Employee Claiming they should be paid for unused vacation time
Jayhawk
42 Posts
Our company's situation involves an employee who had a disciplinary action (first warning) in June. She was in her early 50's and had never reported any medical problems to her supervisor or our HR dept. Her one year anniversary with the company was last month. After one year of service an employee is eligible for one week of vacation. She was scheduled to have a one week vacation the very next day after her one year anniversary.
The day before her vacation she apparently erased her voicemail message, cleaned out all of her personal items from her office, erased all emails on her computer, etc. None of this was discovered until the next day (the first day of her vacation) when her supervisor went into retrieve a file from her computer. It was assumed at that point that the employee was planning on abandoning her position when she returned to work after her paid one week vacation. The company does not pay for unused vacation time after termination/resignation.
Our HR director called the employee at home to inquire and she stated that she was planning on coming back to work but had thought about resigning in the near future. She became upset with the HR director when she asked if she was only trying to get paid for her vaction time and then planned on quitting. The conversation ended with the employee becoming very mad that she was being questioned about her actions regarding cleaning out her office and finally offered her resignation over the phone that day.
The employee was told that she would be paid for that day of vacation but not the other four days because they would fall after her resignation date. When her final paycheck arrived and did not include the other four vacation days, the employee sent a letter to the company saying that she was taking that vacation time to rest for medical reasons and we were violating ADA, FMLA, etc. by not paying her. The company never received and doctor's note, nor documentation that she had a medical problem. Any suggestions on how to handle this situation?
The day before her vacation she apparently erased her voicemail message, cleaned out all of her personal items from her office, erased all emails on her computer, etc. None of this was discovered until the next day (the first day of her vacation) when her supervisor went into retrieve a file from her computer. It was assumed at that point that the employee was planning on abandoning her position when she returned to work after her paid one week vacation. The company does not pay for unused vacation time after termination/resignation.
Our HR director called the employee at home to inquire and she stated that she was planning on coming back to work but had thought about resigning in the near future. She became upset with the HR director when she asked if she was only trying to get paid for her vaction time and then planned on quitting. The conversation ended with the employee becoming very mad that she was being questioned about her actions regarding cleaning out her office and finally offered her resignation over the phone that day.
The employee was told that she would be paid for that day of vacation but not the other four days because they would fall after her resignation date. When her final paycheck arrived and did not include the other four vacation days, the employee sent a letter to the company saying that she was taking that vacation time to rest for medical reasons and we were violating ADA, FMLA, etc. by not paying her. The company never received and doctor's note, nor documentation that she had a medical problem. Any suggestions on how to handle this situation?
Comments
My $0.02 worth.
DJ The Balloonman
But given the scenario it sounds as though you acted appropriately. She can't assert ADA/FMLA claims without documentation and you're under no obligation to give her the benefit of the doubt. If she wants to press the issue, let her get some documentation and then duke it out. Good luck.
But in the end - paying out the four days of vacation may be a good trade off for all the muss and fuss. Let us know what you do.
Was her performance up to par? It sounds like she may have done this as a result of receiving a warning. People react differently to this depending upon their prior experience with other organizations and their perception of what it means.
Initial reaction is that would have waited a bit before forcing the resignation and asked a few more questions. However, if the questions were asked and the person stonewalled, would agree that it's likely best to part ways and would agree with an earlier posting and not argue over 4 days of pay. Think of the money you save in unemployment...
I would certainly call her back as the CEO/President and tell her we have reconsidered and if she'll formally resign we'll pay her the $300.00 for the vacation accrued, earned, awarded, and not only that but we'll line up the HR, her supervisor, her department manager, and let her face them face to face so she can tell them why she was so unhappy that she simply wanted to fade away in the night and not distrube all of you uncaring "big business soles"! If she will not resign or come in to teach management about leadership and prevention of UNION drives, then pay her and open a defense file and start to gathering all of the available important documentation. "How did we get to this low level of management of our people"!!!
Ya'll definately need to eat more PORK to sharpen one's control and management of RISK ACTIONS, the brain is not in gear!
MAY WE ALL HAVE A BETTER DAY TOMORROW, SOMEONE WILL ELSE WILL HAVE TO BLESS THIS DAY, FOR IT IS OVERLY ORIENTED TO THE "WE DID IT BECAUSE THE DEVIL GOT US".
PORK
All in all, it appears that she was trying to get paid for the vacation and not planning on returning, but weigh the worth of the four days of paying vacation vs. the aggravation you will have to go through in dealing with this employee and possibly going through legal channels (whether they are warranted or not).
The smart, from the employee stand point, way of doing it would have been for her to get the vacation, come back to work and resign. Had she done that, you would have paid for her vacation and would have "lost" her(bon voyage!).
If she went to an attorney, what does she have? No documentation that the employer is aware of or should have been aware of (correct?), not a stellar performance, and a low service credit. Not much to start thinking of a 2004 model boat...
Plus, she is on a huge hook for distroying the company data!
You are assuming a heavy handed approach by the HR Mgr. Don't assume now.............but you do illustrate how the scenario can be twisted around to try and put it in the employee's advantage.
We purposely do not accrue vacation as we go along, it is awarded on the aniversary date, and our policy specifically spells out that it is not paid out. My spitter just found this out.
My $0.02 worth.
DJ The Balloonman
As far as her FMLA/ADA claim, from your post it appears you weren't provided ANY notice regarding the POSSIBILITY of her needing some type of accomodation and/or a medical condition. Keep in mind the EMPLOYEE bears some level of responsibility in informing their employer. Employers (as far as I know) are not expected to have ESP.
If she were to go to an attorney, more than likely she would be asked about notification she provided to her employer regarding her medical condition, etc.. In absence of documented "proof" that she was mistreated or denied her rights, what can she provide to them to substantiate her claim?
I believe the only way to save lost ground is to have a senior leader very quickly jump in and get the injuried employee away from seeking legal assistance.
PORK
What was HR director thinking?
I know what it is "You are eating more Pork" and we are reeping the benefit of your wisdom.
Hay Don glad to see you woke up and cmae in from under the "ole oak tree", "Dandy Don's Twin" beat you in to this place this morning!
I take that back, now that "Dandy Don" has arrived, may all have a BLESSED DAY and take ever word on these postings very serious.
PORK
PORK
I agree that circumstances appear to be: Employee was taking her vacation, and not coming back. However, I agree with one of my colleagues. I would have approached this differently. I think the bull was taken by the horns to early. (You used the word ASSUME... Hae your director of HR to put a plus in between the last S and U)
As for vacation pay, check with your state. In California we have to pay un-used and accrued. You state she was scheduled to take her vacationDid she request her vacation in writing? It
Your HR director must have not had his/her thinking cap on that day. For being a director... should have known better. This employee can definetly make your company spend some money in legal fees.
I recomend a call back to the employee, go over the facts from both sides and mend ways. Pay out this vacation deal and try to move on.
Good Luck
No one had any notice of any medical condition leave until 2 weeks later when she noticed that her vacation pay was not included in her final check. No mention was made of the medical condition in the final phone call when she resigned. Our state law does not require unused vacation time to be paid out because it is not "accrued" vacation as stated in our policy handbook. It is not a choice to use as deferred comp. or actually take the time for vacation. The employee is encouraged to take the time or lose it. Any add'l thoughts? Also, if we hear anymore from her, we will probably just pay out her 4 days, until then, we will probably do nothing.
pork