+67 votes
by (3.2k points)
I’m on maternity leave - 0 pay  Anyways contacted work today because I knew I had 110 hours pto per my paystubs - we use ADP. My payroll lady goes “no you only have 55, that is a wrong. This is why I keep track of stuff manually” Now this affects my freaking budget ‍♀️ We have money saved up but I didn’t save up enough to account for the loss of 55 hours. Has any one gone through something similar? What did you do to help? I guess I just will only do minimum payments towards debt.  
I’m on maternity leave - 0 pay  Anyways contacted work today because I knew I had 110 hours pto pe

42 Answers

+24 votes
by (3.1k points)
I would get a second opinion and have someone else look at your payroll.  
by (3.2k points)
@kirstiekirstin I work in a small drs office. There’s unfortunately no one else. The boss is my dr. The girl who does payroll is our billing manager. My boss is clueless with anything.  
by (3.1k points)
@erme I would still look into it further. if your paystubs says one thing but her “manual” work says another I would be questioning things
by (3.2k points)
@kirstiekirstin yeah I mean I’m not sure really where to look if that makes sense? She’s the only one that does it but cording to my paystub’s I am being told something different and she told me that it’s just wrong and it makes mistakes that’s why she keeps track of it
by (3.1k points)
@erme an attorney?  
by (3.1k points)
Accountant ?  
by (970 points)
Do you have a history if paystubs you can compare with? And your employee handbook that says what your accrual rate is? Def fight this! I worked in a small business where they tried to pull this bs!  
by (790 points)
Ditto. you can ask to see her calculations.  
by (4.2k points)
@kirstiekirstin I agree! Find an outside person to look at them. This is just weird. I mean, maybe a few hours off but not half. Where is she getting her numbers from? I always make sure my pto matches what is in my account and With my HR. If it’s off then I question it
by (400 points)
I work in HR - we constantly have people who look at numbers on their pay stubs that think it is their PTO balance, but is something completely different. If you can find out your accrual rate you should be able to determine what your balance is approximately. 55 hours is a lot to lose track of - is it possible that you even had 110 saved based on your company’s PTO rules?  
by (3.2k points)
@plumage according to the lady who does payroll she says since we don’t go by calendar year ADP always makes it look like we have more than we actually do?  
+2 votes
by (3k points)
I just got back from maternity leave with zero pay. Most of my PTO was used for appointments prior to actually going on leave due to a very complicated and high risk pregnancy. Luckily I had enough to squeeze by. Do you have short term disability through your employer? You can typically use that for at least a portion of a paycheck. Good luck!  
by (3.2k points)
@lifework unfortunately we have nothing. Not even fmla.  
by (3k points)
@erme FMLA is a law that protects you from getting fired, not for any type of payment to you. Unfortunately:(
by (3.2k points)
@lifework I know. I was just saying like we have nothing at my employer
by (3k points)
Ahh got ya. Yeah they are required by law to follow FMLA rules so don't let them tell you that they don't have it. There are special circumstances with extremely small businesses but that's about it.  
by (920 points)
FMLA is only for businesses with 50 employees. There are other limitations based on the amount of hours worked as well. So she may be right that they don't have it.  
by (3k points)
@daly72558 right, which is why I said that in my last comment there might be special circumstances with small businesses. These laws kinda suck sometimes!  
+44 votes
by (1.8k points)
I would have her walk through the math with you. How could it be that off?  
by (3.2k points)
@railing4751 That’s what I’m wondering. She hasn’t texted me back. It seems so shady to me because I accrue my hours but then she’s telling me I am only accruing 55 from November to November and once I use these 55 for the leave I will have nothing until November. But my paystub’s are all showing 110 hours
by (1.5k points)
@erme then she may be right. It sounds like there’s no carry over since it’s a small doctors office (they can’t afford it). If there’s a handbook, I would double check what it says. But usually PTO works by the calendar year, not anniversary.  
by (1.4k points)
If you accrue time off you should be able to calculate how much you have accrued based on how many hours you worked for the year.  
by (1.8k points)
@schnapps There are definitely a lot of nuances. I know my work says once you hit 120 hours you're no longer able to accrue more until you use it, and they want you to use your time within the 12 months you earned it. Just depends!  
by (970 points)
@erme is she trying to say your pto doesn’t roll over year to year? Check your employee handbook, it has to be clearly written and any ambiguity falls on the side of the employee
by (1.5k points)
@railing4751 very true. My main job only lets us carry over 3 vacation & 3 sick. Everything else is use or lose. My prior employer didn’t have a carryover and whatever was unused was paid out in December as an extra bonus.  
by (1.5k points)
@kirtley9 that’s what it sounds like and they don’t have a handbook since it’s a small office. It also sounds like the doctor prefers to just practice & not deal w/ the business aspect of things bc I’ve never heard of a billing manager processing payroll.  
by (970 points)
@schnapps ugh small business sucks! But I was involved with a startup (vet med so very similar to your situation) and they legally have to have a handbook. You should absolutely fight this
by (1.5k points)
@kirtley9 yes she definitely should even if it’s not all fancy, there should be a printout of some sort that acts as an employee handbook.  
by (3.2k points)
@schnapps exactly what the situation is.  
+21 votes
by (1.9k points)
This makes me so mad! Maternal and paternal leave should be paid for. No wonder so many new moms are struggling
by (3.2k points)
@floatage yeah I’m being induced tomorrow night and my husband has to be back at work by Friday and I won’t even get to leave the hospital until Saturday.  
by (1.9k points)
@erme that is horrible. My husband worked for Walmart when I had our kids and they sucked every way possible but they did give him 3 weeks when I had both girls idk what I would of done
by (3.2k points)
@floatage aww that’s nice atleast! Thankfully my mom is taking a week off to be with me.  
by (3.2k points)
My husband took 2 weeks of PTO when ours were born. I was so grateful for that. But, 2 weeks ago, they announced that they are rolling out paid paternity leave. I told him they owe him 2 kids worth of leave.  
by (1.9k points)
@silkstocking seriously! haha! It was so nice to have him home with me for those first few sleep-deprived weeks. I also flew my grandma up to stay for 2 weeks which was super helpful. I suffered terrible PPA with my second kid and I can't imagine how bad it would of been if I had to of done it totally aloen
+47 votes
by (4.1k points)
I am a former ADP employee I would contact the number on your paystub and see what hours have been reported to them. That’s a huge discrepancy between employer and payroll company.  
by (3.2k points)
@soubrette56 do you think they would be able to tell me without my employer? Like I’m not sure how payroll works or anything
by (4.1k points)
@erme they should be able to help you. I would just tell them that there is a discrepancy between what is showing on your paystub and what your employee is calculating and you’re trying to get to the bottom of it.  
by (3.2k points)
@soubrette56 okay I’ll definitely give them a call
+37 votes
by (920 points)
That doesn't sound right. I'd ask for proof, talk to her manager and explain that you had your budget based around the information you were given. If it WAS a mistake, that it's fair to you. They should honor the 110.  
by (920 points)
@erme loosing out on 55 hours isn't cool. Find out your state laws. If it's 110 on your paystub, keep that. Explain to the lady since they don't have an employee handbook, and your paystub says 110 hours, that you are due those 110 hours. Taking it back could be a violation of law. I'm sure there is a nice way to do that, but I'm at a loss right now because I'm so upset for you.  
by (3.2k points)
@capitalistic Thanks. I’m trying not to get worked up because I’m actually being induced tomorrow because of high blood pressure. So I might just wait until after I have him to discuss this but I have screenshots of my paystub’s and her texts to me. She never responded when I asked how it got messed up
by (970 points)
@capitalistic they legally have to have some sort of handbook
by (3.2k points)
@kirtley9 maybe. I’ve been there a year now and haven’t seen one or heard talk about one
by (920 points)
@kirtley9 I know, I work in HR. Smaller businesses sometimes don't. It's not legal, but they do it.  
+24 votes
by (3.2k points)
Before anyone Canadians us, we know our leave sucks. ‍♀️ Wait how is lady “manual” keeping track?  
by (3.2k points)
@festive I have no idea.  
by (2.2k points)
@festive Lololol I went over my medical bills on IG for a normal vaginal delivery six weeks ago (total billed was $32k), and I got sooooo many canadianing comments. Like cool, happy for you and your coverage, too bad I wasn’t born there?! ‍♀️‍♀️
by (3.2k points)
@nibbs70781 right?! It would be so nice. Can’t wait to see my bill ‍♀️ I have been saving up for it so hopefully that won’t be a surprise
+29 votes
by (1.1k points)
We use adp at my work and my vacation hours are always off the first year it said I had 0 and then went to -40 and the 2nd year I had 80 but it started at 40 then went 0 and -40
by (3.2k points)
@ptyalism interesting! Do you accrue yours?  
+14 votes
by (3.9k points)
Do you have your own records/count? Like for example at my job I get like 3. 5 min of pto per hour worked so I could easily figure out if their count is correct.  
by (3.2k points)
@nevil honestly no. I have no idea how it’s accrued because I thought it was accrued by the amount of hours you worked. But she just told me I will only have these 55 hours until November, then I get new ones?  
by (3.9k points)
@erme ask, and do your own math.  
by (3.9k points)
Do you have an employee manual? It’s a lot of hours to just let it go, the discrepancy is big. “Worst” thing is they’re right, and so be it.  
by (3.2k points)
@nevil Unfortunately I've been there a year and have never heard about a manual or seen one.  
by (3.9k points)
@erme you don’t have to be mean about it, you can just say “can you explain to me how pto is accrued? I was under the impression I had x amount of hours accrued, is there an employee handbook available that explains PTO? ”
+10 votes
by (1.6k points)
Ya. Keep track yourself or go back to your pay stubs. Those programs ARE run by humans. Humans enter the figures, for no reason whatsoever a computer should NOT randomly change numbers.  
by (3.2k points)
@mycobacterium I went back to all my paystub’s my December ones that I had 55 hours. But since January it’s been 110.  
by (1.6k points)
Sounds like your time off for this year was added. Hubs has the same thing kinda. In our state we get 1 hr of sick pay for every 40 worked. However the business has an option of granting it in advance as long as it is the same or larger than what could be potentially earned. For example instead of keeping track of sick pay they just grant my hubs 50 hrs of PTO for the year. Sadly they took away paid vacations because of this. It is good in some ways but not in others.  
by (1k points)
@mycobacterium @erme my company used ADP during my maternity leave. My company also has it set where some hours expire & you can only roll over so many. My baby came 2. 5 months early & was born 2 days before the hours expired, so the amount of PTO I had to use was much less than expected. Definitely reach out to your HR person to help with solutions. Mine was super helpful
+41 votes
by (7.8k points)
If your pay stub says 110 and she manually keeps track, then she needs to prove to you that you only have 55 then. I would ask for a years worth of pay stubs and PTO accrual. Do you accrue per paycheck? Or Per month? Is it based on hours worked or just per pay period? This doesn’t sound right to me. I’m the Payroll/HR at my California job so we have Leaves in place for maternity time and pay leaves as well.  
by (1.6k points)
@erme this creates issues. They need a handbook or at least a way to let you know how they do their books. They cannot just randomly decide how they want to do stuff mamby pamby by how it suits them, when it suits them.  
by (3.2k points)
@mycobacterium unfortunately that’s basically how it’s done at this job.  
by (3.2k points)
@mycobacterium She said vacation runs from November to November. Mind you this is my vacation/PTO/sick time all together. ‍♀️
by (740 points)
If ADP has it on your stubs that's your PTO. If this is a discrepancy between ADP and your HR department, PTO rules should have made clear through a rule book or an email with this explanation at the start of your job. You're owed what's on your ADP stub. I don't know what state you're in but you can contact the local labor board for more advice. Also, don't have in person conversations about this with HR, send emails so it's all documented.  
by (7.8k points)
@barbaresi agreed! Email documentation! If your PTO is given the first of the calendar year and you never used any in 2019, you are due your total 110 hours for 2019 and 2020. I don’t know what state you are in but I’m sure they can help you as well. California State Disability will confirm the PTO hours the employee has to be paid out prior to paying out SDI payments.  
+2 votes
by (1.1k points)
It is possible you only have 55 available for use. where i work you can take FMLA but you need to have enough PTO to leave 80 hours in the bank. but that's just where i work however at my old job it was the same. maybe the rules may not be the same in every state. I live in Florida.  
by (3.2k points)
@plumb No I asked. She told me I only have 55 and once I use that 55 I’ll have zero until November. And I have to use my 55 since I’m out. So I’ll be basically going back to work in six weeks with a newborn and no time off or sick time
by (1.1k points)
Ok, then if that is the case i would ask for proof paycheck by paycheck side by side with what that payroll person is showing. Because that doesn't even sound right!  
by (3.2k points)
@plumb No I noticed in December I had 55 hours and then in January it said I had 110. It’s been 110 since January on all my paystub so it’s not like it was just one paystub and done.  
by (1.1k points)
Then there is really something wrong because if your pay stub says 110 in January and you haven't used any of it, then that payroll person is definitely wrong! I would speak to someone higher than her and not back down until they say you have 110 hours
by (3.2k points)
@plumb yeah it’s my boss. Our doctor I’ll definitely say something when I can actually have a conversation with him
by (1.7k points)
Do you possibly have disability insurance? I know having a baby is NOT a disability but you could use that insurance to get some income. I think aflac works like that.  
by (3.2k points)
@brochure nooo when we knew we were trying Aflac told us they wouldn’t cover a baby. Same with State Farm
by (1.7k points)
Boo. Praying you get the hours you’re owed
+15 votes
by (900 points)
I’d ask for proof as well. That doesn’t sound right. That’s a huge discrepancy in hours.  
+36 votes
by (2.3k points)
If you are fronted your leave for the year it is based on the assumption of hours worked. Because you will be off you will "lose" hours from that 110 for each day you are off etc. I earn 4 hours each pay, with the assumption I work 80 hours a pay they front me my leave at the beginning of the year. So when I was off for maternity leave last year I "lost" 4 hours for every 80 hours of leave without pay. Does that make sense?  
by (3.2k points)
@lenticular487 that does make sense.  
by (2.3k points)
I'm hoping to have a second maternity leave at the end of this year so I will be crunching the numbers of how many hours I will actually have to use as well. I took all 12 weeks unpaid last year and rolled over whatever PTO I ended up with, so it will be tricky to account for everything.  
+13 votes
by (580 points)
Sounds like one of the first things you need is your employee handbook that way you have in writing how you accrue your pto and what what the exact policy is. Then ask for all your paystubs so you can calculate how much you should have and call ADP to see how they have is calculated vs how you and your handbook have it calculated.  
+25 votes
by (610 points)
Short term disability
by (3.2k points)
@eliathan don’t have it
by (610 points)
@erme oh that stinks I’m sorry
+46 votes
by (1.5k points)
And after you return from maternity leave, find a job w/ better benefits (PTO & STD) & an employee handbook. You can also purchase a STD outside of your job.  
by (3.2k points)
@schnapps I’m planning to. I really don’t even want to go back there but that has been my plan to find a new job after I have the baby that actually has benefits
by (1.5k points)
@erme yes bc that business is weird. goodluck & don’t stress the baby ♥️
by (3.2k points)
@schnapps thank you. I’m trying not too. ‍♀️
by (380 points)
@schnapps alot of STD doesn’t cover maternity leave, or at least not in AL. I had one, paid 7 months of premiums and then come to find out they didn’t cover a normal delivery/pregnancy.  so I didn’t have any coverage but luckily got all my premiums back.  
by (1.5k points)
@erme yes wish you lived closer to philly, I would send you the open positions at my job
+40 votes
by (6.1k points)
I'd go in and talk face to face. Don't leave this to misconstruing text messages. This is important and warrants her looking you into the eye. Good luck!  
+37 votes
by (4.2k points)
Kind of, when I was working as a barista I would always go overtime and it would never show up on my checks (they were docking my pay not even showing I worked 40hrs ) so I started taking pictures of me clocking in and out and keeping my clock in receipts and confronted them when I had the evidence they were doing so. I also dealt with my husband’s old job saying they gave him his last weeks pay but they didn’t
+18 votes
by (1.2k points)
Do your hrs for the last year get rolled over? With us we get the on Jan 1st the PTO hrs for that year and if we have hrs from last year only 40hrs get rolled over. But ADP should say how many hrs you have left. If you are going on maternity leave and have been there a year do you not get FMLA? Or STD? Last year I had my daughter before I completed the year so I didn’t qualify for FMLA and had to do a STD and spread out my PTO hrs for the rest of my leave
by (640 points)
FMLA is unpaid - it's only job security.  
+16 votes
by (2.6k points)
I would also tell your boss about that conversation.  
by (3.2k points)
I'm going to. I will talk to him after I have the baby tomorrow.  
by (2.6k points)
Have that baby! Woo how exciting!  
by (3.2k points)
@disincentive6384 I'm very nervous haha. He is coming 3 weeks earlier than expected too. So that doesn't help the financial situation because I was banking on another 2 paychecks and now this.  
+43 votes
by (5.8k points)
I would also double check that seems really off.  
+50 votes
by (760 points)
I would ask for how that was calculated and a list of time off you've used. I had this happen to me with my employer and they were wrong in their calculations. Terrible price to pay, worth the ask. Best of luck.  
by (640 points)
I agree! I don't like that the system is saying one thing but someone has paper records that say something else. I'd want an explanation, at the very least.  
+19 votes
by (7.2k points)
We used to use ADP and our stubs were ALWAYS wrong. Or so they said. It always seemed to show more than what we really had.  
by (3.2k points)
It's just weird to me because my old employer used ADP and it was never off?  
by (7.2k points)
@erme I only had one employer use ADP . and it was “supposedly” always wrong. I feel like it was only wrong when it worked in their favor. But I didn’t trust the company as far as I could throw them.  
+49 votes
by (4.2k points)
So how many weeks were you promised when you started? And how many days have you already taken?  
+30 votes
by (2.8k points)
I'm in HR. If you'd like to chat about this for some help, PM me. :)
by (3.2k points)
I'm going to send you a pm!  
+34 votes
by (6.4k points)
Aside from investigating the hours, when I was on maternity leave I was able to put my student loans into forbearance, and even skip two car payments. Maybe not the smartest financial decision because I understand you end up paying more interest, but if you don’t have enough money and you can temporarily eliminate a payment, it may be worth looking into.  
by (3.2k points)
I have applied to put my student loans on forbearance. I didn't even think about the car. I will give them a call here shortly.  
by (3.2k points)
@erme make sure u ask if it will effect your credit score in anyway . Some lenders will say yeah sure we wont repo since we have another arrangement with u but will report late payments to your credit and that can lower your scores dramatically.  
+11 votes
by (630 points)
We currently use ADP at my office, and I have never had issues with my ADP or anyone else in the office. I also complete the payroll for my office of about 50 staff and ADP has never been wrong with any of our PTO.  
by (3.2k points)
My old employer used ADP and never had issues? So idk if my current employer doesn't have something set up right or is actually just messing up our time.  
+46 votes
by (3.2k points)
This was the response I just got. That’s why I do it seriously no fucken idea why or how it gets screwed up. Pissed me off in beginning I didn’t and had to go back through months writing dates and hours down to figure out. I know part is because we don’t go by calendar year but when we get passed new year should be ok not in February! t went in as time carried over which we don’t work that way. It’s stupid as hell and I am not in mindset for this dumb shit. Sorry but should be good till next time I asked how it gets accrued and didn't get a response.  
by (1.5k points)
@erme ok so basically it’s a glitch on ADPs end due to the fact that their system for PTO runs calendar year (from prior knowledge) & not anniversary year. The company doesn’t offer carryover bc he can’t afford it. So you basically only have 55 hours to cash. It sounds like it’s accrued monthly based off hours worked.  
by (3.2k points)
@schnapps that’s what I’m thinking.  
by (1.5k points)
@erme but you should still get 80 hours so I’d ask about that.  
+32 votes
by (9.2k points)
You may have to take a certain number of days before the other leave kicks in, which could have eaten away at those hours. Hopefully something just went wrong and that isn't the case and they can fix it.  
+29 votes
by (1.1k points)
Why is your hours not reflecting in the payroll system?  
by (3.2k points)
@bauman it’s neither. I work in a small practice. Dr just runs the practice. The lady who does payroll is our billing manager.  
by (1.1k points)
@erme wow. I would talk with the doctor then since she/he would be considered the Admin of the business
by (3.2k points)
@bauman Every time I try to talk to him about like business related stuff he just pushes it off. He doesn’t get involved with any of it
by (3.2k points)
@bauman I was going to talk to him today when he called but he just kept wishing me good luck in telling me how excited he is for me and he’s glad that he won the bet. They had a bet at my office of when I would deliver.  
by (1.1k points)
@erme Awh. I do understand. He expected the office Manager to do it.  
+26 votes
by (900 points)
I got screwed over on maternity leave, too. Our employee handbook said 12 weeks, then 6 months later (when I was 8 months pregnant) HR said oops we only have coverage for 6 weeks. So, so so wrong, and yet still better than a lot of moms in America get. My husband got zero days paid leave. Zero. I had an emergency c-section and was in the hospital for 5 days and our daughter was in the NICU for a week. Between the two of us, we took a LOT of unpaid leave. It still makes me bitter to think about. One advocacy group that I have supported ever since is here:  
https://paidleave.us/
by (3.2k points)
@bounty wow that’s terrible. I’ll definitely check it out. We definitely have some unfair laws when it comes to having a child.  
+39 votes
by (2k points)
Go over her head, show your proof to higher ups and get them to pay you for them.  
by (3.2k points)
@pullulate there is no higher ups
+21 votes
by (1.5k points)
I run our payroll through Paychex. I’ve had a problem with them tracking PTO and sick since day one so I keep a spreadsheet and track manually. That said, I also circulate this to employees each month or when they use any time off so they can discuss any issues with me.  
+58 votes
by (7.5k points)
It’s really your responsibility to track your PTO, but regardless I have used ADP in the past and it’s never been accurate.  
by (7.5k points)
And that’s not meant to sound harsh, but don’t ever depend on taking someone else’s word for it. Track your own time.  
by (3.2k points)
@sunburn well I can’t track it if I’m not getting an answer with how it’s accrued  
by (7.5k points)
@erme Is there no employee handbook or memo about it? You didn’t get anything at hiring? It should not be difficult for your HR rep to be able to explain to you how it’s calculated if she’s doing her job properly.  
by (3.2k points)
@sunburn I didn’t. We don’t have “HR” or an “office manager”
by (7.8k points)
@sunburn are they currently hiring? Look for a recruiting advertisement - it may list the benefits offered for the position
by (7.8k points)
Your looking for PTO benefits offered
+40 votes
by (7.2k points)
I would have them M provide a full accounting of your hours. The pay stub is an official document. I would imagine their is some legal responsibility on their part for it to be accurate.  
+20 votes
by (6.2k points)
I always ask every few months how much I have which is always 200 plus hours since I never take vacation. Those emails are proof of the hours.  
+58 votes
by (1.2k points)
Can I ask why it’s unpaid? Did you file with disability?  
by (3.2k points)
@antipodal because we have no benefits at my office.  
by (1.2k points)
@erme okay but what about disability pay? You can file a case and the state pays it not the office. Have you looked into it? In CA i received 4 weeks disability pay before due date, 6 weeks after birth and then the 6 weeks paid family leave. Have you looked into it?  
by (3.2k points)
@antipodal we have no short term disability or anything at my office. I was told in pa you can’t get disability for a child. We even looked into buying disability through a company
by (1.2k points)
@erme oh goodness. So they don’t give you paid family leave either?  
by (3.2k points)
@antipodal nope!  
by (1.3k points)
California is leagues ahead on this issue. Many states have nothing for family leave.  
+29 votes
by (1.6k points)
Look back at pto used vs paid out. We use adp and it doesn't get messed up.  
+21 votes
by (1.3k points)
My HR has messed up my hour accrual and also one of my direct reports. I keep track of hours accrued on my own in a spreadsheet and I check their work! They could be wrong.  
+33 votes
by (530 points)
We have to change things. Don’t want this to be our children’s futures too.  
+11 votes
by (1.8k points)
It sounds criminal and like you are being unlawfully denied of the benefits you accrued.  
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