New York State Employment- My employer is advising that if we were to take PTO on a Friday (4/9) and they mandate OT on the Saturday (4/10), we must either work that day or take PTO as it is a mandated work time. Is this legal?

New York employers do not have to provide PTO or paid time off.

But beginning in 2021 New York employers statewide must provide paid sick leave. Here is a general link:

https://www.ny.gov/programs/new-york-paid-sick-leave

Since the paid sick leave is mandatory, not optional, some employers have begun cutting back on PTO or even eliminating it completely unless it is related to illness.

Employers can require employees to work whatever their business necessity requires. Some employers earn most of their money on weekends so working those hours might be a legitimate business necessity.

Of course, employees may request accommodations to exclude working certain days or times if such requests are supported by the protected class or classes to which they belong. Your question references no such classes of protection.

Review your employee handbook carefully. Most employers follow it uniformly for all employees. Although most handbooks are not contracts, if your employer is not following theirs ask human resources for clarification.

Unless you belong to a union protected by a collective agreement or have a private employment contract or work as a civil servant, be careful about an employer's mandate to take PTO. Employers, excluding the groups mentioned above, can eliminate PTO completely for everyone. Maybe contact the NLRB about how to organize your employer's employees to unionize before challenging taking mandatory PTO or you might be facing many unhappy co-workers if everyone's PTO is taken away.

posted by V Jonas Urba  |  Apr 8, 2021 08:49 AM [EST]