Law about time off? (vacation, jobs, title)

[joe moving]

is there some sort of federal law that might suggest i am entitled to take my vacation hours or at least get paid for the hours instead? my wife is a teacher (for autistic kids, so she does not have 60 days off in the summer because they will regress) and only has a few weeks off throughout the year. i have put in time off requests for the past 2 times (well in advance I will add) to coincide with her time off of course, only to be told sorry no you can't take off. we are too busy. if i'm never going to get a vacation i want some money. I have 140 hours that i feel like i'll never get to use. </vent>

[findinghope]

the last place i worked would pay me at the end of the year for any unused vacation, but i am not sure if that is a law of just a company policy

[eman1200]

first of all, document everything. make sure you have copies of denied time off requests. Second, are you guys really that busy? I don't think it's uncommon for businesses to decline TO requests if in fact there are deadlines and whatnot, but it should eventually get to a point that they allow you too, whether the deadline ends or you get more employees etc... Third, your company should be flexible when it comes to carrying over your days since you attempted to take them but they didn't let you. And finally, assuming these are days you have already earned and not potential days in the future, the company is responsible for compensating you for them, should you leave.

[CuCullin]

I've had my boss say I couldn't take vacation (I asked in March, for two weeks in August) - he only said that once. I simply stated that according to my contract, I get my time off, and that it wasn't so much a request as a courtesy. I would not be in those weeks in August. I told him that I would be taking vacation at that same time every year.

Now I simply put it on the calendar.

Now, not everyone is going to be an a-hole like me (its true, I know I am. I also know there are other companies happy to hire me, and they know that too.) The best thing to say is not "Can I take off these days?" but more firmly "I just wanted to let you know that I'll be taking my vacation time from XX/XX through XX/XX." Any job that does not respect whats been granted as part of your hiring is not worth keeping.

My company also has a policy of paying back days, as well as a carry over of up to five days to the next year. However, this is based on your contract/employee manual. Read it, note what you've agreed to, and take the time/pay you deserve.

[tahiti]

no federal law to my knowledge. ask your hr dept. i get zero vacation (paid) so obviously there's no law that says you're entitled to it

[RobRiguez]

We are allowed to carry over 5 days vacation into the next year if we choose. If time off is not granted, the denials must be documented and then we are allowed to carry over up to 15 days. We are not allowed to take off more than 10 days (2 work weeks) at any one time, regardless of how many days you have available, unless its under the family leave act. We do not get paid for any unused days at the end of the year. We have very busy times of the year and then just busy times. There is no downtime for us. All vacations must be scheduled during the lesser of the busy seasons and we are generally accomodating when we can be.

Ive worked for 3 different companies in my industry and all were basically the same. If you get paid time off, great. If you dont, suck it up.

[hrjersey]

There isn't any law that entitles you to vacation. If the company has a written policy then they need to stick by it. Even though if they've written it they've also probably attached some form of disclaimer but a policy implies a contract for at least that benefit. If it is written it probably has info about requests etc. They can not continue to offer a policy then deny you use of it...at least not "legally" but then, are you going to go to court over it? If there's a policy use that to help you state your case for your request. By the way, if it isn't a written policy then find out from other employees what the company has traditionally done in the past. If a company doesn't have a written policy but they have a way they have "always" handled this in the past, that can be considered an implied policy.

I was an HR Manager for a long time. I've been out of it for a few years but I don't think things have changed to much.

[BABAmommy]

Unfortunately, you have to refer to your employee handbook. If there is no clear definition or answer, it usually falls back to any earlier versions of the handbook or policy. However, if there is no clear answer, make a written request asking them to clarify the vacation benefit. At that point, depending on what you want to do, I would put a vacation request in writing. As someone else wisely stated, DOCUMENT everything. Although employers have a lot of say, they still can not have unfair or unequal practices. For example, if you are repeatedly denied the summer vacation, the question is why? If there is a seniority issue, then that should be explained to you, in writing. Also, one other thing, the size of your company can effect the impact of any legal action. A lot of laws do not apply to companies that have less than 50 employees. On the other hand, there are a lot of union jobs that people have to wait until they reach seniority.
I will say this. In any given job, it is reasonable to ask for unpaid vacation. Since you were told that you could not take off because they were "too busy" that would also lead me to tell you to request, in writing, if there are any black out periods for vacations. If there are no black out periods, and no seniority issues, AND other people have been given vacation during those weeks, then you may have a case for biast treatment or discrimination.
Good luck!