Human Resource Blog

Days Off without Pay

In the State of New York:
Can a non-exempt employee take one day unpaid eventhough he/she has days in the “bank”, in other words, days accrued/earned?

This is entirely a matter of company policy. The employer is under no obligation to permit employees to take additional, unpaid days off, over and above the accrued or earned time off.

In many companies, an employee who took additional unpaid time off would be disciplined or even terminated. Employees are expected to work every day they are scheduled, not show up when it is convenient. This is true of both exempt and non-exempt employees.

Even if an employer did not provide any paid vacation, sick leave or paid holidays, the employer is not required to allow employees to take unscheduled, unpaid time off.

If the employer has more than 50 workers within 75 miles, under certain circumstances the employee might qualify for unpaid, job-protected leave under FMLA, the federal Family and Medical Leave Act. Employees are permitted to take FMLA when they have a serious health condition, to care for an immediate family member with a serious health condition, or for baby bonding with a newborn or newly adopted child.

We would not recommend that an employer permit employees to use unpaid days off at their whim. This creates a situation where employees only show up for work when they feel like it. The employer would never know who is going to be at work, and who is not.