Somehow this doesn't seem right, but maybe I'm missing something... My husband (construction) took a week's paid vacation 2 months ago when he was on a job at his normal hourly rate (and was paid for it at that hourly rate - we'll call it $15/hour).

Now that he is on a 'rate job' for a few weeks (substantially more money per hour - we'll call it $50 per hour), his employer is going to take out the 40 hours he got paid for in December at this new rate - so he'll essentially be losing a week's pay at this new rate AND losing his week's "paid" vacation.

So - he got a week's vacation in December and grossed $600. Now he's going to have $2,000 gross taken out of his first paycheck to make up for it???

Does this make any sense to anyone???? Apparently this company has done this "forever" and "does it to everyone". They are incorporated (not private, not an LLC) and he is salaried, not a subcontractor.

I'm confused. Are you saying they are going to reduce his future pay? Has he accrued vacation since then, either under the old rate or the new rate? How is he "losing" a week's vacation?

If I'm reading it right:
Employee A took a paid vacation paid at $15/hour (does this accrue at the employer? Does the employee have Paid time off benefits? if so what are they exactly?)

Employee A then took a rate job at $50/hour from the same employer

The employer informs Employee A they will be reducing his pay from the $50/hour job and taking back 40 hours at $2000 to "pay back" the 40 hour paid vacation he was paid $600 for.

Am I understanding that right?

Thanks for the replies. Sorry for the delay (family emergency).
Husband gets one week pd vacation each year and one personal day on his 'anniversary' date which is during the summer. It does not accrue (he can take it all at any time). He took it in December when he was on a job at his regular rate of $15/hour. He is now on a rate job of $50/hour and they are only paying him $35/hour and calling the difference "Fringe Benefit" and taking the $15/hour as a deduction for 48 hours worth (5 vacation days and one personal day's worth) - in other words, for the first 6 days he works, he only gets paid $35/hour. After that, he gets the full $50/hour. People who have 2 weeks' vacation and 2 personal days lose 96 hours worth of work at the full rate (12 days at $35/hour instead of the full $50 before they are paid the full rate).

They don't "inform" you they are doing anything - it just shows up on your paycheck as a "fringe benefit" deduction. It must be legal as they've done it for years and years. They win several state rate jobs and I can't imagine this practice is TECHNICALLY illegal if they've done it this long... I just don't understand the how's. I thought posted rate was posted rate. I understand they are allowed to take vacation as long as you take vacation while you are on that rate job, but this makes no sense to me.

Just because he can take it immediately upon his anniversary date doesn't necessarily mean it isn't earned as time goes by. A lot of employers allow employees to "go negative" in their vacation bank (although best practice is that it isn't a good idea).

I have to say, though, that this is definitely a creative (and I use the term sarcastically) policy that, in my 30+ years in payroll, I've never heard of before. And I'm not at all sure that there is a law prohibiting this "adjustment", other than if he has a contract or other agreement stating that his rate is now $50 an hour, in which case he could possibly have a breach of contract. Another way of putting it is, even if it might be legal under wage and hour law, or even under a bona fide contract that he might have, it stinks.:mad:

I'd be interested in hearing other professional opinions, though.

I completely understand "earned" vacation time - we have that where I work - but what I don't understand is how they can take the money out of your paycheck and then call it "paid vacation".
He already got paid for the 3 V. days he took and the personal day, hasn't taken the other 2 V days, and they've already taken out 6 days' worth of paid time off. How can they say they offer "paid time off" as a benefit if they take the money out of your pay for it (ahead of time or otherwise)?
The employer doesn't do this unless the guys get put on a prevailing wage job - then the hacking starts - everyone else just gets paid for their time off (they don't "pay for it themselves").

I know I'm beating a dead horse here, but we're talking almost $900 in gross pay which is alot of money for alot of people (including us).

I don't really expect any reply - I'm just venting and would LOVE to see a law or "regulation" that states where this is OK. There's nothing about it in his contract (it just says he may or may not be put on a prevailing wage job and it is at the employer's discretion).

The problem is, there doesn't have to be a law giving an employer permission to do this. As long as there isn't a law prohibiting it, they can pretty much manage their vacation policies as they like. PA is NOT one of the states that considers vacation time to be wages.