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Working on scheduled vacation and holiday?

On Lawyer & Legal » Employment & Labor Law

5,053 words with 13 Comments; publish: Wed, 05 Jan 2005 19:14:00 GMT; (80078.13, « »)

The state is: CA

This holiday, because of emergencies, I was called and needed to do a fair amount of work. I worked anywhere from 1 to 5 hours per day on 4 days. One day was a scheduled holiday and the others where scheduled vacation days for me. I am an exempt employee and am happy to work late and weekends, however according to CA law do I still need to deduct the vacation days I worked from the vacation days allotted?

Greg

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  • 13 Comments
    • I think you have it backwards, Suzie. It's vacation days that CA does not permit to be used in partial increments.

      You may be right about what the OP is saying, but given that this is CA with its weird (to the rest of the world) laws, I want to be certain since it appears that either way, the employer is in violation.

      #1; Fri, 07 Jan 2005 07:15:00 GMT
    • Beth, one of my payroll research gurus found this:

      http://www.littler.com/nwsltr/asap_salary_requirement.html

      #2; Tue, 11 Jan 2005 09:48:00 GMT
    • Thanks you very much, you are amazing!

      May I summarize to make sure I understand? I worked some number of hours on eash of 3 scheduled vacation days. In some states, the difference between the number of hours I worked each day and 8 could be paid to me from my personal vacation time. However in CA, because I worked part of a day, I should not be paid from vacation hours for any of these day.

      As a side, doesn't that mean the whole idea of vacation hours for exempt employees does not make any sense at all? Exempt employees would only ever have vacation days! Is there a regulation or law somewhere on the web I can show my employer?

      #3; Mon, 10 Jan 2005 14:00:00 GMT
    • Okay, now I'm REALLY confused.

      It is true that if an exempt employee works any part of the day, they have to be paid for the whole day.

      That being said, can you explain the problem again? Are you telling me that you worked part of the day, and are still being required to take 8 hours of vacation?

      BTW, CA law is different than that of every other state on this issue, so I really need to be certain I understand you before I give you a definite answer.

      #4; Thu, 06 Jan 2005 16:53:00 GMT
    • OUCH! Thanks for bringing out that splintered ruler, cbg!

      I knew it was one or the other, and I'll defer to your expertise. As I said, I wasn't sure.

      OP, you heard the lady!

      #5; Fri, 07 Jan 2005 11:25:00 GMT
    • An exempt employee who works any part of a day, must be paid for the whole day. In every state except California, and in some circumstances Washington, that part of the day which you do not work can be deducted from your vacation time. In California, they just have to pay you anyway, and save your vacation to be taken when you have a whole day off. Don't ask me to explain the reasoning; CA law is pretty obscure to some of us poor HR types in other states.

      If I can find a link or a statute reference, I'll post it, but I don't have one offhand.

      #6; Mon, 10 Jan 2005 17:56:00 GMT
    • Quote:
      === Original Words ===

      Confuses me too, Suzie: I've had to have Gene explain it to me two or three times. I think I've finally gotten it straight.

      **A: who is Gene?

      #7; Fri, 07 Jan 2005 11:42:00 GMT
    • Thank you cbg,

      I probably was unclear. I guess it's not a matter of days as much as hours. HR indicated that I should still declare, 8 minus the hours I worked, as vacation hours. It seem the law states that exempt employees need to be paid for a day if they work any part of that day. I'm not sure though.

      #8; Thu, 06 Jan 2005 16:27:00 GMT
    • Of course not. If you worked on the vacation day, obviously you didn't TAKE a vacation day. Nothing in California law (or any other state's law) is going to deny you a vacation day that you didn't take.

      Or is that your question? It's a little unclear.

      #9; Thu, 06 Jan 2005 08:04:00 GMT
    • Thank you cbg,

      I probably was unclear. I guess it's not a matter of days as much as hours. HR indicated that I should still declare, 8 minus the hours I worked, as vacation hours. It seem the law states that exempt employees need to be paid for a day if they work any part of that day. I'm not sure though.

      #10; Thu, 06 Jan 2005 17:44:00 GMT
    • cbg, I don't think the OP is stating he is being made to take a whole 8 hour day. I think what he is saying is, for example, that he worked 4 hours and is being asked to take only the other 4 hours as vacation.

      OP, although an exempt employee does have to be paid for the entire day on any day in which they work at all, there is nothing prohibiting your employer from using vacation time to make up the difference between the time you actually worked and a full day. What your employer is doing is perfectly legal.

      I know CA does have some type of provision about using partial PTO days, but I think that only applies to sick time, not vacation. I think only sick days have to be "used" in full days. I think using partial vacation days is acceptable.

      If I'm wrong, cbg will be right back to slap me with a splintered ruler!

      #11; Fri, 07 Jan 2005 00:04:00 GMT
    • Confuses me too, Suzie: I've had to have Gene explain it to me two or three times. I think I've finally gotten it straight.
      #12; Fri, 07 Jan 2005 11:35:00 GMT
    • Suzie, Beth, Patty and I all belong to the same HR group that meets on another board. Gene is the local expert on CA law in that group.
      #13; Fri, 07 Jan 2005 13:28:00 GMT