What Happens to Vacation Time While on Workers’ Compensation?

Workers who are off the job because of an injury might think that getting away from home for a few days would be good for them mentally as well as physically. But taking a vacation while you are recovering from injuries and cannot work might raise a few eyebrows, especially if your employer is paying you workers’ compensation benefits.

There are no rules to keep you from going on vacation while you have an open workers’ compensation case or are receiving benefits. But there are some pitfalls if you miss follow-up doctors’ appointments or run afoul of what is required to maintain your eligibility for benefits.

If your employer or their workers’ comp insurance administrator raises issues with your Kentucky workers’ compensation claim, contact Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer. You have rights when you are on workers’ comp. We’ll give you the Kentucky Courage you need to make sure your employer honors them.

Can You Go On Vacation While On Workers’ Comp?

If you have accrued leave time from your place of employment, there is nothing about a workers’ compensation claim to keep you from using it.

Private-sector employers are not required to provide paid vacation to employees. Private employers have significant discretion in developing vacation and personal leave policies. Kentucky state employees get paid leave for a variety of reasons.

The main requirement of employers who offer vacation and other types of leave is that, if promised, vacation must be granted. If an employer’s policies, practices, or statements create a promise of vacation, the employer has likely established a binding legal obligation to provide vacation.

But if you take a vacation while recovering from a workplace injury, you must avoid jeopardizing your workers’ compensation claim.

You need to avoid any activities that conflict with your doctor’s advice for your recovery or that could aggravate the injury. A round of golf or even hours sitting in a plane or a car can be bad for certain injuries.

In addition to making sure you don’t take part in activities that could set back your recovery, you don’t want to do anything that could lead an insurer to challenge your claim. Insurance companies really do send investigators to gather evidence of workers’ comp fraud. Don’t let vacation photos that someone posts to social media cost you your workers’ compensation benefits.

Second, part of following doctor’s orders is keeping follow-up appointments. Check your schedule. Don’t create evidence that you’re not as badly injured as you claim by skipping doctor or rehab appointments. Discuss your vacation plans with your doctor and follow his or her advice about timing and any dos and don’ts.

Can You Collect Vacation Pay While on Workers’ Comp?

If you have vacation pay coming to you per your company’s policies or a union’s work agreement, you have a right to it. Many injured workers use all of their sick leave and vacation time if they have an extended absence from work.

In fact, claiming paid vacation time is a viable means of making up the difference between a full paycheck and the workers’ comp lost wages benefits. Generally, workers’ compensation income benefits are 66 2/3% of your average weekly salary, up to the state maximum as set forth by the Department of Workers’ Claims.

But there’s no double-dipping. You can’t get vacation pay and workers’ comp disability payments at the same time. If you take vacation pay (paid leave), your workers’ compensation income benefits must be remitted back to the state for whatever time you receive paid leave.

You should also keep in mind that workers’ compensation benefits are not considered taxable income. Do the calculations before you decide whether you can get by on your wage replacement benefits or you should put in for vacation pay.

Do You Accrue Vacation While On Workers’ Compensation?

We cannot say definitively whether your vacation time will continue to accrue while you are not working because of a work injury. The answer depends on the wording of your employer’s vacation policies. We can review your company’s leave policy and help you understand what to expect.

The following sample vacation leave policy says, “Part-time employees working 20 to 29 hours per week will earn vacation on a prorated basis. Full-time employees are those working 30-plus hours per week.” We would expect a company attorney here to argue that an employee on workers’ compensation is not “working” the requisite hours to accrue vacation leave.

But this sample vacation time policy says, “Full-time employees become eligible for and begin to accrue annual vacation leave after six continuous months of employment with the Company. Eligible full-time employees accrue 6.66 hours of vacation per month (2 weeks per year) with increases in years 3 and 5, as follows …” Under this policy, an injured worker with the required time on the payroll accrues vacation time as long as he or she remains employed.

What Happens to Vacation Time If You Cannot Return to Work?

There is no law in Kentucky that requires an employer to pay for accrued vacation or leave time at termination. It will depend on the wording of the company vacation policy or the employer’s past practice.

If there is a policy that says employees will be paid for accumulated leave time upon termination, that leave time must be paid off. If the policy states that only up to a certain amount of leave time will be paid out, then the payment will be limited accordingly.

If the policy says that there will be no payout for leave time at termination, but the current or previous administration has paid employees for unused leave time, the employer may be obligated to pay employees for accrued leave time unused at termination.

Contact a KY Workers’ Compensation Attorney

Being on workers’ compensation does not allow your employer to withhold other benefits available to employees, such as paid vacation and leave time. But some employers and insurers dispute valid injury claims and assume that injured workers do not know their rights or workers’ compensation policies.

An experienced workers’ compensation lawyer at Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer can handle your workers’ comp claim from start to finish and ensure that you get every dime of benefits that are available under Kentucky law. Our Kentucky Courage. attorneys consider it a privilege to help working people stand up for their rights. We are here to answer your questions. Contact us today.

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