Can My Employer Deny Me Paid Vacation?

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By Greg Giangrande

Published December 3, 2023, 9:03 a.m. ET

Is it legal for an employer to switch to paid leave if the policy is not written down? Getty Images/iStockphoto

Are all employers required to provide their employees with paid vacation? I was told that I have 56 hours of paid vacation a year. When I asked, I was told to “use the time when I’m sick – we don’t give paid vacation.” I’ve been working there for more than 3 years. Is that legal?

Employers are not required to offer paid vacation, but most do.

For those who offer it, the way it is earned, used and paid out depends on company policies and the requirements of state laws.

If there is no written policy, various state laws govern how vacation is handled. In New York, it is legal for employers to enforce a “use it or lose it” policy.

And depending on the policy, the employer may have to pay for earned but unused vacation if the employee’s employment ends voluntarily or involuntarily.

If the information you were given is not in writing and there is no practice of offering other employees paid leave, they may be in breach of an oral contract, but you will probably have a hard time proving this. And then the question should be: Do you want to work for such an employer?

If there is no written vacation policy, you can turn to state law to find out what your workplace owes you. Getty Images

I run a restaurant and under a new law passed this week, I cannot hire employees based on a person’s height or weight. That’s crazy. Imagine entering a fine restaurant and the hostess or waiter is short and fat? That might work for a restaurant, but not for a high-end restaurant where well-heeled customers pay top dollar. Are we all being sued now for trying to maintain a certain image?

Wow – your note gave me some serious indigestion.

They refer to the new law that prohibits employers and companies from discriminating against employees or applicants based on their body type – height and weight. So you’re right, it would be illegal for you to stock up on talent who look like they were photoshopped off a fashion cover in order to appeal to patrons who have paid surgeons and fashion consultants to look the same, while you people who are like that look, refuse employment. The rest of us. By the way, would you like to know why guests’ food tastes better? Because they don’t serve it with a hint of pretension.

There’s a new law in New York that prohibits restaurants from discriminating against applicants based on their appearance. Getty Images/Image Source

Gregory Giangrande has more than 25 years of experience as a human resources manager. Listen to Greg Wed at 9:35 a.m. on iHeartRadio 710 WOR with Len Berman and Michael Riedel. Email: [email protected]. Follow: GoToGreg.com and on Twitter: @GregGiangrande

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