I'm Such A Dork

“What a dork I am. I inquired about getting my weeks paid vacation paycheck to the HR dood at work, and guess what, he told me that when you are fired or leave on your own you forfit all vacation time.

IF ONLY I'D'VE KNOWN THAT BEFOREHAND!!!”

“Bummer!

From one dork to another. That's what my daughter calls me when I do that kind of dingbat thing.”

“Yes, always take vacation time unless they clearly state that they will pay you for unused vacation time.”

“Piss in their spring.”

“Some states like Ohio have laws against that. If you earned the time they have to pay it to you regardless of how you leave. One of my old employers fired someone and took his vacation. He sued and got paid for two 80/hr work weeks + court costs.”

“Of course Ohio is an "at-will" state. So they can let you go for any reason and you can quit for any reason without notice. So that's why they have the clause that makes them pay your vacation, I think.”

“Geez...anywhere I've ever worked, I've always gotten paid for vacation time. It's a benefit. You've earned it and they can't take it away from you. The only thing is that you have to earn it. For example...if you get 4 weeks/year vacation time and leave on June 30th, you've only earned 2 weeks vacation time. If you used a week of vacation in that 6 months, they would owe you for a weeks worth. If you used 3 weeks in that 6 months, they would hold back one week of your accrued pay.

Stuff like that should be covered in an employee handbook. If clearly stated that they do not owe you for any accrued vacation time, they have it in writing, especially if you signed something saying you read it.

All I'm saying is to ask them where it says you forfeit any earned or accrued and unused vacation time.”

“get a lawyer dude, just threaten them with a letter and they'll pay up.”

“Join a union next time, We get paid for everything :-)”

“I had the same thing happen to me. In Indiana if you are denied your vacation pay upon leaving a job, you can sue and get treble damages plus court costs. That means you get triple what you should have. I know it's addressed in the Indiana statutes, but it seems to me that an attorney told me there are federal rules to that effect as well. I'd check it out before giving up.

In my case as soon as I mentioned that statute and threatened to file a suit, my check was cut immediately.”

“Hey vicsaw, check out the night crawlers thread!!! :)”

“GET A UNION, an employer can fire you for any reason and you don't have any recourse unless you organize! I have been a UAW member since 1985 and all the benefits anyone has now are because unions fought for them. Some of the old autoworkers would tell me of the first water coolers they put in the old Cadillac plant in Michigan. Before that they all drank from a faucet!”

“I'm pretty sure that South Carolina and North Dakota are the only states that allow a company to withhold compensation that you have earned/accrued when you quit. That compensation includes vacation. I would recommend that you look up fair labor laws in your area. You can probably find the answers you need without hiring someone. Armed with the right information, if your previous employer doesn't cave, drive them into the ground for breaking the law and being weasly bastards.”

“dood...just go postal on them.....they deserve it”

“Get an attorney if after your initial investigation you think you're right. You'll end up way better in the long run. And your ex-employer likely will be required to pay your attorney's fees as well.

A lot of times just a simple talk with the boss about your intention to file a suit will get you the result you're looking for. Giving you your vacation pay will cost them way less than paying to defend themselves in your suit, even if the statutes in your state don't support your claim.

You catch more bees with honey than with vinegar.”

“we lose our sick time if we leave - i've got about 600 hours of it accumulated, but we get paid for accrued vacation time no matter what.”

“Sounds like you need a mental health trip--like 'I'm sick of work' and going backpacking.”

“I ended up calling the HR dood at work after posting this thread amd explained to him how long I've worked for the company, that I was always there and could be counted on, and never took a day off w/o asking, an a lead builder with guys working for me, and how much the money means to me. I didn't however mention anything about attorneys, and I probably won't.

That employer was there for me when I desperately needed employment, so I doubt if I will push the sueing issue.

He did seem to sympathize with me and said he'll see what he can do. We'll see.”

“Hey.... you can't let them get away with that. That is a legitimate cost of doing business, and they figure it into their budgets. If they get away with it, they can take thier wives out to dinner, on your dime!!!!


That is your money, legally and rightfully earned by you. They would never try that with a 401K. Just because they hold it and administer it doesn't matter. Set the precedent for all future cases where someone leaves a job.”

“We got it put in our Union Contract that if we suddenly no longer work there then they have to pay us for any owed Vacation time.
We can also Cash in Vacation time at any time.”

“It can be considered breach of contract. Be sure to get your company policy book that explains vacations, how you earn them, and how they are dispursed.

You may be entitled to a pro-tared earned vacation credit.”

“Your 401K is protected by federal laws, however, for vacations, there is no direct federal or state protections unless you are governed by a collective baragining agreement (union). The only recourse that Buddur has is to loosely tie his vacation time to a breach of contract, in which he'd have to hire an attourney and go after the employer in civil court.”

“Buddur - You're such a dork.”

“BB, I am almost 100% certain that there are laws governing all employers that prevent them from rescinding accrued vacation. I spoke with the director of human resources for a large (non-union) company about this last night. She confirmed my understanding of this.”

“It states in the employee handbook that you *forfit* all vacation time when leaving.

After hearing all this technical chit y'll have spewed, I tried to find these *laws* on the Net, but to no avail. If I did I would've brought it up to the HR dood, but so far, imo, it's just hearsay.

Oh well, I got the HR dood to give me 3 days of vacation time. Our time was given to us on Jan 1, and if it were accrued I'd have almost 2 days by now. So I guess 3 days isn't bad.”

“hmmm vacation time eh??? well how about this i worked for my company for two years and 3 months....i had aquired two weeks of time off...i have only taken one day this year...you think i can get the rest of my time off paid...i left without notice but im just wondering...”

“Hey, dork, whatcha gonna do w/ those 3 vacation days????”

“Buddur, you handled that well - didn't burn any bridges or try to nail a company that had treated you well, and still got what you earned. Good for you!”

“yeah, sounds like you did good, now what are you gonna do with those three days?

hey, go hiking?”

“Well done, Buddur.

Never burn bridges if you can help it. But you knew that already.”

“Iffin' there's a hand book, you kinda gotta go with it. And you left the bridges standing too. Here's an "atta boy", right at you.”

“Fwiw, I had an employer try to pull the same chit on me (in Michigan). It was most gratifing to see the look on his face when the judge awarded me my vacation time. The chewing out he got was a big bonus.
You earned it. Take it.”