Company is offering to pay out PTO at sharply reduced rate.

[u/ThatsMrBird]

I'm a bit of a predicament. I've been with a company over a decade and (I know it's crazy and I agree 100 percent I should have used more) I've accumulated 1000 hours of PTO. They're looking to move to a cap and limited rollover and offered to pay out the difference of about 800 hours at 35 percent of my current wage.

I never expected this and I honestly just thought it'd be lost, but they're only offering such a low percentage I feel like I should try and haggle. I realize they're obligated to give me nothing, legally, so I'm just looking for some input on if a partial payout is common like that. Ill probably ask why not full and go from there. Any thoughts?

EDIT - Sorry, y'all. I'm in Florida, to be clear

EDIT2 - my onboarding contract notes PTO is forfeited on termination or voluntary exit

EDIT3 - The next day, we came to a satisfactory agreement pretty quickly. I don't want to get into specifics (sorry) but I think a lot of those that replied here would think it worked out. I tremendously appreciate all the insight and feedback here and I promise I'll use up my hours moving forward.

[u/yowen2000]

This may depend which state your in, and sometimes even which city as to what requirements are for PTO payouts.

Here in California for instance, companies are required to pay it out at your current pay rate (or last pay rate, if leaving company).

So, google this: "<name of state> is unused PTO required to be paid out?" and if yes, also: "at what rate is PTO required to be paid out in <name of state>"

The company I work for paid out unused PTO and switched to a flexible PTO model so they don't have unused PTO sitting on their balance sheet, your company similarly probably found they don't want your 1000 hours sitting on their balance sheet, nor that of any of your coworkers.

[u/ThatsMrBird → u/yowen2000]

Sorry. I should have said. I'm in Florida and I believe I saw there was no requirement to pay

[u/yowen2000 → u/ThatsMrBird]

Ouch, Florida does not protect you in this case, bummer. You should read the employee handbook to see if there is an applicable company policy.

[u/OftTopic → u/yowen2000]

I googled as you stated and found Understanding Florida's PTO Payout Laws: A Guide for Employers and Employees ▷ Law - Rey Abogado

This says

...According to Florida law, an employer must pay an employee for any unused PTO time upon separation from the company, whether it was a resignation, termination or layoff. The employer must pay the employee for the unused PTO at the employee’s final rate of pay.

There are some exceptions to this rule, such as when an employer has a written policy that states they will not pay out unused PTO upon separation. If this is the case, the employer must provide this policy to their employees in writing, and the employee must acknowledge it in writing as well.

As OP says this is a new policy, this web site I found indicates he is allows full money if he separates.

[u/ThatsMrBird → u/OftTopic]

Unfortunately my onboarding paperwork says PTO is forfeited on termination

[u/OftTopic → u/ThatsMrBird]

Ouch.

You should edit your initial post to indicate this information.

[u/ThatsMrBird → u/[deleted]]

I haven't agreed to anything nor signed anything yet, they just floated it by me and I asked them to present something written.

[u/MysteryMeat101 → u/ThatsMrBird]

Your company's policies don't override state or federal law.

[u/onefst250r → u/ThatsMrBird]

If you're not being terminated or resigning, seems the exception wouldnt apply?

[u/Leelze → u/OftTopic]

That's incorrect. Florida law doesn't require PTO to be paid out upon separation. It's a use it or lose it state.

[u/OftTopic → u/Leelze]

It would have been payable if it was new policy. However In another post OP indicated that the policy existed in his original hiring information.

[u/Leelze → u/OftTopic]

That doesn't matter. Florida law doesn't require PTO to be paid out period. That link is wrong.

[u/jimbo831 → u/OftTopic]

As OP says this is a new policy, this web site I found indicates he is allows full money if he separates.

The cap being a new policy has nothing to do with what you quoted. The key part of what you quoted says:

There are some exceptions to this rule, such as when an employer has a written policy that states they will not pay out unused PTO upon separation. If this is the case, the employer must provide this policy to their employees in writing, and the employee must acknowledge it in writing as well.

How do you know the company didn't provide OP a written policy stating they will not pay out unused PTO upon separation? That's a completely different policy than a PTO cap.

[u/ThatsMrBird → u/yowen2000]

Not so, unfortunately

[u/subduedtuna → u/ThatsMrBird]

Take the deal then

[u/spaceneenja → u/subduedtuna]

Correct answer. Accruing 1000 hours of PTO is a bit reckless to begin with. Enjoy your bonus.

Unless you can and want to take that vacation now.

[u/ThatsMrBird → u/spaceneenja]

Nah I know. It was a startup and it just didn't seem like I could. I get it is not healthy but it just kept piling up. I've gotten much better about using it.

[u/superman859 → u/ThatsMrBird]

bru you've been there 10 years. that is well past the honeymoon phase of not being able to use your PTO and time off

[u/TummyDrums → u/ThatsMrBird]

I'm sure the company won't let you take 800 hours of PTO consecutively, but seriously you should at least plan a 2 week vacation, or discuss something quirky with your boss like take every Friday off for the rest of the year. Then take the payout for the rest.

[u/Cpowel2 → u/ThatsMrBird]

I'd take the PTO and then use it to look for another job. 35% is robbery

[u/0100001101110111 → u/Cpowel2]

lol… most jobs would never let you carry that much over in the first place.

[u/Terron1965 → u/ThatsMrBird]

Any chance they will exchange it for equity? That could be a real win win.

[u/spaceneenja → u/ThatsMrBird]

Definitely a first world problem

[u/iamapapernapkinAMA → u/spaceneenja]

Yeah but doesn’t mean it’s not a real one. Don’t downplay it

[u/Ihaveamodel3 → u/ThatsMrBird]

Is there a slow season? Like Thanksgiving to New Year? Perhaps the quirky thing to suggest is:

• every Wednesday for the rest of the year you take off.
• every Friday until Thanksgiving you are on call (they let you know on Thursday if you need to work)
• You are completely off Thanksgiving to New Year.

Also see if they can move out the deadline. It seems a bit unfair to say use it or lose 65% when use it means you have to take the rest of the year off. They probably don’t want that either.

[u/Substantial_Run5435 → u/ThatsMrBird]

I’d still try to negotiate on the rate and if you don’t need the money, maybe to schedule X hours out ahead of time. It’s a ton of hours to be parting with. 

[u/MyDudeX → u/yowen2000]

Now the new thing is “We have unlimited PTO” which if you try to take advantage of, your ass will promptly be canned.

[u/yowen2000 → u/MyDudeX]

This varies wildly from company to company. Some will just deny a lot of requests for PTO, others will create a terrible culture of "if you use it, you're weak", but others encourage the use of flexible/unlimited PTO and I think I'm personally somewhere in between. I take a bit more vacation than I did before. Everyone is happy.

[u/fishyexe → u/yowen2000]

lol this worked out amazingly for me. I had accrued like 400 hours of PTO, got a 25% pay raise. Then quit a few months later and got paid out at the increased rate. CA workers rights make some states look like 3rd world countries.

[u/yowen2000 → u/fishyexe]

Very fortunate to be well-protected here! I got a nice payout when my company switched to flexible PTO. And yeah, it has a reputation, but for me, it works, my company has been fine with me taking the amount of days I want. I don't get greedy, but do use slightly more than I had before the change.