Okay, I have bad news. The guy at the attorney general's office (617-727-3465) told me that vacation time and use is at the discretion of the employer. When I specifically asked if the employer could require the employee to use the day, he said yes. I then asked if the employee had the option to not be paid for the day (as opposed to taking the day), and he said that it was at the discretion of the employer.

I asked for a cite, and he gave me Ch. 149, section 148. I had already looked at the section, and did not see anything that I thought applicable. I'm a little rusty, so could one of the other lawyer people take a look and see if they think it applies? [link]

And for God's sake, Mass legislators, learn to use a period! The first 3/4 of the damn page is one run on sentence!!

Were these people raised by wolves?

Wolves have better manners.

As for the holiday leave--maybe they just don't pay for holidays and if you want to get paid, you have to take them as "vacation". And what Cindy said. DH's office has now lumped all their vacation/sick time together and it's very strange.

Some business, depending on their size are also exempt from some labor laws concerning leave/vacation time, etc.

ha! Bev, her son, and I had this conversation last week.

Gronk.

There's nothing that I have to do today. There's some studying and research I need to do, but it could just as easily be done tomorrow. I'm trying to convince myself that I ought to get dressed and go into my office and get some reading done, but it's not really working so far.

Also, in unrelated news, boys are confusing.

Is it legal to require workers to smoosh their 15 min. together to form a lunch break, and therefore have no coffee breaks in a, say, nine hour day?

Officially, my company allows a 1 hour lunch for anyone working over 6 hours. No other breaks. However, in practice, it is not that rigid.

The pdf "advisory" I read from the AG's office mentions earned time, but doesn't mention holidays...

Annual Leave

Some employers combine sick leave, personal leave, vacation leave, and/or other types of leave into one general category called “annual leave.” This combined leave is also called paid time off, earned time, or paid days off. Employers who provide annual leave instead of vacation leave should designate the amount of hours or days of the leave which are considered vacation time. Employers who have previously designated vacation time in this manner, whether orally or in writing, shall produce proof of such designation to rebut a complaint of unpaid wages pursuant to G.L. c. 149, § 148.

Also, Vortex, thanks for calling!

In totally frivolous news, I just found a new source for my green neon wig. In the UK. Oh well - I haven't been able to find a replacement wig for a couple of years, so I'm happy now. Who would think this would be something difficult?

Go Nora and Vortex!

Vacation is a benefit and companies don't have to give even one day. It is entirely at the discretion of the employer and they can make whatever rules they like, pretty much. AS for rest breaks, take a look at this link. [link]

That being said, vacation time and break time do a LOT to attract and keep good workers, so it is in the company's interest to have it.

Love and Kisses,
Human Resources Person