I'm trying to get some answers regarding payout of earned pto when an employee is terminated. The answer I get from the NE Dept of Labor is that the company does have to pay the pto and it was recently reaffirmed in a settled lawsuit. The employer seems to think that it isn't cut and dry and in early postings on this site, it is mentioned that NE does not have a law requiring payout. I'm confused.

The key words appear to be "recently affirmed in a settled lawsuit". Sounds as if new case law may have recently been made.

The state DOL website currently appears to support the position that unused time needs to be paid out.

What did the DOL say to do if such time is not paid?

They didn't really say, just that I would have 4 years to pursue the matter and they can't offer legal advice.

What is your employer's position? Knowing why he feels "it isn't that cut and dried" might help.

This was their response: While you may feel entitled to this money, there are arguments to the contrary and this is a disputed claim. The recent Nebraska case involved vacation pay and did not mention PTO, which is arguably a much different benefit as it involves all types of paid leave, including bereavement, personal days, etc., and we believe the court did not contemplate the payment of each and every type of paid leave benefit at termination with this decision. Also, it is unclear whether this case applies retroactively or strictly on a going forward basis. Your employment had been terminated long before this case was decided. It is my understanding that there are many other unanswered questions from this case, so to suggest that it's an open and shut discussion is not accurate.

I have a feeling there are some missing pieces to this puzzle.

When was your employment terminated?

November 2006 at which time they paid out a portion of earned pto.

Depending on how the PTO policy is written, a portion may have been all that was due. A lot of people mistakenly assume that they are entitled to all the PTO that would have been accrued throughout the year. That is not the case.

It is also true that if the case law had not yet been established at the time your termination, your employer is not necessarily required to go back retroactively to employees who were termed beforehand.

I don't think we can resolve anything further in this format. You are free to see if the state DOL will intervene on your behalf or if you can find an attorney who thinks your claim has merit.