Mrs. Bess Blackwell 

Fxecutlve Secretary 

State Board of Eairdressers and Cosmetologists 

Austin, Texas 

Opinion NO. v-1452. 

Re: Authority of the 

head of a department to either inDear Mrs. 

crease or decrease 

the maximum number 

of hours earned by 

an employee for 

vacation in any one 

fiscal year of the 

Blackwell: current biennium. 

Your request for an opinion reads as follows: 

this 

“We have some of the employees with 

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 maximum number of hours allowed by 

law for vacation without deduction of salary. 

The appropriations for the support and malntenance of your Board, Including the salaries of its members and employees for each fiscal year of the current’ 

biennium, are contained in Section 1 of House Bill 426 

Article III 

at page 1343. 

Acts 52nd Leg., R.S. 195l., ch. 499, p. 1238, 

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 emplovees. shall witrecei V d ’ 

period to be mutually agreed upon by the 

Head of the Department with his employees; 

and any unused vacation In any one (1) flscal year may be used only during the following f lscal year. Provided, however, 

that no employee shall be allowed any paid 

vacation until he has had continuous employment with the State of Texas for six 

(6) months.” (Emphasis added.) 

We think the underlined provisions of subsection (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 fiscal year a maximum of eighty-eight hours, or if he 

works forty-eight hours per week he may earn a maximum of ninety-six hours for vaca 4 ion. In each instance, the maximum vacation allowance Is equivalent 

to two weeks of regular working time. 

any one 

The Legislature has provided that when an employee has earned In any one fiscal year the maximum 

number of hours for vacation that he nshall without deduction 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 authority to either increase or decrease 

the maximum number 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 

Charles D. Hathws 

First Assistant 

BWB:wb 

h BY 

Bruce W. Br 

Assistant