PTO Gone - Now What? | Proformative

Len Green Performance Improvement Consultant and ERP Strategist • September 8, 2015

1-Gather all documents and emails relating to PTO policy, new decisions etc.
2-Contact your state Dept of Labor and ask for advice.

Then figure out how you want to approach the company:
-point out an error that you thought they should know (if that is proven to be an error)
-ask them what factors drove the decision (if it is not illegal)
-be adverserial about it

1

Len Green Performance Improvement Consultant and ERP Strategist • September 13, 2015

Anon
In case my first post was not clear enough, adverserial is the last resort.
Your desired outcome of this situation should drive your choice of approach.
Keep us posted as to how it is resolved.

Anonymous Controller • September 9, 2015

Hi Anonymous,

Please be more clear with your question and writing. Small issues with the wording can greatly change questions. From what I am reading, it looks like you are asking if a company can take away PTO, but it also may be that the company is simply just no longer paying out for unused PTO. The former is extreme and I think would be highly unlikely, but the latter sounds more reasonable. Regardless, get all your ducks in a row by collecting all your employment documents, get clarity from HR on the issue, and follow up with your manager. Be diligent and if it is the extreme of taking away all PTO, then be adversarial. There may be some legal issues involved, but HR likely is on top of those.

Please let us know what happens.

Wayne Spivak President & CFO • September 9, 2015

Once you obtain all your documents and the opinion of the DOL and Company, if you believe adversarial is warranted, speak with a Labor/Employment lawyer (we're talking about someone who basically handles this speciality, not a lawyer that will handle everything).

Then determine your next steps (law suits are expensive, and are extremely lengthy if a compromise can not be reached).

Anonymous Director of Finance • September 9, 2015

I would also verify in the policy if there is a cap. Most programs will only allow you to accrue to a certain point and then the accrual process stops until PTO is used to bring it below the limit. If there is a cap, the accrual would have stopped even though you may have thought that it was continuing.

Wendy Piston Global Talent Office Manager • September 11, 2015

Are you an inside or outside sales person?

Rebecca LeClaire Controller • September 11, 2015

I just want to point out that you cannot "un-ring" a bell, so make sure you have clarity to what the new policy actually is before you involve the DOL in your state. That can make it unpleasant for everyone involved, even if, in the end, it ends up being a simple misinterpretation. If the company has treated you fairly during your 5 years you have been there, you should try to give the benefit of the doubt until you have clarity. It would be highly unusual for a company who offers accrued PTO and pays out for unused, to go to the extreme of revoking accumulated and forward actual paid time off. As a prior poster mentioned, it is more likely that the new policy is to not pay out for time that has not been used, at the end of the companies fiscal year. So essentially, use it or lose it. Hopefully that is the case.

PTO Gone - Now What?

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