Can the value of an employee’s accrued sick and vacation time be divided up in a divorce? Check out this court’s decision.
An Illinois man had accrued 115 sick days and 42 vacation days at his company at the time of his divorce.
A trial court awarded him 45 sick days and his wife nearly $15,000 — the value of the remaining sick and vacation days (based on his salary, minus taxes).
Overturned
However, an appeals court — and later the state supreme court agreed — that the sick and vacation days were not marital property and overturned the ruling.
Reasoning: Vacation and sick days differ from pension plans, stock options and deferred compensation. An employee has no right to be paid for accrued sick or vacation days until retirement or loss of employment, the court said.
It then went on to say that if he were to use any of the days prior to retirement or termination, he’d never collect payment for the value of those days. Therefore “those days had only a future value that was indeterminate and speculative,” the court said.
Cite: In re Marriage of Abrell, Ill, No.107755, 2/4/10.
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