Submitted by max on Sun, 07/24/2011 - 20:20
I am an electrician and an employee at will. I accrue two weeks vacation time over the course of 1 year. Last week my company (based in RI ) had a company wide, "must attend" meeting for 4 hours. After the meeting my boss told me to "just go home,there was no work for that rest of the day". So I put on my time sheet 4 hours. I assumed I would not get paid for the other 4 hours that week. But my check now shows 4 hours regular work and 4 hours vacation time.Can my boss just do that? I will not be able to take a full day off now when I want to. My boss said "too bad because my company benefits are based on me working a 40 hour week.
Forced use of vacation time
Neither federal nor Massachusetts state law requires your employer to pay you for time not worked, even if you were willing to work during the time in question. So, for example, if you come to your place of employment ready to work an 8 hour shift, your employer can send you home early without having to pay for the full shift. However, the employer must pay the employee for a minimum of three hours for short shifts.
Accordingly, it seems as though your options are to get no pay for that four hours you did not work, or to use your vacation time to cover the time and maintain your average weekly pay. Your employer can use the vacation time to cover the difference. Hope that helps.