Leaving a job- PTO and extended illness bank payouts

They have to follow office policy, so it's dependent on your employer.

I've had offices that did not payout PTO in order to make you take time off. I've had offices that paid out PTO, but not sick leave.

Matter of fact, I can't ever remember being paid, or having to payout, for accumulated sick leave. Most companies just payout unused PTO in my experience.

My PTO, up to a point, was.

My sick leave was not...however, if I had returned to employment I believe up to 300 hours would be logged for use, assuming that much had been accumulated

I don't think there are any laws that dictate this.

In Louisiana, the Employment Security Law's supplemental policy guidelines state:

Vacation Pay - Payable upon separation
Sick Leave - Not required nor due upon separation
PTO - Not required or due upon separation

This does not mean that some companies do not honor their separating employees by paying Sick or PTO. It just means that as a business owner in the State of Louisiana, there is established policy, precedent and case law that has long ago established that those types of leave are not something you are owed as of your date of separation from your employer.

quote:

---

Vacation Pay - Payable upon separation
Sick Leave - Not required nor due upon separation
PTO - Not required or due upon separation

---

Most employers only offer PTO now to avoid paying out vacation if there is a separation.

IMHO, if you are laid off or fired, they should offer to pay you out. If you decide to leave...dude, that was your choice. Don't let the door hit you on the arse on the way out.

If it is accrued, you are paid out. If you get a lump sum on some random date, you arent paid out. That simple. It can be called PTO, Vacation, Oompa Lumpa days, etc etc. Accrued vs given are the important things

quote:

---

Last month, an intermediate appeals court in Louisiana held that accrued and unused paid days off constituted earned wages for which compensation was due to a former employee upon separation under the Louisiana Wage Payment Act

---

quote:

---

Whether termed vacation, sick, holiday or other form of “paid time off” (often shorthanded as “PTO”), all employers must analyze their PTO policies under state law to prevent unintended consequences thereof. Further, employer may wish to consider aggressive strategies to avoid payout obligations.

---

Lucky for them, the LWC doesn't know or willfully be advises people incorrectly of their rights.

quote:

---

If it is accrued, you are paid out. If you get a lump sum on some random date, you arent paid out. That simple. It can be called PTO, Vacation, Oompa Lumpa days, etc etc. Accrued vs given are the important things

---

Someone should tell this to the state of Louisiana, because they don't pay out sick time upon separation.

For Christ sake sick time is not included. Read the case. If Vacation is accrued, it is paid out. It doesnt matter what they term the vacation. People seem to think it being termed PTO and included with sick time waives them of their right upon seperation. It doesnt

quote:

---

Vacation pay due at termination? Vacation pay is considered “wages,” and once vacation time is accumulated, it is the property of the employee. Thus, unused earned time for paid vacation must be paid at termination. Penalties for violating compensation for vacation at termination are the same as for failure to pay last wages within 3 days of termination. Written or other policies requiring the forfeiture of such accrued rights are not enforceable (Beard v. Summit Institute, 707 So.2d 1233 (La. 1998)); (LA R.S. 23:631, 23:634, and 23:636).

---

quote:

---

Like other states, Louisiana permits the employer to designate how much of the total PTO is vacation time, and how much is comparable to sick leave or personal time. This designation should be made in writing, preferably in the employee handbook. The designation must be reasonable. If an employee receives 20 days of PTO, the employer cannot designate 19 days as sick leave and 1 day as vacation time. It would be reasonable to designate 10 days as vacation and 10 days as sick leave. The designation also needs to be the same for all employees.

---

quote:

---

I know they also only pay out 300 hours at 100% compensation.

---

I would say that is more than what would be deemed reasonable. Most employers would never even allow an employees vacation bank to go that high