USA TODAY US Edition

Vacation time? Don’t feel guilty taking it

- Johnny C. Taylor Jr. Columnist

Johnny C. Taylor Jr., a human-resources expert, is tackling your questions as part of a series for USA TODAY. Taylor is president and CEO of the Society for Human Resource Management, the world’s largest HR profession­al society.

Questions submitted by readers and Taylor’s answers have been edited for length and clarity. Anonymousl­y ask your HR questions here.

Question: I’ve been at my company for three years. Now that it’s summer, I want to plan my vacation. But every time I bring up taking time off, my boss seems annoyed. How can I take vacation days I’ve earned without being made to feel guilty? — Anonymous

Taylor: Having just returned from a week’s vacation, I can attest to what HR profession­als say: Taking time off is good for employees and employers.

A break from day-to-day work responsibi­lities recharges your batteries. It reduces stress and leads to better performanc­e and happier workers.

Certainly, no employee should be made to feel guilty for taking off time they have earned. Having said that, here are a few things to keep in mind when you request leave.

Some times of the year are more popular than others for scheduling vacations: summers, holidays and school breaks. And sometimes, businesses and employees schedule vacations during slow work periods when there are fewer demands and deadlines.

It’s possible you and your co-workers want to schedule time off at the same time. But because of workloads, production schedules and business needs, there may be a limit to the number of people who can be off at once.

As a result, your boss is juggling business priorities, deadlines and customer needs, along with employee requests for time off. She also might have to take on the additional work of filling in for someone who is off. And, don’t forget, your boss wants to take a vacation someday, too.

So first, ask her if there is some scheduling issue you are not aware of. You might need to be more flexible about your timing. If you are asking for a large block of time, such as two weeks, you might have to limit yourself to taking one at a time.

Be proactive and confirm the timing works for the team.

Second, ask whether there is anything you can do in advance to reduce the workload of others in your absence.

Working with your supervisor to minimize any disruption will help show your profession­al commitment and enable you to take time off, guilt free.

Lastly, be aware of your company’s vacation policies. American workers are notorious for trying to save their vacation days. But in some companies, vacation days cannot be rolled over to the next year, and, when they can, the number might be limited.

Q: I am a salaried employee for a company in Indiana. My employer requires me to make up time if I leave early, even if I have worked more than 40 hours in a week. Also, I get 15 days of paid time off (PTO) each year. If I take a sick day and don’t have any PTO, I’m not paid. Are these both legal? — Abigail

Taylor: Both are legal, assuming you — like most salaried employees — are exempt from the minimum wage and overtime requiremen­ts of the federal law known as the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

The maximum time an employee can be required to work is not defined by FLSA. So, even if you have worked more than 40 hours in a week, an employer can require you to make up time missed during a workday.

Also, under other federal rules, an employer offering sick leave or PTO is not required to pay you for a full-day illness absence if you have already used all of your paid time off.

While some states have sick leave laws that differ from federal rules, it appears that Indiana doesn’t. Unless there’s a collective bargaining agreement or contract that says otherwise, Indiana employers may set work hours at their own discretion, according to the Indiana Department of Labor.

The state’s labor department website also says, “Indiana law only requires that employers must pay employees for actual time worked. As a result, employers are not required to pay for sick days, personal days, or holidays.”

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