Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

Mrs. Bess Blackwell Opinion NO. v-1452. Fxecutlve Secretary State Board of Eairdress- Re: Authority of the ers and Cosmetologists head of a depart- Austin, Texas ment to either in- crease or decrease the maximumnumber of hours earned by an employee for vacation in any one fiscal year of the Dear Mrs. Blackwell: current biennium. Your request for an opinion reads as follows: “We have some of the employees with this department working forty-four hours from Monday through Friday, while others work from forty-four to forty-eight hours per week, Monday through Saturday. ?Would It be proper for the Board to set the same vacation time for all employ: ees, and if so, which would be the proper procedure to follow, the forty-four hour work week or the forty-eight hour work week, exclusives of holidays?” Your question concerns only those employees of your Board who earn during any one fiscal year Of the current biennium the maximumnumber of hours allowed by law for vacation without deduction of salary. The appropriations for the support and malnte- nance of your Board, Including the salaries of its mem- bers and employees for each fiscal year of the current’ biennium, are contained in Section 1 of House Bill 426 Article III Acts 52nd Leg., R.S. 195l., ch. 499, p. 1238, at page 1343. The remaining sections thereof are riders pertaining to the expenditure of the appropriations made in Section 1. Section 2, subsection (7)) at page 1434, provides: hfZ’S. Bess Blackwell, page 2 (V-1452) “State employees shall work a minimum of forty-four (44) hours per week.” Subsection (9) reads as follows: “Vacation allowance. Deoartment em- plovees. shall wit- recei V d ’ any one period to be mutually agreed upon by the Head of the Department with his employees; and any unused vacation In any one (1) fls- cal year may be used only during the fol- lowing f lscal year. Provided, however, that no employee shall be allowed any paid vacation until he has had continuous em- ployment with the State of Texas for six (6) months.” (Emphasis added.) We think the underlined provisions of sub- section (9) are plain, and clearly fix the maximum number of hours a departmental employee may earn for vacation in any one fiscal year. If an employee works forty-four hours per week, he may earn in any one fis- cal year a maximum of eighty-eight hours, or if he works forty-eight hours per week he may earn a maxi- mumof ninety-six hours for vaca 4ion. In each in- stance, the maximumvacation allowance Is equivalent to two weeks of regular working time. The Legislature has provided that when an em- ployee has earned In any one fiscal year the maximum number of hours for vacation that he nshall without de- duction of salary receive” the number of hours so earned for his vacation. Consequently, your Board may neither bfR+. Bess Blackwell, page 3 (v-1452) The head of a department has no au- thority to either increase or decrease the maximumnumber of hours earned by an employee for vacation In any one fiscal year of the current biennium beginning September 1, 1951, and ending August 31, LB. 426 .-Art. 111 Acts 52nd ,':,5!; B.S. 1951; c@. 499, ;. 1228. APPROVED: Yours very truly, c. K. Richards -PRICE DANIEL Trial & Appellate Dlvlslon Attorney General Mary K. Wall Reviewing Assistant h BYBruce W. Br Charles D. Hathws First Assistant Assistant BWB:wb