Employer taking AWAY 3 vacation days because now required to give 3 paid sick days!

[JoshBucky]

There's a new law in California that requires an employer to provide 3 paid vacation days to employees a year. My wife is the manager of a salon and for the last two years has received 5 paid vacation days a year. With this new law for 2015 the owners of the business she works at are now TAKING AWAY 3 of her paid vacation days and replacing them with the 3 required paid sick days. She's obviously very disappointed they are doing things like this. Are they REALLY able to take away her paid vacation days that she's been getting for over 2 years now?

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

An employer grants vacation days as an incentive not a requirement. They can give more or take them away with notice absent a CBA or contract.

 

[Zigner]

An employer grants vacation days as an incentive not a requirement. They can give more or take them away with notice absent a CBA or contract.

Not in CA OHR. They can change policy moving forward, but they can't simply take away vacation time that's already accrued.

With that said, the state is clear that what this employer did is perfectly allowable. The new law states that an employer must allow 3 paid days off for an employee to use when sick, however, paid vacation days cover that requirement, so long as they are accrued properly.

From http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/Paid_Sick_Leave.htm:

Q: What happens when an employer has its own Paid Time Off (PTO) plan?

A: The new law establishes a minimum requirement, but an employer can provide sick leave through its own plan or establish different plans for different categories of workers. However, each plan must satisfy the accrual, carryover, and use requirements of the law or put the full amount of leave into your leave bank at the beginning of each year in accordance with the PTO policy. If an employer provides a policy which exceeds the minimum requirements, including providing a specific cap, the policy must be clear as to the additional terms that apply to their employees.

And:

Q: My employer provides paid time off which I can use for vacation or illness. Will my employer have to provide additional sick leave?

A: No, as long as your employer provides at least 24 hours per year of paid leave that can be used for health care and meets other requirements in the law.

ETA: The 3 paid days requirement doesn't actually begin until 7/1/15, but the accrual started as of 1/1/15.

 

[justalayman]

There's a new law in California that requires an employer to provide 3 paid vacation days to employees a year. My wife is the manager of a salon and for the last two years has received 5 paid vacation days a year. With this new law for 2015 the owners of the business she works at are now TAKING AWAY 3 of her paid vacation days and replacing them with the 3 required paid sick days. She's obviously very disappointed they are doing things like this. Are they REALLY able to take away her paid vacation days that she's been getting for over 2 years now?

I believe they are simply renaming 3 of the days from vacation days to PTO days to comply with the requirements of the law without having to allow additional paid time off. If they left the vacation time as vacation time, they would still have to provide 3 PTO days since the law requires the time to be available for health care purposes.

If she is allowed to take them as a vacation day still, then nothing has really changed as far as her vacation time.

 

[Zigner]

I believe they are simply renaming 3 of the days from vacation days to PTO days to comply with the requirements of the law without having to allow additional paid time off. If they left the vacation time as vacation time, they would still have to provide 3 PTO days since the law requires the time to be available for health care purposes.

If she is allowed to take them as a vacation day still, then nothing has really changed as far as her vacation time.

This is actually better, because the employer can't refuse or retaliate for those 3 days of paid sick leave (assuming the employee meets the requirements for notifying and documenting the medical necessity.)

 

[LdiJ]

I agree that its perfectly legal, but if I were in your wife's shoes I would start looking for another job...because any employer who is that miserly about paid time off is going to be miserly in other aspects of the business, and ultimately it will effect the quality of your wife's working life.

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

I know Zig, that is why I used the phrase with prior notice. Thanks for taking the time clarifying something you felt needed to be.

 

[Zigner]

I know Zig, that is why I used the phrase with prior notice. Thanks for taking the time clarifying something you felt needed to be.

But, you are wrong, even with that phrase. An employer can't tell you that in two weeks they are taking away time that you have accrued. That is what your statement said, so it did need to be clarified

 

[cbg]

Okay, let's see if we can make this clear.

LEGAL (in every state): Starting in 2015, employees will accrue 12 days of vacation a year instead of 15 days a year. Every month, instead of being granted 1.25 days they will be granted 1.00 days.

ILLEGAL (in CA, MA, and a small handful of other states): In 2014, Mary was eligible for 15 days vacation. She used none of it. On December 31, 2014, she had 15 days accrued vacation on the books. On January 1, 2015, her employer deducted 3 days from her accrual so that she now only has 12.

For benefit of future readers please note that the number of states where this is illegal is limited. BOTH of the above actions would be legal in many states. The second statement is not legal in the OP's state.