Outrage erupted online after an employer presented its employees with the option to "donate" their personal time off (PTO) to a colleague—and to pay tax on it.
The viral post, shared by Reddit user u/kimkartrash1can in r/antiwork, included a screenshot of the company's email and quickly amassed 4,000 upvotes.
Newsweek sought insight from two experts to address the ethical and legal implications of the employer's unusual proposal.
"And just like that—I'm clocking out for the day. What a pathetic email to read. The system is beyond broken," the Reddit user wrote.
The email addressed to employees read: "One of the metro-area staff has a need for time off but does not have enough PTO time accrued to cover the duration."
It offered an option to "donate PTO to fellow coworkers" while noting that "those donated hours are taxed at the regular rate."
Paul Koenigsberg of the New York-based Koenigsberg & Associates law firm noted that, from a legal standpoint, the proposal is "100 percent legal" under most U.S. employment laws as long as the donation is voluntary.
Employers have the right to create their own PTO donation policies within local labor regulations, but coercion is strictly prohibited. Donated PTO being taxed as regular income also aligns with IRS guidelines.
"Ethically, however, this request is very questionable. Asking employees to volunteer their time off to help a coworker in need is a way of shifting the burden from the employer to the employees. This is an exploitative move," Koenigsberg said.
He argued that a financially stable company should be responsible for providing adequate PTO to all staff, rather than depending on employees' goodwill to cover shortages.
Nathan Soto, a career expert with Resume Genius, highlighted Redditors' collective skepticism.
He told Newsweek: "It's to the employer's credit that they clearly laid out the tax implications of donating PTO right in the email.
"Since it would financially penalize the donor, the term "donating" feels misleading to most readers, some of whom suggested that the employer should cover any tax burden. So, the request is legal. Whether or not it's fair or ethical, however, is not so clear."
Soto observed that the company may see this option as pragmatic, as granting special leave can sometimes lead to accusations of favoritism.
Still, for employees, surrendering PTO feels deeply unfair. He pointed out that U.S. companies are restrictive compared to European labor standards.
"Issues like this shed light on the importance of offering employees flexible solutions to work, such as hybrid or remote work, as well as no-questions-asked personal leave, and emergency exceptions," he said.
Reddit Reacts
Unsurprisingly, Reddit users in r/antiwork found the request outrageous.
"That's IN SANE," commented one Redditor.
"Have you ever noticed that none of the executives ever donate their PTO?" asked another user.
One user recounted a positive experience: "I once worked for an amazing small company. A year in, I had a family emergency and needed two weeks off but hadn't accrued PTO. The company covered my time off, and my boss even wrote me a card. That's the correct way to do things."
Another user voiced indignation over the tax aspect: "I'm hung on the 'you being taxed for it.' You're not getting my time, but if you take it, I'm not paying taxes on top of that!"
Newsweek reached out to u/u/kimkartrash1can for comment via Reddit. We could not verify the details of the case.
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