| Vacation
Pay — Case Study
If an employee takes a vacation for an entire week, processing payroll is simple. However, if the employee is on vacation during part of a workweek, and works more than the statutory straight-time workweek during the balance of the week, vacation pay becomes more of an issue. In this event, for purposes of determining minimum wage and overtime requirements, the vacation pay may be omitted from the regular-rate computation, provided it is approximately equivalent to the employee's normal earnings for a similar period of time. But the vacation pay does not qualify as a credit against overtime pay required by the FLSA. The general formula for figuring wages in split weeks is to ignore the vacation pay, figure the pay due for time worked, and then to that figure add the vacation pay. Check the case study below to see this principle in action. Jim-Bob's workweek runs from Tuesday through the following Monday. He takes a two-week paid vacation, which starts on Monday. He ordinarily works a 40-hour week at the rate of $6.00 an hour. His vacation pay is figured at this rate for five eight-hour days per week. His straight-time workweek under the statute is 40 hours. The record for the three weeks covering the vacation period is:
For the first week, the employee should be paid $324.00, computed as follows: (40 x $6.00) + (4 x $9.00) + $48.00. The $48.00 paid for the day's vacation occurring during this week is excludable from the regular-rate calculation but may not be credited against the $36.00 owed for overtime. The second week, being a full-time vacation week, calls for $240.00 pay. Pay for the third week is also $240.00, figured thus: (4 days' vacation pay x $48.00) + (8 hours worked x $6.00).
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