Mrs. Bess Blackwell

Fxecutlve Secretary State Board of Eairdressers and Cosmetologists Austin, Texas Opinion NO.v-1452. Re: Authority of the head of a departmentto 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 “Wehave someof the employees with department working forty-four hours from Mondaythrough Friday, while others work from forty-four to forty-eight hours per week, Mondaythrough Saturday. ?Would It be proper for the Board to set the samevacation 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 whoearn during any one fiscal year Ofthe current biennium the maximum number of hours allowed by law for vacation without deduction of salary.

Theappropriations for the support andmalntenance 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 HouseBill 

### 426 Article III at page 

### 1343.

Acts 52ndLeg., R.S. 195l., ch. 

### 499,p. 

### 1238, Theremaining 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 Headof the Department with his employees; and anyunused vacation In any one (1) flscal year maybe used only during the following flscal 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.) Wethink the underlined provisions of subsection (9) are plain, and clearly fix the maximum number of hours a departmental employee mayearn for vacation in any one fiscal year. If an employee works forty-four hours per week, he mayearn in any one fiscal year a maximumof eighty-eight hours, or if he works forty-eight hours per week he mayearn a maximumof ninety-six hours for vaca4ion. In each instance, the maximum vacation allowance Is equivalent to twoweeks of regular working time. any one

TheLegislature has provided that whenan 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 mayneitherbfR+.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 -PRICEDANIEL Trial &Appellate Dlvlslon Attorney General MaryK. Wall Reviewing Assistant Charles D. Hathws First Assistant BWB:wb 

# h BY Bruce W.Br Assistant