Hon. Homer Garrison, Jr., Director
Texas Department of Public Safety
Austin, Texas Opinion No. V-1072
Re: The effect of the optional
five day work week upon
computation of vacation
allowances for State
Dear Sir: employees.
Your request for an opinion reads in part as follows:,
“Some of our employees work 44 hours per week
from Mondays through Fridays, inclusive, - 5 days.
Others, because of their duties work 5i or 6 days per
week.
“In computing vacation allowances shall Saturday
be considered ‘a working day’? Cur offices are open
on Saturday, our officers are performing their duties
on the highways and elsewhere on that day, but some
employees are off because of the 44 hour, 5 day per
week provision.
“Computation by one method (not counting Satur-
day a working day) would allow employees to be ab-
sent from duties for as long as eighteen calendar days
plus any holidays that might occur within the period.
“Computation by methods used in the past (count-
ing Saturday a working day) would resutt in 2 days less
vacati\on for employees than that allowed by computation
indicated in the preceding paragraph.
“Do paragraphs (7) Office Hours of State Depart-
ments, and (9) Vacation Allowance of Section 2, H. B.
322, Regular Session, 51st Texas Legislature, increase
Hon. Homer Garrison, Jr., Page 2, V-1072,
.,vacafion allowances for State departmental employees
an additional two days over that provided by previous
appropriation bills ? ”
Section 2 (9) of H. B, 322, Acts 51st Leg., R. S. 1949, ch,
615, p. 1344 (Current Appropriation Bill for State Departments)
authorizes a vacation allowance for State employees as follows:
‘I, . . Department employees shall, without deduc-
tion in salary, receive not exceeding one (1) working
days’ vacation for each month of service, such vacation
period to be mutually agreed upon by the Head of each
Department with his employees; and any unused vacation
time in any one State fiscal year may be used only dur-
ing the following fiscal year.”
Previous acts of the Legislature provided for a vacation
allowance in the following language,,
“Department employees shall, without deduction
in salary, receive not exceeding twelve days’ vacation,
exclusive of Sundays or legal holidays on which State
offices are closed, for each State fiscal year, such
vacation to be mutually’ agreed upon by the Head of
each Department with his employees. Provided, that
no employee for whom a salary is hereby appropriat-
ed, shall receive compensation while on vacation un-
less he or she has been an employee of a department
for not less than stx calendar months precedi! .g the
vacation period.:’ Section 2 (8), S. B. 391, Acts 50th
Leg,, 1947, ch. 400, p, 934; Section 2 (a), S, B. 317,
Acts 49th Leg,, 1945, ch, 378, p. 941.
The current Appropriation Bill does not define the term
“working day, ” but it does provide with respect to office hours
of State Departments as follows:
I’. . . Excepting Sundays and legal holidays desig-
nated by the Governor or designated in this Act, State’
employees shall work a minimum of ‘forty-four (44)
hours per week, and such departments shall be allowed
to close on Saturdays provided employees have wbrked
the required number of hours, and further provided all
Hon. Homer Garrison, Jr., Page 3, V-1072.
departments shall be open during the hours of 8 A.M. and
5 P.M., Mondays through Fridays, excepting legal holi-
days,” Section 2 (7), H. B. 322, Acts 51st Leg., R. S.
1949, ch. 615, p. 1344.
Previous acts of the Legislature provided for office
hours of State Departments in the following language:
11. . . Excepting herefrom Sundays and State
legal holidays, office hours of State Departments
shall be from 8 o’clock A.M. to 5 o’clock P.M., with
one hour off at noon; provided, however, that all de-
partments shall be allowed to close at noon on Satur-
days; and provided further . . . that Saturday after-
noons shall not be construed to be a part of the twelve
days’ vacation provided for below.” Section 2 (7),
S. B. 391, Acts 50th’Leg., 1947, ch. 400, p. 934;
Section 2 (7). S. B. 317, Acts 49th Leg.,, 1945, ch. 378,
p. 941.
From the above it becomes readily apparent that the
51st Legislature has completely eliminated the prohibition found
in prior acts against counting Saturday afternoons in computing
the authorized maximum vacation allowance of twelve days, and
has also changed the method of computing vacation tim,e from a
straight twelve days allowance for those employees with six months
or-:more service to one “not exceeding one (1) working days’ va-
cation for each month of service.” It is an elementary rule of
statutory construction that effect must be given to changes in the
words of legislative acts so as to accomplish the legislative in,-
tent, Independent Life Ins. Co. of America v. Work, 124 Tex,
281, 77 S. W.2d 1036 (1934).
,As above mentioned, the current act does not define the
term “working day”, Section 2 (7) makes it permissible for
State Departments to close all day on Saturdays, but it only ex-
cepts Sundays and legal holidays from the days on which all
State employees are to work the required minimum number of
hours in each week. Thus, while it is made discretionary with
each State Department whether its employees shall work on
Saturdays, it is clear that any State employee can be required to
work on any Saturday. Some State departments are open on Satur-
day, and the employees of these departments work on that day,
Hon. Homer Garrison, Jr., Page 4, V-1072,
Other departments, as yours, have employees, who because of
the nature of their duties, work all or a portion of that day.
This being true, we think it is clear that the Legislature intend-
ed for Saturdays to be considered a ‘“working day” in computing
vat ation allowances. This is especially tso in view of the Legis-
lature’s elimination of the previously existing prohibition against
counting Saturday afternoons in arriving at the maximum vaca-
tion allowance of twelve days.
Certainly the Legislature did not intendthat some em-
ployees could be allowed a longer maximum vacation than others.
For this reason we are unable to assume legislative approval of
any method of computation whereby each department head should.
decide whether Saturday is a ‘“working day’” in determining the
maximum vacation period.
Moreover, the language found in Section 2(7) of H. B.
322, when considered in the light of prior acts of the Legislature
with respect to vacation allowances, makes it clear that the Legis-
lakrre intended a definite change in the manner in which vacation
time allowances short of the maximum are to be computed. Such
change wae for the obvious purpose of bringing about uniformity
and equity in computing maximum vacation allowances. Under
the provisions of departmental appropriation bills previously in
effect, any employee who had been in the employment of a depart-
ment for as long as six months became eligible for a full paid
vacation, and no distinction was made between vacations allowed
employees after several years of service and those employees
who had qualified under the six months minimum, Op. Att’y.
Gen. O-5972 (1944); The new vacation allowance provision clear-
ly alters this situation, Under this new provision the employee
who has been working only six months will be entitled to one-
half the vacation allowed those who have been employed by a de-
partment for a year.
It is our opinion that the Legislature altered the vaca-
tion allowance provision for the purpose of establishing a uni-
form and equitable method for computation of vacation allowances.
Furthermore, we do not feel that this change had for its purpose
or was in any manner intended to create a new and different
maximum vacation allowance or the creation of different total va-
cation allowances for employees in the same Stateidepartment or
Hon. Homer Garrison, Jr., Page 5, V-1072.
in different departments who have the same length of service to
their credit. If the Legislature had so intended it could have
easily provided for same, and this it did not do.
To illustrate the above holding, assume that a State em-
ployee with twelve months prior State service is now engaged in
working the required forty-four hours, minimum in five days. If
such an employee’s vacation is to begin on Monday, July 10.1950,
then such employee would be required to report back for duty on
Monday, July 24, 1950. This is true even though such employee
has actually completed his minimum work week on Friday even-
ing, July 7, 1950, and therefore does not have to report for duty
on Saturday, July 8, 1950. Saturday (July 8, 1950) is not an extra
vacation day for the simple reason that this particular Saturday
falls in the same classification with any other Saturday in an
actual work week of an employee who has completed his required
minimum work of forty-four hours during the period Monday ,:
through Friday, inclusive, as authorized by the Departmental Ap-
propriation Bill.
SUMMARY
Section 2 (9), H. B. 322, Acts 51st Leg., R. S.1949,
ch. 615, p, 1344, limits the maximum vacation allowance
for a Stat&employee to one working day for each month
of service, and in computing such time Saturdays are to
be considered as a “working day,“: unless the same falls
on a statutory legal holiday, or one so designated by the
Governor.
Yours very truly,
PRICE DANIEL
Attorney General
APPROVED:
Joe Greenhill Executive Assistant
First Assistant
Price Daniel Walter F. Woodul. Jr.
Attorney General Assistant
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