Can my employer take away my PTO for just recently becoming a part-time employee?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Can my employer take away my PTO for just recently becoming a part-time employee?
I have been full-time, and accruing time off for the past 1- 1 1/2 years. In the past 2-3 weeks, I have become part-time as this is my second job now. However, without saying a single word to me, my employer took all of it away. I mentioned it to one of my managers and his response was,
Asked on May 28, 2018 under Employment Labor Law, Texas
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
No, they cannot: as you correctly note, you earned that time--that is, you performed work in the good faith expectation and under an agreement or understanding (even if unwritten) that you would receive PTO (in addition to your pay and any insurance) for it. If you did your part--you did the work--you employer must do its part and give you the PTO and a chance to use it--i.e. they cannot arbitrarily take it away. Depriving you of the PTO is a breach of the agreement between you. Certainly, they can, as you also note, stop accruring more PTO for you, given the reduction in hours, but they cannot take away PTO you earned any more than they can take back money paid you for work already done. You can sue your employer based on "breach of contract" (the agreement as to your compensation under which you did the work) for the value of the time.
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.