Vacation PTO not on contract as promised
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Vacation PTO not on contract as promised
While being offered a new job, my husband requested two weeks vacation for a trip that has already been planned. The hiring manager was able to approve it. When my husband asked if it should be on the offer letter he said it would be on the contract. When he showed up to work on his first day, it showed up as the two weeks vacation is unpaid vacation. The HR is saying because my husband did not specify that he was requesting PTO they will not pay him for the two weeks. Had he known this, he would have stayed at his old job where he would have gotten the PTO and then had his start date to after our trip. Do we have a case in this situation?
Asked on August 15, 2016 under Employment Labor Law, Texas
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
In theory, your husband should be able to sue his employer based on "promissory estoppel" to get the two weeks paid, since it would be reasonable to expect the two weeks would have been PTO. Promissory estoppel is a legal theory that can be used to enforce a promise when all the following criteria are met:
1) A promise is made to induce or make you do something (like change jobs);
2) To do that thing, you'd have to do something to your detriment (like leaving an existing job, or switching jobs just before using PTO at the old job);
3) The person making the promise knew, or reasonably (logically) should have known that you would have to do something to your detriment;
4) Despite knowing the above, they made the promise anyway; and
5) It was reasonable for you to rely on the promise (no warning signs or reasons to be suspicious).
Based on what you write, promissory estoppel may apply here. But as stated, to try to get the money, your husband would have to sue his employer, which is obviously a drastic step; you may wish to consider whether, as a practical matter, you're better off working for the overtime, as unfair as that is in some ways, rather than suing your employer.
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