Retracting PTO in CA

Caitlin Moorman

New Member
Jurisdiction
California
I am a "boomerang employee" - I joined my company in 2015, and briefly left and rejoined in 2016, and have been there since. I have always been treated as though my start date was in 2015, and I had a verbal conversation related to that with a HR employee who is no longer with the company (so, no documentation and no one to back me up). The company's PTO policy becomes more generous over time - so at year 2 and 4 of employment, employees begin to accrue an extra week per year of PTO. I reached those milestones in relation to my original 2015 start date according to our HRIS software, and have been accruing time accordingly.

This week, HR told me that was incorrect, and that they would retroactively adjust my PTO to reflect the appropriate accruals for a 2016 start date. Are they allowed to claw back PTO like that? I thought that once PTO was accrued in CA, it could not be adjusted downward.

I'm also leaving the company within the next few weeks (have submitted my resignation letter), so this has a direct cash impact in the very near future and I'm eager to get it resolved.

Thank you!
 
Nothing in CA law says that errors cannot be corrected, if the correction results in a downward adjustment. The law provides protection for time earned, but not for time granted in error.

I am not making a judgement on which date should be used; only explaining what the law does and does not allow.
 
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