I am an exempt Manager in Florida. The company I work for has a good vacation plan. My problem is that the managers above me have stated when you are a manager you really are never on vacation. In other words the whole time you are on vacation they expect you to answer emails and answer questions and still work. This is not spelled out in writing any where Yesterday I had to take the day off due to a medical problem with my wife. My boss called and was wondering why i was not answering email. I was on vacation the first week of July and I got several calls from employees on my cell phone and pager from employees that are not under my managment. I turned off the pager and my cell phone. Then they started calling my home number. This is a nation wide corporation with over 2000 employees. I was just wondering what if any options I have. A vacation is supposed to be time to get away and not think about work. With the defintion my bosses have given me it looks as if I am not even allowed to leave town on vacation.

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not require payment for time not worked, such as vacation. These benefits are a generally a matter of agreement between an employer and an employee. As such, your best option seems to be to discuss the situation with your manager and let him know that you have plans to be out of town for your vacation and that you will be unavailable for phone calls and e-mails. Perhaps a compromise can be reached.

Good luck to you!