PTO not in the budget for remainder of year

[galaxygirl17]

My manager informed us recently that we cannot use our PTO for the rest of the year due to a budget issue. Is this a common policy / problem?

[brandy1017, ASN, RN]

On 11/8/2019 at 10:35 PM, galaxygirl17 said:

We have a use it or lose it for over 160 hrs. And we also had a major software change where we couldn’t use PTO. This new period of time falls between that and the holiday blackout period

I would contact the dept of labor and see if you have any legal rights. My understanding is PTO is essentially equivalent to wages and must be paid out if you are not allowed to use it.

If it were me I would fight this and not let them take away your PTO by not letting you use it before the end of the year.

I would check into both your legal rights in your state and also the federal govt. Some states have more worker protections re PTO payout than the national federal govt. You can also research on the NOLO website for more info.

To me what they are doing is essentially wage theft. It happens every day in this country and especially in healthcare, starting with all the staff working thru their lunch and not getting paid to what appears to be happening here. I've read about this and generally PTO is yours, but sick pay isn't considered yours. To my understanding, the exception is that some states allow companies not to pay out your PTO when you leave if it is against their policy which I think is ***! I'm sick of how these corporations try to abuse and steal from their workers.

Please get back to us on what you find out about your legal rights! Maybe this could even turn into a class-action lawsuit, that commonly happens due to the routine wage theft of no lunches that aren't paid. The staff will then eventually get backpay. As to unpaid no lunches, I've read the federal govt offers more protections than the state I live in anyway. Then staff get back pay. Don't let them steal this hard-earned benefit from you!

[brandy1017, ASN, RN]

On 11/11/2019 at 11:10 AM, SpankedInPittsburgh said:

If the place you work for us too broke to pay earned PTO find a new place to work as it indicates either financial insolvency or that they are just lying to your face

I would believe the latter. They want to make up for the money they spent on computer upgrades off the backs of the nurses' PTO! Don't let them do it!

You can research your organization via google. You may find articles from your local business journal and other healthcare media regarding any financial issues your place may be having. But again unless you work for a nursing home, small private home health agency, inner-city or rural area hospital; I would imagine they are just trying to save money by denying PTO and thereby never paying out what the staff is owed.

I believe this is illegal, but many illegal things are done on a daily basis these days! So many nurses never fight back due to ignorance of the law or fear of retaliation. There is a federal whistleblower law that protects you for speaking out about something illegal.

[Kooky Korky, BSN, RN]

On 11/11/2019 at 12:17 PM, Sbhayes09 said:

To me, this is the same as them saying they can't afford to pay you for days you work. They've run out of money for days that you are guaranteed to have in the agreement. If you lose them if you're not allowed to take them, I would find out if they can add them to next year or something to fix it.

No. you don't want an empty promise that you will receive something later. She needs to get the heck out. Burn up her PTO in order to find a new job.

[CritterLover, BSN, RN]

How legal this is depends on what state you are in. Most states do not have any guidelines re: PTO. It also depends on what is written in your employee handbook regarding taking PTO.

PTO is generally considered to be a liability accounting wise because the company needs to keep enough liquid assets to account for the amount of PTO that is out there. It is quite possible that not all facilities follow this "rule" but most do.

My best guess -- based mostly off your statement that it is only YOUR unit that is doing this -- is that there aren't enough staff to cover PTO without using staff in OT and/or agency personnel, and using staff in OT and/or agency personnel would cause your unit to go over budget and thus cause someone in your management line (manager, director, etc) to lose out on their yearly bonus. This is particularly likely if your facility's fiscal year coincides with the calendar year, but it is only a guess.

If staff in other areas of your facility can take PTO then it is not a solvency issue.

[CharleeFoxtrot, BSN, RN]

OP, did you ever get an answer from HR?

[canoehead, BSN, RN]

On ‎11‎/‎9‎/‎2019 at 12:17 AM, MunoRN said:

PTO is part of your agreed upon compensation, so unless it's explicitly stated that the employer can rescind your banked PTO, the employer is failing to provide agree upon compensation, which isn't legal.

We may not get approved for time off, but we can cash it out. Not ideal, but legal.