Vacation pay after resignation

[pandaboy50]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Texas

I am wondering if I have a legal ground to stand on if my soon to be former employer refuses to pay out the ten (10) paid day vacations. I have been working there for four (4) months. The HR office is stating that they have a rate at which we earn our vacation time. I am under the impression that the manual states that after the introductory period we earn our full ten days of vacation time.


I will be posting parts of our employee manual.

Vacations

Upon completion of the Introductory Period, each exempt and non-exempt, full-time employee is eligible to receive an annual paid vacation. Introductory, part-time and temporary employees are not eligible.

Vacation Policies

Iris will always try to let you use your vacation time as you request, but vacations cannot interfere with your department's operation. Your supervisor has the responsibility to maintain adequate staffing levels and has the authority to limit the approval of vacation requests in order to meet operational needs. Therefore, your vacation request must be submitted in writing, using the Leave Request Form, and approved by your supervisor at least thirty (30) days in advance. All vacation time must be taken in full day increments. Taking vacation days without prior approval is a violation of work rules and will be grounds for disciplinary action.

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Employees should plan ahead and make every effort to take their accrued vacation days during the year in which the days were earned. A maximum of five (5) paid vacation days may be rolled over to the next year. Any exception to this policy must be approved in writing by your immediate supervisor and the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer prior to December 1 of the year the vacation days are accrued. Any additional unused paid vacation days, not covered by the above exception, will be considered lost to the employee.

Provided you have given Iris two (2) weeks advance notice of your resignation, you will be paid for unused, accrued vacation days from the current year. The employee will not be compensated for any unused vacation days that have been rolled-over from the previous year.

Amount of Vacation

Eligible exempt and non-exempt employees accrue vacation for each year of service. The vacation accrual rate is based on length of employment within the calendar year and is reset January 1 of each year as follows:

Time of Total Accrual

Employment Per Year (In Days)

Four (4) months to two (2) years 10 days

Two (2) years to five (5) years 15 days

More than five (5) years 20 days.

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[cbg]

It is rare in the extreme for an employer to automatically grant all the vacation time due immediately. It is far, far more common for it to accrue over time. 10 days generally accrues at the rate of .83 days per month.

Texas law does not require the unconditional payout of unused vacation. You are free to file with the TWC, but your odds of success are no better than 50/50, and if the employer is able to show that in the past they have paid out based on a regular accrual basis and not based on all days being granted immediately, your odds go down.

 

[pandaboy50]

My issue is that nowhere in the contract does it state that vacation days are earned at .83 a month. My hope for the case would be that there is ambiguity.

 

[cbg]

As I said, you're free to try. TX doesn't require the payout of unused vacation at all, so the company's prior practice will be considered relevant. I'm not saying you've got no chance of success but you don't have a slam dunk guarantee, either.

 

[pandaboy50]

What would you do? Would you consider it a worthy risk? I obviously know nothing about their policy of vacation payout

 

[cbg]

Don't go by me. My state mandates the payout of unused vacation and as a result, NOBODY does anything but month to month (or pay period to pay period) accruals. It would be unheard of in my state to have vacation accrue in any way but over time. So it would never occur to me to expect to get the whole thing in a lump.

Edited to add; I do think that expecting to be paid for ten days of vacation when you've only worked there four months is a bit on the arrogant side.

 

[swalsh411]

The policy is not at all ambiguous. It says you "accrue" it at a "rate". meaning over time. (i.e. 10 years per year = .83 days per month). If you were granted the entire 10 days at once that would be the exact opposite of accruing at a rate.

If you were told you were to be paid at a rate of $10 per hour for a total of 1,000 hours a year, would you expect to receive the entire amount up front? Of course not. Why do you think vacation works any different?

 

[Zigner]

What would you do? Would you consider it a worthy risk? I obviously know nothing about their policy of vacation payout

AT MOST, you would be entitled to 3.32 days. That's all that's been earned (that's what accrual means.)