State employee leave time question, Ga.

[adams3009]

I work for an agency in the State of Georgia that is operated as a Community Service Board but my position with the agency is a salaried State of Georgia position with the same benefits as all state employees. I signed paperwork when I was hired that part of the benefits I receive are paid State holidays, annual leave, and sick leave. After accepting the position and working for a month, I was told that I will now have a billable service time requirement that is set at $5000 a month. Billable services are contacts made with/or for individuals on my caseload that can be billed to Medicaid or Private insurance. This was done across the board to all workers with the same position as mine and is not an unreasonable request most of the time since it averages out to 55% of the day would be spent doing billable service and the other 45% would be transportation and documentation . The problem is we are told that this amount will not be prorated for holiday or annual leave but will be for sick leave. This means that if an employee wants to use their annual leave for a week vacation they would have to work extra on other days to make up the lost revenue that they would have generated if they worked. Or worse if the State has a holiday and the agency is closed, the employee must produce extra work to make-up for this day that they had no option to work on and that was supposed to be a perk when hired. Essentially what it amounts to is the worker has to now buy their time off from the agency. Can the agency legally do this? To clarify, the agency does not want the employee to work overtime either, they want them to make-up this work somehow within an 8 hour work week.

[drruthless]

You need to post your question in the Labor Law forum, it does not belong here
thanks

[Betty3]

I'll move it to a more appropriate forum.

[adams3009]

You need to post your question in the Labor Law forum, it does not belong here
thanks

Sorry, I am still learning. I had difficulty figuring out how to even post a new thread, I finally found a prompt to start a new thread and did not realize it was in the wrong forum! Thanks for letting me know

[adams3009]

I'll move it to a more appropriate forum.

Thank You!

[adams3009]

Annual and Holiday Leave Question Georgia Georgia Georgia

I posted this in the wrong forum earlier today and was advised by one senior member that this may be a more appropriate forum for my dilemma. Hope I have it right this time

I work for an agency in the State of Georgia that is operated as a Community Service Board but my position with the agency is a salaried State of Georgia position with the same benefits as all state employees. I signed paperwork when I was hired that part of the benefits I receive are paid State holidays, annual leave, and sick leave. After accepting the position and working for a month, I was told that I will now have a billable service time requirement that is set at $5000 a month. Billable services are contacts made with/or for individuals on my caseload that can be billed to Medicaid or Private insurance. This was done across the board to all workers with the same position as mine and is not an unreasonable request most of the time since it averages out to 55% of the day would be spent doing billable service and the other 45% would be transportation and documentation . The problem is we are told that this amount will not be prorated for holiday or annual leave but will be for sick leave. This means that if an employee wants to use their annual leave for a week vacation they would have to work extra on other days to make up the lost revenue that they would have generated if they worked. Or worse if the State has a holiday and the agency is closed, the employee must produce extra work to make-up for this day that they had no option to work on and that was supposed to be a perk when hired. Essentially what it amounts to is the worker has to now buy their time off from the agency. Can the agency legally do this? To clarify, the agency does not want the employee to work overtime either, they want them to make-up this work somehow within an 8 hour work week.

[drruthless]

Das ist in der Doktor!

I posted this in the wrong forum earlier today and was advised by one senior member that this may be a more appropriate forum for my dilemma. Hope I have it right this time

I work for an agency in the State of Georgia that is operated as a Community Service Board but my position with the agency is a salaried State of Georgia position with the same benefits as all state employees. I signed paperwork when I was hired that part of the benefits I receive are paid State holidays, annual leave, and sick leave. After accepting the position and working for a month, I was told that I will now have a billable service time requirement that is set at $5000 a month. Billable services are contacts made with/or for individuals on my caseload that can be billed to Medicaid or Private insurance. This was done across the board to all workers with the same position as mine and is not an unreasonable request most of the time since it averages out to 55% of the day would be spent doing billable service and the other 45% would be transportation and documentation . The problem is we are told that this amount will not be prorated for holiday or annual leave but will be for sick leave. This means that if an employee wants to use their annual leave for a week vacation they would have to work extra on other days to make up the lost revenue that they would have generated if they worked. Or worse if the State has a holiday and the agency is closed, the employee must produce extra work to make-up for this day that they had no option to work on and that was supposed to be a perk when hired. Essentially what it amounts to is the worker has to now buy their time off from the agency. Can the agency legally do this? To clarify, the agency does not want the employee to work overtime either, they want them to make-up this work somehow within an 8 hour work week.

WoW!
So I guess what your saying is that in order to take off time, you have to make up ahead of time the difference in the loss of production while you are gone?
I thought I'd heard of everything.

Here's what I found on Vacation and holiday. Although it doesn't come anywhere close to addressing your situation.
Perhaps someone will come along who can provide further insight.
As far as what they're doing I really can't say with any certainty that it's illegal other than if there's no law prohibiting, it, don't be surprised if an employer will try and do it.

Vacation

In Georgia, employers are not required to provide employees with vacation benefits, either
paid or unpaid. If an employer chooses to provide such benefits, it must comply with the
terms of its established policy or employment contract.

An employer may lawfully establish a policy or enter into a contract denying employees
payment for accrued vacation leave upon separation from employment. See Shannon v.
Huntley’s Jiffy Store, Inc., 329 S.E.2d 208, 174 Ga. App. 125 (1985).

An employer may lawfully establish a policy or enter into a contract disqualifying employees
from payment of accrued vacation upon separation from employment if they are terminated.
See Ryvos v. St. Mary’s Hospital, 393 S.E.2d 739, 195 Ga. App. 474 (1990); Shannon v.
Huntley’s Jiffy Store, Inc., 329 S.E.2d 208, 174 Ga. App. 125 (1985).

An employer may also lawfully establish a policy or enter into a contract disqualifying
employees from payment of accrued vacation upon separation from employment if they fail
to comply with specific requirements, such as giving two weeks notice or being employed
as of a specific date of the year. See Amoco Fabrics & Fibers Co. v. Ray, 510 S.E.2d 591,
235 Ga. App. 821 (1998).

An employer is required to pay accrued vacation to an employee upon separation from
employment if its policy or contract requires it. See Shannon v. Huntley’s Jiffy Store, Inc.,
329 S.E.2d 208, 174 Ga. App. 125 (1985).

Georgia’s Legislature and its courts are silent regarding whether an employer must pay an
employee for accrued vacation upon separation from employment if the policy or contract is
silent regarding the matter. However, because of the contractual emphasis Georgia courts
place on vacation policies, it is unlikely an employer would be obligated to pay an employee
accrued vacation upon separation from employment if its policy or contract is silent
regarding the matter, unless the employer has a practice of doing so.

Although Georgia’s Legislature and its courts are silent regarding the matter, it is likely an
employer may cap the amount of vacation leave an employee may accrue over time. See
Shannon v. Huntley’s Jiffy Store, Inc., 329 S.E.2d 208, 174 Ga. App. 125 (1985).

An employer would also likely be free to implement a “use-it-or-lose-it” policy requiring
employees to use their leave by a set date or lose it. See Shannon v. Huntley’s Jiffy Store,
Inc., 329 S.E.2d 208, 174 Ga. App. 125 (1985).

Holidays

Georgia law does not require employers to provide employees with either paid or unpaid
holiday leave. In Georgia, an employer can require an employee to work holidays. An
employer does not have to pay an employee premium pay, such as 1 1/2 times the regular
rate, for working on holidays, unless such time worked qualifies the employee for overtime
under standard overtime laws. If an employer chooses to provide either paid or unpaid
holiday leave, it must comply with the terms of its established policy or employment
contract


.._________________
~ Free advice is like a public defender,
…you get what you pay for. ~ drr

[Betty3]

I transferred original thread to a more appropriate forum - OP later started a new thread. Will transfer info in this thread to original thread.

[adams3009]

Thank you

WoW!
So I guess what your saying is that in order to take off time, you have to make up ahead of time the difference in the loss of production while you are gone?
I thought I'd heard of everything.

Here's what I found on Vacation and holiday. Although it doesn't come anywhere close to addressing your situation.
Perhaps someone will come along who can provide further insight.
As far as what they're doing I really can't say with any certainty that it's illegal other than if there's no law prohibiting, it, don't be surprised if an employer will try and do it.

Vacation

In Georgia, employers are not required to provide employees with vacation benefits, either
paid or unpaid. If an employer chooses to provide such benefits, it must comply with the
terms of its established policy or employment contract.

An employer may lawfully establish a policy or enter into a contract denying employees
payment for accrued vacation leave upon separation from employment. See Shannon v.
Huntley’s Jiffy Store, Inc., 329 S.E.2d 208, 174 Ga. App. 125 (1985).

An employer may lawfully establish a policy or enter into a contract disqualifying employees
from payment of accrued vacation upon separation from employment if they are terminated.
See Ryvos v. St. Mary’s Hospital, 393 S.E.2d 739, 195 Ga. App. 474 (1990); Shannon v.
Huntley’s Jiffy Store, Inc., 329 S.E.2d 208, 174 Ga. App. 125 (1985).

An employer may also lawfully establish a policy or enter into a contract disqualifying
employees from payment of accrued vacation upon separation from employment if they fail
to comply with specific requirements, such as giving two weeks notice or being employed
as of a specific date of the year. See Amoco Fabrics & Fibers Co. v. Ray, 510 S.E.2d 591,
235 Ga. App. 821 (1998).

An employer is required to pay accrued vacation to an employee upon separation from
employment if its policy or contract requires it. See Shannon v. Huntley’s Jiffy Store, Inc.,
329 S.E.2d 208, 174 Ga. App. 125 (1985).

Georgia’s Legislature and its courts are silent regarding whether an employer must pay an
employee for accrued vacation upon separation from employment if the policy or contract is
silent regarding the matter. However, because of the contractual emphasis Georgia courts
place on vacation policies, it is unlikely an employer would be obligated to pay an employee
accrued vacation upon separation from employment if its policy or contract is silent
regarding the matter, unless the employer has a practice of doing so.

Although Georgia’s Legislature and its courts are silent regarding the matter, it is likely an
employer may cap the amount of vacation leave an employee may accrue over time. See
Shannon v. Huntley’s Jiffy Store, Inc., 329 S.E.2d 208, 174 Ga. App. 125 (1985).

An employer would also likely be free to implement a “use-it-or-lose-it” policy requiring
employees to use their leave by a set date or lose it. See Shannon v. Huntley’s Jiffy Store,
Inc., 329 S.E.2d 208, 174 Ga. App. 125 (1985).

Holidays

Georgia law does not require employers to provide employees with either paid or unpaid
holiday leave. In Georgia, an employer can require an employee to work holidays. An
employer does not have to pay an employee premium pay, such as 1 1/2 times the regular
rate, for working on holidays, unless such time worked qualifies the employee for overtime
under standard overtime laws. If an employer chooses to provide either paid or unpaid
holiday leave, it must comply with the terms of its established policy or employment
contract


.._________________
~ Free advice is like a public defender,
…you get what you pay for. ~ drr

Thank you for taking the time to respond. It is hard to say if this helps or not. What I read is that if the benefit is part of an established policy or employment contract then it must be provided according to those terms. After pondering this further, I really don't think my employer can enforce this new requirement. I am a government employee with the State of Georgia and holiday and leave time benefits are the same for all workers. I don't think they can take a select group of employees and have a different set of standards for the benefits that are afforded to all government workers in Georgia. Even when we have open enrollment for our flex benefits package the first page of that packet lists an employees salary and then calculates all the other benefits received including holidays and annual leave and assigns a dollar figure to it to show you "what all you are getting" in exchange for your low salary, least you forget how good you have it as a state employee.

[drruthless]

Das ist in der Doktor!

Thank you for taking the time to respond. It is hard to say if this helps or not. What I read is that if the benefit is part of an established policy or employment contract then it must be provided according to those terms. After pondering this further, I really don't think my employer can enforce this new requirement. I am a government employee with the State of Georgia and holiday and leave time benefits are the same for all workers. I don't think they can take a select group of employees and have a different set of standards for the benefits that are afforded to all government workers in Georgia. Even when we have open enrollment for our flex benefits package the first page of that packet lists an employees salary and then calculates all the other benefits received including holidays and annual leave and assigns a dollar figure to it to show you "what all you are getting" in exchange for your low salary, least you forget how good you have it as a state employee.

EEeeeyeha,
What I posted seemed to read as though it would pretty much apply to private employers in general.
So, you are an employee of the State, working for a private agency?
I guess that would throw a whole new slant on it
In any event, you might want to run this one by an Attorney, this ones out of my league.
Good Luck