Legal Question in Employment Law in Illinois

Every year around Christmas, Boxing Day and New Year's Day, my office is closed for more than a week. Periodically, my boss will let his staff work from home for two of those days (the maximum allowed), and for the rest of those non-holiday days, we are forced to use our vacation days. If you don't have any vacation days for whatever reason, you go into a deficit or you go unpaid.

Being forced to not work and being forced to use your vacation days when you have no other choice just seems illegal. Am I right?


Asked on 9/23/10, 10:13 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Thomas Moens Moens Law Offices, Chartered

"Forced to not work" is an interesting concept. I would guess you are also "forced to not work" on weekends, for which you receive no pay as well (or it might be some other day of the week, my point being that you probably do not work seven days every week). The fact that your employer will allow you to get paid for some of the days that your office is closed seems downright courteous. Assuming this does not violate an employment contract or a collective bargaining agreement, I see nothing even remotely "illegal" about this very nice benefit your employer has been providing you.

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Answered on 9/29/10, 7:14 am


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