I was laid off in Nov 2016 with a call back date in april 2017. Will i still get my vacation days coming, March 28th, of 2 weeks or did i lose that because i was laid off but remained on schuele. Thanxs! Note: upon return(s) after layoffs, other employyee

Maybe. Are you union? Contract? Did you claim unemployment benefits? Could you have been called back earlier? Were you working someplace else during the layoff? Pension, other benefits continued during layoff i.e. health insurance?

Try to argue continuity of employment. Meaning you never left.

Remember that we in the U.S. have no right to vacation time or pay. We are pretty much expected to work 24/7. So your goal should probably be to get back to work first and then ask questions and push the envelope so to speak on benefits after you have been back on the job for a while.

If you were starting a brand new job you would probably want to know the vacation, benefits, etc... before you started. So if you act like nothing has changed and proceed as if you are entitled to take vacation, maybe it will work out that way. If your employer thinks you just want to return to claim your vacation and then leave you can predict how that will turn out.

A lot of what we do as employment lawyers is figure out how to get employers to do what our clients want without direct threats or filing lawsuits. That's where many employees get it wrong. They think that hiring a lawyer means litigation. If that's what you get off the bat you probably hired the wrong lawyer.

In your case you should probably do the same. Try to get what you want without the threats or the lawsuit. Good luck.

posted by V Jonas Urba  |  Feb 21, 2017 4:10 PM [EST]