From one worker bee to the other worker bees out of general concern for others and now that we are through almost half of 2025. If you are not fortunate enough to live in the states where PTO banking wasn't limited to 40 hours and you no longer have young children making you sick all the time, you may want to consider banking some time for sick leave to carry into 2026 if you are not going to leave or make them fire you when they start forcing us into the office more days. Being isolated at home, we have not been as exposed to viruses and other diseases, and it will hit like wildfire once we are packed into open cubes. I would hate to see anyone caught off guard and lose income in 2026 when most of us can't afford it, especially with our deductibles being so high and the cr-ppy raises not keeping up with inflation the past five years. Good luck to everyone in 2026 regardless of what you want the outcome to be!
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I had a ridiculous amount of PTO / Sick time when I was Rif'd. I only worked like one weeks the last 30 days I was there... and I ended up donating thirty hours on top of that.
I lost my banked PTO days when I was RIF'd, but was able to donate them to an associate who needed them.
I was riffed but given 30 days in lieu of notice so in way it was like getting paid out on PTO. If you end up having to work those 40 days and they don’t let you use your PTO then your boss is an a--hole. Some states require payout but not enough. We are all getting sc--wed one way or another. All in the name of job creation, the problem now is they are looking to cut more jobs. Companies shouldn’t be allowed to do this anymore.
Lesson learned always use your PTO. I lost all of mine. I always cancelled my PTO to make sure deliverables were met on time if I didn't have a backup. I was riffed the week before my PTO so I lost it.
Same happened to me I had a lot of PTO and sick time and was rifd. They should pay us that balance if you are rifd.
You can use sick time for doctor appointments (4-hour increments). I try to bank at least 3 days for sick leave, so I don't lose PTO due to being sick. If you don't get sick before fourth quarter, use it for mental health days to get a break in fourth quarter of 2026 if you don't want to carry it over.
I received a RIF earlier this year. I had over 100 hours of PTO and over 70 hours of Sick time. I wish I would have used my time. You never know when your last day may be. Use it while you can.