I have a friend that is currently going through a company buy out. The old company is being taken over by the new company effective Feburary 1st.
One co-worker was eligible for two weeks vacation starting in September 2008 and my friend was eligible for his two weeks in November 2008. Neither have taken any vacation time since they go thier two weeks.
Come February the new company says they will get two weeks vacation.
My friend and his co-worker are insisting that they should get the two weeks vacation from the old company. They want paid straight out for those two weeks and then still get the 2 weeks vacation from the new company is offering come February 1st.
I could understand them complaining if they were getting two weeks from the old company and the new one was only offering one week, then they may have a reason to complain, but they have really not lost anything. They had two weeks before and they still have two weeks.
I don’t think they can demand the old company pay them for the two weeks. I would think that kind of thing would roll over to the new company and was probably in the buy out deal.
I have went through five company buy outs and only one time do I remember there ever being a vacation issue and that was only to grandfather some people in that were close to there next vacation time bump.
What do you guys think? Are they really eligible to be paid for the two weeks vacation from the old company and then get the new two weeks starting February 1st?
The first question is in which state or province do these people work? Buyout or not, vacation policy is subject to state/provincial laws and regulations.
I think that would come under the NLRB not state.
The old company could pay out vacations before sellling, but not required. Then they would be new hires and would begin to accure vacation at the time of the buy out. But no they can not collect two vacations for the same time worked.
It may depend on how the vacation time is earned.
My SO’s company credits him with a years worth of vacation, on January 1, to cover his employment over the next year. So he is being pre-credited with vacation time. If he uses all his vacation in January, and then leaves the company, he actually owes time/money back.
When I started working, I got a year’s worth of vacation time on my anniversary, but it was earned the year before. So no vacation year one.
Now I get earn several hours of vacation time per paycheck, accruing as I go.
So if your friend’s old company credited vacation time for time already put in, and the new one credits for time yet to be put in, then maybe they are owed those hours.
We live in Ohio.
I will ask how they get the vacation. I believe it is on their anniversary with the company and not accuring, which is why they got it at separate times of the year.
I know where I work it is accuring so everyone starts fresh in January.
I am not sure how the new company is doing things. My friend is not really telling me much other than they are fighting to get their two weeks from the old company and want it in money.
I would think if they want to fight about it that instead of asking for it in a check they would fight to just keep those two weeks along with the additional two weeks they are going to get in February. I know when our company changed hands once and our vacations were on our anniversary that some that just got their days were carried over but they did not get money for them just the days earned.
The new company sounds good from some things he is telling me. They will offer a health and dental plan as well as life insurance. They did not have those at the old company.
Of course there are going to be changes. I have been through it five times. I have all the t-shirts and the coffee cups.
I have tried to tell him the best thing to do is to just stay calm, do your job and keep off the radar. He does not want to be making waves and complaining about new polices or they will find someone from their own current staff to replace him.
If someone had no vacation (or if they took two weeks off starting right now), would they be bumped up to two weeks? If someone had four weeks accrued, would they lose two weeks?
When my company was taken over, our unused vacation time was carried forward until you used it up. Of course, you had to use Old Company vacation time before you could use New Company Vacation time. No one was paid for Old Company Vacation time…it was just extra days you may have.
New Company vacation time expires at the end of the year. I lost four vacation days this year.
When Macy’s bought out Charter Halley Hale there was a battle over vacation.
CHH policy was to accrue time one year to take the next. Also no vacation from October to Feb.
Macy’s pollicy was no vacation the first year. In Janurary everyone is credited with a years vacation. If you leave before the years end and have not taken vacation you are paid from Jan 1 until you final day. If you have taken vacation, more than your credit then you have to pay it back.
In the take over I and some others got laid off the end of Feb. They had planed on only paying for vacation from Jan to Feb. One of the Chiefs (he was owed vacation for 16 months) hand delievered a letter to personel with the labor codes. He explained that he could also use the penilities that would come with them not paying on time. We all got out full payout.