Content Dam Diq Online Articles 2018 10 No Vacation 1

Troubleshooter: Some dental staff given vacation while others denied

Oct. 25, 2018
This dental hygienist doesn't feel like it's fair, or even legal, for some team members to receive paid vacation while others do not.

Do you have a problem or concern on the job? Sometimes people are just too close to a situation to solve something themselves. Share your concerns with Team Troubleshooter, and the experts will examine the issues and provide guidance. Send questions to [email protected].

QUESTION: I work in an office where the assistants and front office get some paid time off, but the hygienists do not get any PTO. Someone told me this is illegal, but my bosses claim that it's legal. Is this way of treating employees legal or not?

ANSWER FROM REBECCA BOARTFIELD, HR expert at Bent Ericksen & Associates:
When it comes to paid time off, this is a discretionary benefit. Employers are not required to provide PTO. Therefore, an employer has absolute discretion in determining who receives those benefits. If an employer wants to mandate that PTO is for everyone except hygienists, he or she can absolutely do that.

You don't mention where you're located. If you are located in a state, city, or county that mandates paid sick leave, then your employer would have to provide either sick leave or PTO to everyone according to the law in your area. Currently, the existing sick leave laws do not allow for an employer to exclude hygienists in particular, thus it would be illegal to do so. Therefore, an employer must provide PTO or sick leave to hygienists as well in order to be compliant with those laws.

Otherwise, if you do not have a sick leave mandate in your area, your employer can exclude you from the PTO benefit.

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Don't be shy! If YOU have a tough issue in your dental office that you would like addressed, send it to [email protected] for the experts to answer. Remember, you'll be helping others who share the same issue. Responses will come from various dental consultants, as well as other experts in the areas of human resources, coding, front office management, and more. All inquiries will be answered anonymously here on DIQ.

Originally published in 2018 and updated regularly.

About the Author

Team Troubleshooter

This weekly column on DentistryIQ features questions from everyday people who work in dental practices, who have issues they would like addressed by the experts. Those who regularly take the time to answer questions include Rebecca Boartfield, Patti DiGangi, Dr. Chris Salierno, Laura Hatch, Karen Daw, Jill Townsend, Lisa Marie Spradley, Shelley Renee, Judy Kay Mausolf, Robin Morrison, Paul Edwards ... and the list is growing.

Send your question or issue for an expert to address to [email protected].. You'll be glad you did.