The US wage law lets employers take away paid leave when productivity quotas aren't met

3/16/2023

Per Reuters

A recent ruling by the federal appeals court ruled that employers were allowed to take away paid leave when productivity quotas weren't met. Under the US wage law, this would reportedly apply to salaried workers.

The recent ruling said the US wage law dictates that accumulated paid time off wasn't part of a worker's salary. The ruling was unanimous and was handled by a three-judge panel of the Philadelphia-based 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals.

The ruling dictated that Bayad Home Health Care Inc, the company subject of the case, did not violate federal wage law. The company reportedly docked paid time offs whenever the required weekly hours weren't met.

Here are some of the results of the court's rulings.

Paid time off is a fringe benefit
Paid time off can be paid irregularly
Paid time off doesn't affect a worker's wages
Paid time off can be paid when a worker leaves the company.

The panel also classified a salary as compensation that the company pays out at regular intervals. It ruled that paid time off did not require regular intervals and was classified as a fringe benefit.

Bayada, the company mentioned in the ruling, operates in 23 states and is based in New Jersey. It was noted that the company had around 28,000 employees, including nurses, physical therapists, and social workers.

The ruling comes from Bayada being sued by a group of employees in the federal court of Scranton, Pennsylvania, in 2016.

Last month, it was found that employees are starting to check out of work more than ever. This was true for workers whether they were remote, hybrid, or onsite.

It was also found that the burnout rate for desk job workers surpassed pandemic peak numbers at 40%.

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Reuters

US Circuit Court of Appeals