Hurrican Ike using vac./sick

F

Fievel121

2,500+ Posts
Okay, so my company closed their Houston store for 7 days because of Hurricane Ike. And now they want all the employee's to use vacation/sick days for the time they were closed. As well as not paying the part time people?

Anybody else know of policies similiar to this? And is it legal?
 
I don't think there's a legal right to vacation, if that's what you mean.

It would be a sign of good will to the employees if the company paid without requiring them to exchange vacation or sick time, but that's a benefit offered by the company. They probably can do whatever they like, unless you have a contract that prevents it.
 
There are a couple of airlines that do not pay their flight crews if a flight gets canceled, even for something out of their hands like weather or maintenance. You don't lose vacation or sick time over it, but you lose pay.
 
There is no obligation for them to pay you anything (unless you have a contract). So the fact that they are letting you use entitlements is a good thing. I'm sure there are a lot of people out there (like the part-timers) that are out of work and have no income.

If you are part time there is no guarantee of hours so it would be the same if they did not put you on the schedule for a week, which is entirely legal.
 
Let me understand your question:

A hurricane forces your company to shut down for 7 days. They will not get normal revenue from operations for a week yet still will have normal operating costs such as loans, utilities etc. No revenue plus still need to pay bills and obligations. Instead of telling you they cannot pay you they are offering you pay in leu of vacation? How is this not fair?
 
ease, what if weather isn't a factor written into the contract. If you're paying me 20k to work here, it's 20k to work here. IMO, there is no "give me my money back if you're snowed in." Sh!t happens.


Do companies pay salaried employees for OT?


I'm sure the law sides with the employer, but imo, it's a ****** thing. Loans, bills, electricity, weather are all influences on business.
 
I've worked for a number of years for several engineering consultants, and we always have to either burn vacation or make up time the rare time we have inclement weather in Austin. And we can't use sick leave either.
 
A guy who is helping me do some landscaping has an hourly job at a warehouse. During the storm, they made all employees wait around but did not have them work. They waited for 8 hours and then all were sent home without pay. Is it legal? Does it depend on the state?
 
If you had a lawn boy who couldn't mow your grass because it rained Saturday, would you still pay him?

If you hired a contractor to remodel your bathroom but he couldn't work because there was asbestos, would you still pay him?

No, you would send them home and only pay them for work they actually did.

I hired a babysitter to come to my house for a football game I couldn't go to because I was sick. I called her and canceled. I did not owe her anything. For goodwill I gave her $10 for canceling because she is a good sitter and I want her to schedule with me again. But in that case even she acknowledged I did not "owe" her anything.

Your employer allowing you to cash in vacation is costing him money. I'd say this is generous.
 
The point of the OP... Yes the company is without revenue... but so is the employee. They have had to travel... they have had to buy generators or hotel rooms. Surely, the company can do SOMETHING> Maybe do a 1/2 & 1/2 type thing. You missed 4 days. We'll pay you for all 4 and use up 2 vacation days. Something like that seems fair to me.
 
I think the idea of they didn't work/they shouldn't expect pay makes sense. But only if the employer wasn't expecting them to work a shitload of overtime (non-paid) the next week to get everything back up and running.

Of course, each case is a little different. Many pointed out the fact that the store is not getting revenue that week. And in this particular companies case, they will probably retain about 90% of the possible revenue.
 
I think the confusion is coming from vacation. Vacation is earned and is considered pay. You work for a company for a certain period of time and you have earned a certain period of time off...this time off has a value to it. I most situations it is a week or weeks pay.

You have earned it they just don't pay you for it until you use it (for lack of a better analogy a savings account). You take off work and they do not pay you your salary they give you you vaction pay (savings). You employer is giving you your savings (vacation pay) that you have earned and they are not paying you your salary. I bet that employees that don't have vacation are not getting paid bacause they have not earned it (not enough time on the job) or they have already used it, Essentially your employer is NOT paying anyone salary or hourly wage employees while out to save money due to lack of operations. You are getting to use your savings (vacation) to offset not getting your normal pay.

Your pay stub should list your salary and normal hours (40). I bet that if you did not have any vacation time and took off work then you would get NADA (under normal situations). Just because you get a salary does not mean you get it regardless. I feel your employer is being more than fair. As well they are actually helping you by preserving their profitability by staying solvent during these hard times and protecting you job by staying IN BUSINESS

Best
 
depends on the size of the company and what kind of work you/they do. at my company, i would fully expect to get paid. ii am a salaried employee at a f500 company. they can afford it and they should treat it accordingly. not sure if they would or not though.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Weekly Prediction Contest

* Predict HORNS-AGGIES *
Sat, Nov 30 • 6:30 PM on ABC

Recent Threads

Prediction Results Threads

2024 Schedules

Back
Top