Does my employer have the right to hold my PTO if earned and I need off do to a injury and doctor’s orders?
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Does my employer have the right to hold my PTO if earned and I need off do to a injury and doctor’s orders?
Asked on July 4, 2012 under Employment Labor Law, New York
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
While an employer cannot indefinitely prevent an employee from using PTO which he/she earned as part of his/her compensation, the employer can exercise a say over "when" the employee uses the PTO. That is, the employer can prevent the employee from using it if it a particularly busy time, or there is some large or important project the employee is working on; or if the employer is understaffed at that time; or if the employee didn't provide enough notice for the employer to compensate for the workload; etc.
There is no hard and fast rule as to when an employer is permissibly exercising its right to manage its staffing levels and business vs. when it is impermissibly refusing to allow an employee to use something he or she earned as part of compensation. If you feel your employer is simply not letting you use PTO, as opposed to telling you to simply not use it now due to business needs, you should speak with an employment law attorney to review your options. Good luck.
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