unused vacation or PTO

System

does anyone KNOW what Florida law says about payment of unused vacation, sick time and/or PTO? Can an employer implement a policy that disallows the payment of unused PTO when an employee terminates? Can you also not allow rollovers of unused PTO? Again, I'm seeking what Florida law says about this matter, I don't need a summary of any of the other 50 state laws. Thanks in advance for any assistance on this.

Down_the_Middle

As of 2004, Florida did NOT have any use-it-or-lose-it statute with ETO/PTO/vacation and in fact was viewed the same as Alabama.......... Don't know about 2005 yet...........

System

so are you saying that due to an absence of a "use-it-or-lose-it" statute, it IS permissable to require forfieture of unused time at terminations, or at year-end??

Down_the_Middle

Florida did not have a statute(as of 2004)that regards ETO/PTO/vacation as wages, so if you have a policy or practice that clarifies how accrued, unused time is treated, you s/b ok with your forfeiture requirement. Checking w/Florida's Employment Standards Administration (ESA)(wage & hour division) should give you the confirmation you desire.

System

thanks for the info.

marc

Just a couple of comments that are probably obvious -

1. If you are making a change in an existing policy, some demarkation line, such as a 30 day notice change and a published "effective date" would be wise.

2. For consistency purposes, the policy must be the same for all.

As I said, this is mundane, basic stuff. You probably already have these things in mind.