Sick Leave Policy May Be Harsh, but It’s Not Unlawful : Also . . . Can a Firm Change Its Vacation Policy? . . . How Can I Collect Money a Colleague Owes Me?

Q. My wife works for a medium-sized public company with a sick leave policy that seems quite unfair to the employees. People are not granted sick days. They are given “occurrences.”

An employee is allowed three occurrences in a one-year period. After the third occurrence, the employee will receive a disciplinary notice that will go in their employment file.

Is this policy normal? Does the state or federal government set any standards when it comes to sick leave?

--G.R., Irvine

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A. It is difficult to determine from your question the precise policy of your wife’s employer. But what you have described, while it may be harsh, is not necessarily unlawful.

Employers are generally not required to provide any paid sick leave benefits, with one exception. Employers may not make deductions from paychecks of exempt, salaried employees for illnesses of less than one week unless the employer has a sick leave policy that spells out such deductions. If your wife is an exempt employee, there might be a violation in the way in which the policy is being applied to her.

There also is generally no law requiring an employer to grant employees time off for illness or injury. But under federal and state family leave laws, there are four exceptions:

* A qualifying employee with a serious health condition.

* An employee who is unable to work due to industrial accidents or illness.

* A worker with disabilities arising out of pregnancy or childbirth.

* An employee with a recognized physical or mental disability.

An employer cannot discipline an employee who takes time off for any of those reasons.

--Michael A. Hood

Employment law attorney

Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker

Vacation Policy Subject to Modification

Q. My husband has worked for a company for the past 2 1/2 years. The first year, he got a paid vacation, but last year he didn’t. Can a company do this, just pay whenever it wants to?

--Anaheim

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AAlthough vacation benefits are not required by law, most employers do have vacation policies that define how much paid vacation time an employee is entitled to for each year of service.

An employer has the right to modify policies and benefits as needed for business operations. Your husband should check the company’s vacation policy to determine if this has occurred.

If an employee has accrued vacation time available, however, it cannot be forfeited.

--Elizabeth Winfree-Lydon

Senior staff consultant

The Employers Group

Stress, Not Violence, Should Be the Concern

Q. My husband works for the Postal Service. Why is there so much job stress at the post office? Is distributing letters and packages that hard? How can my husband eliminate his job stress? How can we be sure he is safe on the job? I’m scared for him and want him to quit.

--S.F., Orange

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A. There are really two issues here. The first issue concerns general violence in the workplace, and the violent acts of postal workers, in particular. The second issue concerns steps your husband can take to alleviate or lessen work-related stress.

In regard to workplace violence, there really is no immediate cause for alarm. Although there have been instances of violence and killings at work, these instances are extremely rare. The media tend to focus on these rare but memorable events, providing extensive coverage that creates the illusion that these events happen much more frequently than they actually do.

There is a tendency for people who are exposed to vivid, sensational events, such as workplace shootings, to greatly overestimate the chances that such an event will happen to them. This is the same thought process that causes people to believe that their chances of being in an airplane accident are greater than their chances of being in a car wreck--even though the odds of being in an auto accident are immensely greater than being in a plane crash. I am quite certain that your husband faces much greater risks getting to and from work than he does being harmed by a co-worker.

In regard to dealing with the stress created by repetitive jobs, such as sorting the mail, it is important that workers develop techniques to help them cope with this stress. There are a variety of programs offering techniques for stress management. Your husband might want to investigate these. Many are offered at low cost through adult education or college extension programs.

--Ron Riggio

Professor of industrial psychology

Cal State Fullerton

Colleague Agrees He Owes, but Hasn’t Paid

Q. I am a health professional who contracted with a colleague this past summer to rent his office to see my own patients. In exchange, I would give him 10% of my gross plus expenses. He would collect all payments and pay me monthly. At the end of September, I informed him that I would not be needing his office after Oct. 7.

My total compensation, computed by his office staff, should come to $1,586 for my time there. I have phoned him several times since then. He agrees he owes me the money, but I have not received it yet.

What is my course of action? Should I take him to Small Claims Court? Should I hire a lawyer?

--H.G.

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A. You should send him a written demand for payment of the money, and give him a time limit (say, 10 days) in which to pay. If he does not pay you within that time, you can take him to Small Claims Court.

It will be easier for you to prove your claim if you have a contract in writing and also some written evidence to support the amount of money you claim he owes.

You do not need a lawyer to go to Small Claims Court--in fact, lawyers are not permitted. You simply need to go to the office of the clerk of the Municipal Court nearest you, obtain the forms for filing a small claims lawsuit, fill them out, attach copies of your documentation, file your papers and have someone (not yourself) hand-deliver a copy to your colleague. You will be notified by the court when to show up for your hearing.

--James J. McDonald Jr.

Attorney, Fisher & Phillips

Labor law instructor, UC Irvine

The Shop Talk column is designed to answer questions of general interest. It should not be construed as legal advice.

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