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