peytonbarclay 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
If you don't have a contract that says otherwise, he probably can. If there's a written policy manual with the old policy, it would be more common for your employer to "grandfather in" people who already have that much accrued, and just cut the limit for the future.
Twelve weeks is an awfully long time to be off sick - does your company have any kind of short term disability coverage? Three weeks accrued sick time is a more common number to allow. There's no law that you have to be given ANY paid sick time. Depending on the size of your company, there are laws that say you have to be allowed a certain amount of UNPAID leave if you're sick and can't work, without losing your job.
2007-04-11 05:07:09 · answer #2 · answered by Judy 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Good question, but if they haven't already revoked them, you should be coming down with something awful at any minute.
I do believe they have the right to do this. Its a simple policy change. Many employers do not reimburse an employee for unused sick time anyway, so unless your planning on having an extended illness sometime soon, you probably wouldn't have benefitted from it anyhow. At least this is the case with the company I work for. We are only reimbursed for unused vacation/personal time, and that's only if we quit or get laid off before it's used. This is why I call off sick when i have a cold or a headache...it's a benefit that's only a benefit if you use it. Stop hoarding all the sick time, use it up!
2007-04-11 03:53:59 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It may vary by state to state, but unfortunately, yes.
Employers aren't obligated to give sick time, and most of the time sick time doesn't carry over from year to year.
Be glad you can keep 120 hours of sick time...most people are limited to 40 or 80 hours a year...if it was vacation time it might be different but sick time is a benefit offered by your employer and isn't something they are obligated to give you at all.
Basically, they could wipe it all out if they wanted.
2007-04-11 03:51:46 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
In CA sick time is up to the employer. Vac time has CA state law protecting it. I.E. if you may earn 1 wks vac pay per yr, you quit after 6 months & boss says they don't have to pay you because you only worked 6 mnths, not the yr. I had to go the LRB(Labor relations Board) I won. You are entitled to 1/2 of a week of vac pay. Check w/ LRB in your state to find out for sure. Good Luck.
2015-03-31 07:07:44 · answer #5 · answered by lisa 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You would have to check with your state labor laws but in fairness, I would think that the employer would only do that in future sick hours. To take away already accrued hours seems wrong.
2007-04-11 03:53:58 · answer #6 · answered by rusty_fannascar 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
can your employer not pay for the sick time you earn after they fired you
2014-10-06 05:53:01 · answer #7 · answered by Tonya 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
check with your personnel or human resources department. they would know. we have a cap on vacation hours, but not sick leave.
2007-04-11 03:52:29 · answer #8 · answered by wendy_da_goodlil_witch 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
If I were you I would go to the Dept of Labor website and investigate. I don't think that they can do this but I am not sure...
http://www.dol.gov/
2007-04-11 03:54:11 · answer #9 · answered by kiratess 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋