Can an employee miss work because of a disaster at home? Many residents of the New York Metropolitan area are faced with dealing with the Hurricane Sandy aftermath. Many of their homes have sustained major damage, and they need to take time off of work to repair their property, or even relocate.
What rights do NY employees have when it comes to taking personal or sick time to deal with a disaster?
In most instances it is company specific depending on the type of employee a person is. Salaried employees should be able to take additional time off; it shouldn’t count against them if they have worked during that week. If they are an hourly employee rules maybe a little bit different. Employees should reach out to their HR personnel right away if they find themselves in a similar situation.
New York employees must find out what rights they have because it’s going to be company specific especially if there’s a weather-related policy. Certain employers do have weather based policies that they will base their decisions off of. They’re also maybe something specific in the HR manual that allows employees to use their personal vacation or sick days to deal with disasters. Employees can request the policy in writing from their HR representative.
Do NY employers have the right to fire an employee for taking time off because of a disaster?
In New York State it can be very difficult for employees to take off during disaster-related circumstances. New York is an at will employment state, so unless you’re employed underneath a contract or you’re a union member you may be an at-will employee. Employers unfortunately can let employees go for any reason good, bad, or indifferent in the case of taking too much time off because of Hurricane Sandy. As long as employers don’t discriminate against their employees it may be difficult to fight. Check with an attorney that specializes in NY Employment Law and they’ll be able to help you navigate the options available to you.