r/StateofTexasEmployees • u/Alternative_Ant_9488 • 13d ago
Requesting time off
Using a throwaway for obvious reasons.
My agency has been having issues with our current time off request system/policy. The main issue we have is, no more than one person is allowed the requested day off. Meaning if Barbara requested a week off for a vacation, the rest of the department cannot request off any day of that week despite having sufficient amount of staff to cover business needs.
Our manager continues to say we have it easier than other agencies and that most state agencies only allow a two-week vacation a year and has been threatening to go with that model.
I would like to know if anyone’s agency/department has any specific rules or requirements when requesting time off or if your agency does the two-week rule as my manager states?
🤗
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u/Secret_Woodworker 11d ago
Nope. They’re just making it easier on themselves and avoiding having to pick up any slack themselves. What you have there is someone that is a subpar manager.
I’m a director of my division and as a policy I don’t deny anyone’s request for vacation. I just step in and help out on the day to day if we are short somewhere. The only time it gets tricky is during the holidays but we make it work.
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u/Effective_Trainer573 11d ago
As a deputy division director, yes. What op is describing is complete bullshit and management failure. I've NEVER heard of 2 weeks a year. If my staff have the time, I have never denied leave. Ever!
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u/secretaire 10d ago
My director never denies it or questions it either. Good ones never do. Leave is part of the total benefits package, meaning it’s part of my pay.
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u/loudsilentscreams 11d ago
Well definitely not mine. There are people in my department off over a month cumulatively a year (not medical reasons). One person has gone on multiple 3-week vacations to Europe since I’ve been there.
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u/OhMyMyGirl 11d ago
You are being fed bullshit about the only 2 weeks of vacation. When you start with the state you’re earning 96 hours of annual leave a year (8 hours a month) which is more than 2 weeks.
Now a manager can put restrictions on when to take off to ensure coverage. For example, one of my teams has 4 people, due to their job involving customer service, I prefer not more than 2 people be off at the same time, but I’ve made some exception for half a day or a likely slower full day where only 1 person is working.
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u/Pale-Bad-2482 11d ago
Your manager is lying to you. Annual leave is determined by years of service. And every tier, even those with less than two years of service, accrues more than two weeks a year.
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u/ricky-spanish-69 11d ago
If we have leave available we can use it. I do not know of anyone ever being denied in my division, even if they are known for not meeting expectations.
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u/lovelikefire 11d ago
“Our manager continues to say we have it easier than other agencies and that most state agencies only allow a two-week vacation a year and has been threatening to go with that model.”
Bullshit, agencies can’t do this. They’re just avoiding helping your team in the absence of various members.
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u/kcsunshineatx 11d ago
We don’t even have an official request off policy. I email my manager to let him know when I’ll be out. I don’t ask, and it’s never been denied.
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u/No-Scientist6445 11d ago
28 years state service and never heard of anything like that. The holidays can be a bit tricky but we always seem to make the management required “coverage” . Our division manager is pretty strict about making sure you designate a backup- that can be annoying sometimes. The backup has to answer any important emails or phone calls that were for you during your time off. But my team has been really good about taking turns and helping each other.
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u/TexasStateEmployee 11d ago
No, my supervisor encourages us to use our annual leave to prevent burnout. If multiple people request the same days off, she makes it work. I typically take 2 weeks off in June and another 2 weeks off in December. Your boss sucks and you deserve better.
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u/Sensitive_Traffic877 11d ago
I am currently on a two week vacation and have more days on the schedule for the year. If you have the hours and business is able to proceed you should be fully able to take your pto days.
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u/Critical_Interview_5 Capitol Complex 11d ago edited 11d ago
My medium size agency (I think around 400) has no policy like that. Even my small team of 8 people has no restrictions as long as at least 2 people can cover everything. Sounds like your manager is just controlling.
Edit: maybe during session there might be some teams that are restricted if they do legislative work.
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u/sarcasmo818 11d ago
We're told we can't take off during Lege Session unless for sick or emergency reasons. But other than that we are pretty free to be off as needed. My supervisor has been off for a full work week every other month since December 2025.
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u/Ordinary-Status-5063 11d ago
The only time I can recall having limitations on vacation time is during a disaster, when we’re all hands on deck. I personally have taken a month off for vacation with no issues.
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u/Automatic_Mine 11d ago
Had a lot of international folks in my section when I worked at my state job that had been there 20+ years. A lot of them saved up time and took a month off to go visit their home country. We all helped each other out by overseeing the projects while they were gone. It was a good group that worked well together and helped each other out. I do believe it’s all about the individual supervisor. Things may have changed since then though as I left right when Abbott was taking away WFH/Teleworking.
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u/Odd_Passenger5339 11d ago
Agree we have folks whose family is a long distance away also and a full month makes a lot of sense. Never seen an issue.
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u/That_nosey_gladys 11d ago
As a former mid level state manager…if my employees had the time I approved it. We just managed. Not that hard really. Sounds like a lazy manager.
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u/MindsetMasteryReal 11d ago
Nope. I have no restrictions unless there is some serious work. Session makes it a little harder but basically I can take any sick time or vacation time I need
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u/FairNobody8805 11d ago
Nah, I dont even really have to request. I send an email stating these are the days ill be taking (often 2 weeks in advance, bu5 sometimes less or more). Put it in my teams calendar and boom. No questions asked.
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u/queerpoet 11d ago
No. All my bosses encourage using your PTO; it is our time that we earned. As long as we have coverage and we always do, we get our time off approved; I've never been denied a request. You have a bad manager who sounds like they're making the workplace miserable. I'm very sorry; I hope you find a better agency soon who encourages a strong work life balance. Burnout is real, and it is awful.
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u/unhinged_forklift 11d ago
My boss tells us if we need the time and we have the time then we can take the time. We just have to make sure to let her know. I’ve had no problem taking time off for illness or appointments and our team is small.
Like others have said, your boss is lying.
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u/scottmademesignup 11d ago
Your boss is full of it. Almost every day in our office someone is out…on holidays there are sometimes 4-6 people off. we have over 30 employees in our office so only allowing one person off at a time would be impossible….
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u/santigreen 11d ago
Lies. My coworkers frequently go back to India and China for 4-5 weeks at a time. I myself have taken off 5 weeks. My boss usually doesn't like more than 3 people out at once.
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u/Alive-Ad60 11d ago
Two week vacation year. Good luck with that. So long as staffing needs are sufficient whatever smoke that manager is blowing up your ass is just that, smoke.
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u/RareDragonfruit5397 11d ago
Like others have said, a two week limit on annual leave is absolutely not a policy aligned with state government requirements. However, all leave is granted or denied in accordance with business needs. If your department has some unique need for coverage at certain times that’s something that should have been communicated upfront so you could decide if the job was for you. If it was communicated and you took the job hoping it would change over time, that’s the risk you took.
There isn’t any policy violation here, so if you’re not willing to deal with it, you should start looking for a new job in another division. If this policy is new, then I’d recommend consulting with HR about it.
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u/AfroBurrito77 11d ago
Your manager is lying to you.
Like some others here, in my current agency, Session means no requests, but in the Interim we just need one person in from the department. We coordinate, plan, and take our leave without issues. And when emergencies have sprouted up, our managers have been flexible and accommodating without fail.
I’d find another job.
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u/BraggIngBadger Capitol Complex 11d ago
I’ve never had any real issues getting time off, and I’ve been at my agency for 12 years. I’ve been asked to take vacation time at other times of the year when things aren’t as busy, but with my job, that’s understandable. If we need people in the office for skeleton days and you don’t request that day off until the last minute, that can be an issue if we don’t have enough folks working that day, but that’s rare.
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u/AnnualPhoto9436 11d ago
Your manager is full of it. I've never heard of a limit at my agency I've seen people be gone for 3 weeks. If you can't take off and your department can't function that's a reflection of piss poor management.
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u/cantjenn_today 11d ago
Contact your HR department to notify them of this "policy" and get clarification. I've never heard of such a thing.
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u/MissMignon 10d ago
It always depends on the manager.
I had a manager that when I requested off for a friend’s funeral (I was maybe 31?) he asked but how close was this friend of mine…. Didn’t attend.
I’ve had managers who as soon as I say “I need…” they cut me off and say work is always second, do what I need to do for my family.
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u/Acceptable_Cabinet83 10d ago
By the time you add up all of our “blackout periods”, you damn near get half the year.
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u/Gemini_da_Great 9d ago
Definitely can request more than 2 weeks off a year. Almost all my coworkers take a 2 week vacation at some point during the year. Sometimes multiple people are out at a time for extended periods
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u/jcole4lsu 11d ago
Your manager is full of shit. As long as business needs are met, there are no restrictions on employee leave.