Human Resource Blog

Wisconsin Vacation

	Attendance Management
Vacation Request / Response Form Weekly Time Sheets Attendance Calendar for 2008, 2009, or 2010 Annual Attendance Tracker Vacation Request Form for 2008, 2009, 2010 (Calendar) Detailed Absence Report

	Benefits
Total Compensation Summary Performance Improvement Plan Performance Appraisal and Review Employee Payroll Status/Change Form Employee Change Form

	Compensation
Employee Payroll Action Form W-4 Employee Withholding Allowance Cert. Employee Payroll Status/Change Form Direct Deposit Form Total Compensation Summary

I have been working at Fort Mccoy for over 20 years, job title: kitchen help.During this time, 5 different contracts and company changes have been made. Never once did I lose my accrued vacation. My employer [Name Deleted] from MS…. now said all employees will lose all their previous vacation time. I work in the same building, do the same job. Has the labor laws “CHANGED”. Thank you, please reply.

According to the Labor Standards Bureau of the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development,

Wisconsin employers can set their own policy regarding payment of vacation upon termination.

Many employees believe that all HR policies are the same from one company to the next, but that is not correct. In this as in other matters of company policy, each company is free to set its own rules. What Company A does has no bearing on the policies of Company B.

Some Wisconsin employers have a policy that they pay workers for earned vacation upon termination – but there is no law that they must do so. Nor is there a law that when a company is purchased, the new owner must honor all prior accrued vacation.

In this case, the situation complicated because the previous employer’s contract expired. So, even though the employee is doing the same job in the same building, she is working at a new job for an entirely different company. While the new company can honor the workers accrued vacation, they are under no obligation to do so.

It’s even more comples because the worker is a civilian employee on a federal military base. In that case, the federal, rather than Wisconsin law may prevail. Federal law sets few if any regulations on company vacation policy.

Another way to look at this is that the employee has been very lucky. In 4 out of 5 cases, she was permitted to keep earned vacation time when changing employers. She could have lost her vacation in all 5 cases.