In Which I am More Annoyed Than Usual at My Workplace

[jennythereader]

As a cost saving measure they've decreed that everyone will be given two specific days off in 2011. That is, other than essential personal, most of the company's offices will be completely closed on these two dates.

That's fine. I have no problem with extra days off.

The problem comes in because they are requiring everyone to use vacation time for those days. I'm sorry it costs you guys money when people are too stupid to use their vacation time up, but I'm not one of those people. Every minute of time I earn gets used.

I'm going to have to look at the calendar and figure out if I need to give up on a con or camping event.

Comments

[curlyeric.livejournal.com]

That's pretty screwed up since there are plenty of legal ways to achieve the same goal, but this particular one seems spiteful ( and possibly against NYS law ).

They should just reduce everyon's vacation by two days and be done with it, call it what it is.

[nounsandverbs]

Grrr! Is that even legal???

[jennythe-reader.livejournal.com]

I could work with just having less time. Or just force those people who don't use theirs up to take specific days off.

I'm going to talk to my manager about whether our department will have anybody on those days, and if I can be one of them.

[jennythe-reader.livejournal.com]

I don't know, and I'm not sure how to find out either.

[curlyeric.livejournal.com]

answering my original question, yes, it's probably legal; it still blows, but it's probably legal.

http://www.overtime-flsa.com/forced-vacation-legal-a-62.html

[nounsandverbs]

Looks like it is indeed legal, per the Department of Labor website:

Q: Must an employer pay employees for holidays, sick time and/or vacations?

A: Under the New York State Labor Law, payment for holidays, sick time or vacation -- i.e. payment for time not actually worked - is not required unless the employer has established a policy to grant such pay. When an employer does decide to create a benefit policy, that employer is free to impose any conditions they choose.

Fringe benefits may include reimbursement of expenses or tuition, health coverage, and payment for sick time, vacation, personal leave, and holidays.


So yes, they're basically taking two vacation days away from you, and they're within their rights to do so. Grrrrr.

[jennythe-reader.livejournal.com]

Grrr.

[jennythe-reader.livejournal.com]

Eric just linked me to the Federal rules, and I was about to look for the state ones. You beat me to it.

Overall, grr! Argh!

[stefka.livejournal.com]

If you can manage to be one of the at-work people on those days, that does sound like a good way around it.

We just found out that working Christmas Eve will not, in fact, get us time-and-a-half. Only working Christmas Day. Which means a few of the people who work at the Eagle, and the circulation people who actually deliver. Dammit. I have to come in four hours early, to meet the deadline. And I get nothing for it?

This is also the first year in recent memory in which we will actually publish on Christmas morning.

[jennythe-reader.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, I won't be able to talk to my manager about in until after the holidays.

Your schedule also sounds pretty sucky.

[stefka.livejournal.com]

Nature of the beast, to some degree. Holidays = early deadlines. And I have NYE off entirely. But it used to be that Christmas Eve was the holiday (because we didn't publish on Christmas Day), and people who worked the Eve (getting things under way for the 26th) got time-and-a-half.

Now, we're publishing on Christmas Day, so the Eve is a real workday, but deadline is almost six hours early. And no cookie.

[jennythe-reader.livejournal.com]

Blah. You should all get cookies.