Can my employer use a sick day as an unexcused absence if I have PTO to cover it?

There are no laws (that apply to this situation) that force employers to offer short-term sick leave, or even paid-vacation. Unless you have a contract or a union, each employer can have their own policy, or no policy, about this. The policy is usually written in a handbook or employee manual. You say you have a set amount of PTO (“sick time and vacation”) promised to you. The way that is scheduled and distributed is up to the employer. It sounds like the employer has changed the rules of the game for all employees. Usually personal-time off and vacations are things they expect you to schedule in advance. It is not against the law for an employer to rule that six “absences” will lead to termination, as long as that rule is applied uniformly. If you stay with this job, you may want to get clarification from HR as to what to do if you are too sick to report to work. You could also look at this situation as a statement that you have 6 "sick" days, marked as absences, and after that you will be terminated, and you also have whatever personal time and vacation is allotted. Check that with your employer.

posted by Kevin McGann  |  Feb 15, 2011 9:08 PM [EST]