Does an employer have a say in how you utilize your vacation time? Florida

[dotkristian]

I work for a company in Florida, and we have just been told by our manager that from now on, whenever we take a vacation, we must take a week at a time, not a few days here and there. A few co-workers and I feel that our employer has no say in how we use our vacation time. It is our time that we work for, we should be able to use it however we want.

This is not something that our company has implemented, it is something our manager has said to us. There has been no official release on a change in the policy about our vacation hours. Right now, the only stipulation is that we take a week off at first, then we can use our time however we want.

Any input is greatly appreciated.

[Johnny C]

As long as there isn't a state law saying that they can't and I am not aware of any state laws that say it, an employer can dictate how and even when you take your vacation time.

It is a benefit and they set the rules.

[dotkristian]

Ah, all right. Thank you.

[cbg]

And I can confirm that neither Florida nor any other state has a law prohibiting the employer from making such a requirement.

[Betty3]

Agree, employer can dictate when/how vacation is taken unless you have a binding employment contract or CBA to the contrary.

[dotkristian]

Yeah, I asked my uncle and he said the same thing you guys said. It's just disappointing from an employee standpoint. =(

[CarynG]

I worked for a company once that had a similar requirement as part of company policy. We had to take two consecutive weeks off per year, no exceptions. We handled large amounts of cash and the vacation requirement netted the company a discount on their insurance policy that covered embezzlement. The logic was that happy employees were unlikely to steal, and employees who took enough time off to recharge were more likely to be happy.

[Morgana]

Plus, if you have employees who have been doing something kinky with accounts or money, having to take a week off at a time means there is more likelihood that those kinds of issues will be discovered (or the ee will be less likely to try to do something like that).

[Pattymd]

Originally Posted by Morgana

Plus, if you have employees who have been doing something kinky with accounts or money, having to take a week off at a time means there is more likelihood that those kinds of issues will be discovered (or the ee will be less likely to try to do something like that).

Absolutely. It's a management best practice when it comes to minimizing risk in these areas. In almost every story you read about in the newspaper about employees who were caught embezzeling, you read "Mary came in early, stayed late, and never took any time off--we thought she was the perfect employee." Mary is now in prison for fraud and embezzlement.

[angel_28]

A company I worked for scheduled all vacation on a weekly basis at the start of the year. If my week was scheduled for May and i wanted to take time off in September, I had to negotiate with the employees who were scheduled during that time.
I missed several weddings and family events due to that policy, since I was not willing to pay a co worker to switch our time.

[Morgana]

Not to mention those who get vacations on a seniority basis and have to bid for it. Then you get what you get, and thats it.