Summer (And With It, Summer Vacations) Is Coming!

As we head into the start of summer and employees begin to request more time off for vacation, this is a great time to review your vacation policies to ensure they are legally compliant and meet business needs.

With the exception of certain state or local paid sick leave laws, employees generally do not have a right to paid vacation unless an employer has voluntarily agreed to provide paid vacation (i.e., through a policy, practice or contract). However, once an employer decides to provide vacation, it must be mindful of a number of potential pitfalls and legal hurdles. Some of the key issues to consider addressing in your vacation policy are the following:

• Ensure adequate guidelines and reasonable restrictions on the use of vacation time, such as requiring advance notice and approval from management before time off can be granted, and addressing how scheduling conflicts will be handled. Not having such guidelines could result in too many employees taking