AGO 1989-014.

Case DateFebruary 10, 1989
CourtKansas
Kansas Attorney General Opinions 1989. AGO 1989-014. February 10, 1989ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINION NO. 89-14The Honorable Eloise Lynch State Representative Seventy First District State Capitol Room 155 E Topeka, Kansas Re: Labor and Industries--Payment of Compensation--Definitions; Wages, Unused Sick Leave Synopsis: Absent contractual agreement, teachers employed by school districts are not entitled to payment for accrued sick leave. Cited herein: K.S.A. 44-312; 44-313; 75-5517. * * * Dear Representative Lynch: You request our opinion regarding the definition to be attributed the term "wages" as used in the wage payment act, K.S.A. 44-312 et seq. Specifically you question whether unused sick leave accrued and earned pursuant to the terms of a teaching contract constitutes "wages" as defined by K.S.A. 44-313(c). Kansas courts have considered whether unused vacation time should be included when calculating an employee's earned wages at the time employment is terminated, and have held that generally, absent agreement, nothing in Kansas law requires an employer to convert accrued vacation time to wages upon termination. Mid America Aerospace, Inc. v. Department of Human Resources, 10 Kan.App.2d 144, 146, 147 (1985). See Sweet v. Stormont Vail Regional Medical Center, 231 Kan. 604, 605, 606, 607 (1982). We believe the same would apply when determining whether accrued sick leave constitutes wages earned at the time of termination. See Richardson v. St Mary Hospital, 6...

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