Required to borrow vacation/PTO -

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? MD

My manager just brought around an email from corporate's HR manager. I have a feeling that vacation/PTO affairs fall completely under the whim of the company, but it's always worth asking...

A 'use it or lose it' policy was implemented last year, such that any vacation/PTO time accrued during the fiscal year must be used within the fiscal year - thus there's no 'saving up' of time off. Annoying enough, but that's the way it is. However, a policy allowing the advance of one's annual allowance of both was also implemented - so you could take time off in December by borrowing against your accrual for the year, etc.

Today's new policy affects unpaid leave, and states that before you may take any unpaid leave, you must have both used any accrued leave AND borrowed all of your annual (projected) allowance of leave before you will be allowed to take leave without pay.

Is this a legitimate restriction?

I am an exempt (salaried ) employee, but everythine (exempt and non- ) are affected.

Thank you for your time -

Tom

This new policy stinks and I strongly suspect the employer will regret putting this policy in place down the road for a variety of reasons but it's legal.