JohnFerguson Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 Wondering if anyone else is an employee of a hospital system that does not offer any paid holidays for salary employees. The office is closed for holidays, but in order to be paid your regular salary, you are forced to use accrued PTO. Is this customary? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator ventana Posted November 7, 2014 Moderator Share Posted November 7, 2014 nope - not customary at all this is fine as long as they give you 8-12 paid holidays a year this is just an employer trying to take advantage of you - ----- stand up against this...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WeBuyAndSellJunk Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 I have a similar situation that I'd like some feedback about... I work for a wonderful place, but they close shop on "holiday" eves and force providers/staff to take PTO or get no pay (actual holiday is a paid vacation day). I find it to be incredibly unfair, but was told they simply cannot get enough people to work on these days to keep the doors open. FYI, this is community health and the budget is obviously tight. I'm not sure what to think about it, except that I really dislike being forced to use my PTO. Anyone else have this happen? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coloradopa Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 Wondering if anyone else is an employee of a hospital system that does not offer any paid holidays for salary employees. The office is closed for holidays, but in order to be paid your regular salary, you are forced to use accrued PTO. Is this customary? If you are hourly then they usually give PTO which includes holidays. On the other hand if you are salaried they are probably violating labor law. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treejay Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 I work at a clinic affiliated with a hospital. Am given 25 PTO days/year + 5 CME days. But about 9 of the PTO days I'm forced to take on designated holidays when the clinic is closed (Memorial Day, Thanksgiving x 2, Christmas eve, Christmas, New years, etc) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnFerguson Posted November 8, 2014 Author Share Posted November 8, 2014 More info on me: I accrue PTO per pay period based on 40 hour week. The hospital system provides no paid holidays but the office is closed and forces me to use PTO or take the day unpaid. Does anyone have labor laws that support that this is wrong that I can take to HR? Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DougalHP Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 I believe labor laws are state-based, which state are you in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnFerguson Posted November 12, 2014 Author Share Posted November 12, 2014 Indiana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HospitalExec Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 I don't know the supporting legislation by state to help you in a specific way, but I can offer a perspective on it. My assumption is that your PTO accrual accounts for holidays, the major 4 or 5 probably. Some places do it as different buckets like PTO, VAC, Sick. Other places just use one bucket, PTO. It seems like you might be in that camp. The reason is simple, hospitals can't close so they don't give people a designated day, they give the time. Think about med/surg nursing as a prime example. Nurses still need to be there on Christmas Day, so those nurses don't get off. But they don't lose that holiday, they just use the time some other day. It sounds like you work in an office practice. If there won't be patients there that day, Christmas Eve for example, it doesn't really make sense to have the office open since there won't be any work to do. (Simplification, I know there always is work to be done) Hourly employees get a choice, enjoy a free day off with no pay, essentially a Saturday in the middle of the week, or they can take PTO to keep their paycheck at 80hrs. Personal choice there. Since you are salaried, you probably feel like you're being forced to use PTO for things you don't want. You'd rather work the Friday after Christmas instead of using PTO because you'd prefer to use it for a summer vacation you have planned. I totally understand. How much PTO do you accrue a pay period / year and how many holidays are you forced to take off? We do something similar and my gut instinct is that this battle isn't worth fighting unless you are forced to use a significant portion of your PTO . Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnFerguson Posted December 2, 2014 Author Share Posted December 2, 2014 HospitalExec, Thank you for your reply. The Healthcare System/Hospital System I am employed through recognizes six holidays when the office is 'closed.' In addition to this, this office is closed the day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. (The last three days I mentioned are subject to change every year depending on what day of the week the holiday falls.) I acrrue 24 days of PTO per year or about 7 hours every two weeks. I just hate having to use more than a third of my accrued time on days when the office is closed. My PTO is in one bank as you mentioned....for use on holidays, office closures, sick days and vacation days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HospitalExec Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 I've been in the same situation, so I can identify with that. This year is about as bad as it gets because of how the holidays fall. 24 days is what our physicians receive, so you are being treated fairly there. However, we provide our offices with the option to stay open on some of those days If they can fill the schedule. On Christmas Eve, some offices will stay open until noon. The way you can handle it depends on how you are perceived by others. As in, do you act like an hourly worker and focus on the time , "The staff meeting went until 6pm, I should be getting paid more because I normally leave at 5" Or do you act like a professional and do the necessary work independent of the "hours". If you're the first type, you're not going to get much leeway. If you're the second type, I would suggest this. "Hey, I planned out my vacation days for the year plus I have a two week getaway in the summer. I won't have enough hours if I have to take X day off. Can I just take it unpaid?" The correct answer is no, you're salaried, so unpaid legally isn't an option. Grumble, grumble, they'll talk to HR. Likely they'll come back with something along the lines of don't worry about it, but don't go yelling it from the rooftops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnFerguson Posted December 3, 2014 Author Share Posted December 3, 2014 I truly fall into the category of "work until the work is done" despite the hours put in. My salary is based on a 40 hour work week but work 45-50 commonly. Funny you mention asking to take days off unpaid is illegal....that is the other option for holidays/office closure days instead of using PTO that I am told I can opt to do. I think I've just come to the realization that it isn't worth fighting although it still sits completely wrong in my mind. It's as if being a salaried employee is only beneficial to the employer if you get paid the same amount no matter how many hours you work whether it be 40 or 60. Don't get me wrong....I know this is how salary works, but I feel the employer doesn't hold up their end of the deal if you work less than 40, you are either penalized by having to use PTO or taking the time unpaid. Salary in my mind: We pay you X to do your job, no matter how long it takes you and you shall not be penalized for working less than 40 hours per week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loliz Posted December 5, 2014 Share Posted December 5, 2014 You're not really being penalized… your paycheck remains the same. That's why they do it. A salaried employee is based on 26 identical pay periods a year, having a PTO accrual is really only to keep track of how much elective time you take off. Basically your pay will be the same if you take a vacation or not. And it will be the same in a period with a holiday or one that does not have a holiday. I think trying to fight this would be a mute point and if you "won" may actually end up with your paycheck being decreased on thanksgiving week and a decrease in the amount of PTO hours accrued in a year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delco714 Posted December 7, 2014 Share Posted December 7, 2014 More info on me: I accrue PTO per pay period based on 40 hour week. The hospital system provides no paid holidays but the office is closed and forces me to use PTO or take the day unpaid. Does anyone have labor laws that support that this is wrong that I can take to HR? Thank you.That's me as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dndandrea Posted December 7, 2014 Share Posted December 7, 2014 Cleveland clinic does this as well. PTO is used for everything including holidays, sick days, vacation, etc... My father works for a radiology facility and he has the option to take no pay or use PTO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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