Can an employer say you have 9 paid holidays on your offer letter then force you to use 1 of your 2 days off as your holiday?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Can an employer say you have 9 paid holidays on your offer letter then force you to use 1 of your 2 days off as your holiday?
When I was offered a job with my current employer my offer letter stated I would have 9 paid holidays. I work as a general manage in a retail store open 365 days a year and get 2 days off. Since starting with them they expect me to use one of my days off on the holiday which means it’s not a paid holiday. I am salary and non-exempt. Is there anything that I can do?
Asked on November 16, 2016 under Employment Labor Law, Texas
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
Unfortunately, there is most likely nothing you can do unless you have an actual written employment contract, not merely an offer letter. To be a contract, it must guaranty your employment for a certain period of time (e.g. a one-year contract) and/or limit the reasons for which you can be terminated. Otherwise, if it does not limit your ability to be terminated in one way or another (by time, or by reason), it does not form a contract and your remain an employee at will. (All employees in this country are employees at will unless and only to the extent that is changed by a contract limiting termination.)
Without a written employment contract, you are, as stated an employee at will; if you are an employee at will, your employer can set or change the terms or conditions, or compensation and benefits, of your employment at will--i.e. in any way, at any time. That means that regardless of what they put into your original offer letter, they can change things so that you have to use a day off for a holiday day. So yes, your employer can do this.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.