In my previous blog “Have Your Taken Your Vacation This Year?” reader Marlo responded with her personal problems in the workplace. Marlo states “my workplace feels if you take vacation time then you must actually go some place. Then if they find out you are not going anywhere they try to take your vacation time away from you…saying another person needs to actually go somewhere so you must give up your time for this person”. According to Marlo, the ability of her workplace to take away vacation time and give it to another is discrimination. Since Marlo is a single female in the process of paying off debt instead of spending money traveling during vacation time, she feels she is being discriminated against in favor of those traveling during vacation.

Jacobs further states that although there are not specific laws regulating vacation time and employers are not required to allot a specific amount of vacation time to their employees, most workplaces instill general policies regarding vacation time. Once an employer creates a general work and hour policy, it must be followed and vacation time may not be taken away from the employee. Policies that are unevenly enforced lead to danger zones for employers, which may result in discrimination situations.