What is the impact of a compressed workweek schedule on the paid leave benefits of vacation, sick and holiday leave?

A  compressed workweek schedule allows an employee to work longer hours on certain days each week in exchange for shorter hours on other days or fewer days worked in the week. Employers must establish policies for employees with compressed workweek schedules to address the number of hours that will be charged when an employee takes a vacation or sick day as well as the number of holiday hours to be paid.

Many employer policies state that sick or vacation time taken on a regularly scheduled workday will be charged the same number of hours as the employee was scheduled to work. For example, an employee working four 10-hour shifts would be charged 10 hours of leave for a full-day absence. For some employers, an absence that occurs during a compressed workweek may have a greater impact on production than does a standard eight-hour absence. Therefore, the company policy could be to charge an employee for only eight hours of vacation or sick leave for a full-day absence, with the expectation that the employee will work an additional two hours throughout the remaining days of the workweek to offset the difference.

Holiday pay for an employee working a compressed workweek is most often the same amount—not more, not less—of paid holiday time off as employees on regular schedules. For example, if an employee works 10-hour shifts and the employer's policy is to pay eight hours of holiday pay, the employee would be required to make up the additional two hours of missed work time on another day or take two hours of paid leave.

In most cases, when the holiday falls on a scheduled day off, the employee already has worked a full workweek and would not be entitled to any additional pay for the holiday. The language in the employer's policy will determine the employee's entitlement. Some employers allow employees to receive a floating holiday to take on an alternate day, or otherwise credit the holiday time toward the employee's weekly hours.