Nike cashing out our PTO would be the only right thing to do. PTO is an already accrued and already earned part of everyone’s compensation package. In some states it’s even a legal requirement to pay it out precisely because already accrued PTO is considered “earned wages”. You’ve already earned it so it’s rightfully yours. Makes sense.
Oregon does not have this requirement however. It’s completely up to Nike to decide whether they pay it out or just wipe it off the books. If we go to unlimited PTO I hope Nike does the right thing and pays it out. I’ve already heard some hallway chatter about it and gathered that people are not going to be happy campers if Nike doesn’t pay this out.
Plenty of people have excessive PTO accruals because they have jobs where it’s very difficult to take more than a few days off here and there. To have that PTO stripped away without payment would be a gut punch that I don’t think most would appreciate.
Personally I’m not a fan of unlimited PTO for a number of reasons. The data shows that on average people take LESS time off with unlimited PTO. Mostly out of fear. I like knowing that if I work XX hours I am entitled to XX hours of PTO. It’s much simpler that way and avoids the inevitable introduction of politics and gossip into taking vacation time.
I guess we’ll see what happens.