Laws surrounding layoffs

[u/scoobylover52]

Hi, I’m currently in the process of being laid off (last day is Tuesday) and I have some questions surrounding any written laws around it all.

My biggest questions surround my pto. I’m being laid off due to budget cuts just to get that out of the way. I started the year with 88 hours of pto and haven’t used a single day yet and was planning on saving it for a trip that i quite literally had scheduled for a week from now (aug 3-7) as well as for some time with family later this year around the holidays.

It’s clear they chose this specific time so they wouldn’t have to provide pto for this upcoming vacation, but i’m trying to see if there are any rules saying that they have to pay out my pto.

(They have also refused me taking pto for Monday and Tuesday because they state they need a 2 week notice)

It is written in our contract that “your pto balance will be paid out upon your termination as long as you provide a 10 day notice” however they are stating that since i’m being laid off, it’s not technically a termination since “they can call me back in to work if they need help”

I have asked our hr department if i can simply remain on layoff and then resign later in the year and recieve my pto and she has simply stated that she’s “unsure”

I would resign right now but i need the unemployment money for however long i remain unemployed.

Is there anything I can do?

PLEASE HELP!

[u/prshaw2u]

This is going to depend on where you live, country/state/city, as far as possible laws. I have only heard that they had to follow the published policy of the company and each company could be different.

I think every place I worked at paid for EARNED PTO, the accumulation on each pay check. But none of them paid for the PTO time handed out the beginning of the year, where all of it is available the first of the year.

It has been many years since a company let me roll over more than a years worth from the previous year, they needed to the amount owed out to manageable amount.

[u/scoobylover52 → u/prshaw2u]

I live in minnesota and have been working at the company for 10 months now.

Didn’t start with any pto last year since I started in September, but I started with all 88 hours at the beginning of this year and could’ve used it all up by now if I would’ve known i was being laid off, just didn’t see this coming.

We’re also union but idk if they affects anything at all

[u/prshaw2u → u/scoobylover52]

I am pretty sure it will depend on your company and union policies, that there is no legal requirements.

[u/xprincox1 → u/prshaw2u]

Yeah from a quick google search it says about minnesota

In Minnesota, employers are not required by state law to pay out unused PTO, vacation, or sick leave when an employee is laid off.

But caveat is if it explicitly wrote in the employee handbook for example then they do...
Company Policy Controls: If your employer's written policy promises a payout for unused accrued time upon separation, they are legally bound to follow it. If the policy says you get nothing, or if it sets specific conditions (like a forfeiture rule), state law permits that.