Do you have to pay holiday pay if the employee was out for the week and half before and the Dr note says he can’t come back till after the holiday. FYI he has used all of PTO up and the whole week and half he was out was unpaid.

In short, my advice is to pay him.

To do this right, You have to ask a couple of questions:

1. Has this ever happened before and how did you handle the leave? If Yes, you need to follow suit and then re-write your policies to reflect your future actions.
2. If no – Do you have any written policies on a scenario like this? If not, decide how you would like to handle this in the future and write a policy.

Ok – So, assuming there is no written guidance or other past practice in this scenario, you will probably need to err on the side of caution. Holiday pay is usually in place as a benefit to all workers of a certain class – full-time employment usually being the criteria. So, if this employee qualifies for holiday pay, taking it away because he is out on a temporary disability may be unfair or worse, illegal.

If you have 15+ employees, you’re subject to the ADA – Americans with Disabilities Act. Even a temporary disability is covered – with or without a medical note. Refusing holiday pay in the absence of a written policy could be viewed as disability discrimination and could also lead to other discrimination claims.

November 2017

Tag: holiday pay, FMLA, ADA