Mandatory leave may be availed for many reason and the reasons may be anything from maternity leave to sick leave. The working of the mandatory leave policy varies from one state to the other. Below are a few questions that have been answered regarding mandatory leave policy: If an employee is on call during a mandatory leave, should that employee be paid? An employee may not be paid if he/she is needed to be on call via cell phone and has no restriction on movement. Prior to cell phones being used widely, the on call pay was set. On call pay was given because people needed to stay in close proximity of a land line so that they could get information of duty on call. Cell phones offer a lot of freedom on what one can do and people do not need to stay in close proximity of a land line. Hence, there would be no reason for one to be given on call pay. Do employees need to be offered sick leave mandatorily? There is no law that compels employers to give sick leave or vacation time to employees. However, the exception to this would be if they are subject to FMLA regulations. Majority of the employers give sick leave, PTO and vacation time, but it is not required that a payment is made for this. Would employees benefit from sick leave banks? Employees may set aside money so that it may be used during sickness and sick leave banks provide this chance. 12 weeks of job protected leave should be given to employees to recuperate from illness or to show care for loved ones, as per the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993. The employer is not required to pay the employee for this leave, but the employee should not be fired from the job for the leave that has been availed. Sick leave banks are of use in situations such as these. The employer usually governs the sick leave bank more so than the law. The policy of who qualifies is set by the employer. If an employee is injured, can this employee be forced to take mandatory leave? If there is no job or task that can be performed by the injured employee, then the employee may be forced to go on mandatory leave. In most cases, employers work with the employees so that tasks are assigned depending on the health condition of the employee. The employer would need to send the employee on mandatory leave till the employee recovers from the injury if there is no option left. Do employees need permission from the employer to cash out their sick days? It is not necessary for an employer to let an employee to “cash out” on their sick days. The collective bargaining agreement or a contract gives an opportunity to the employees to negotiate the “cash out” option. Only if there is an agreement in place, this option becomes available. If the employer has collected vacation time and sick time into paid time off (PTO) days, it may permit employees to cash out. Cash out option may be availed by employees on vacation time as per California law. One may not need an employment lawyer’s assistance with regards to mandatory leave, but it would be better to ask an employment lawyer to answer legal questions instead of consulting friends or co-employees.
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