Can my employer deny days off when submitted 5 months in advance

Question

I submitted for 2 days off the night before my boss came back from his 2 days off so he would have it in the am. I did it 5 months in advance and took a pic of it incase he looses it cuz it's happened before. 5 months later he calls me at 530 on his day off to ask you if wasn't at work. Then complains he never got it and gets upset Cuz I said I took a picture of it on his desk. I explained it was more for the time stamp on the picture. Then tells me we are gonna talk about it in the morning and makes sure I'll b in. Is any of this legal or harassment

Neil Pedersen · Answer

Unfortunately, there is nothing unlawful about your employer denying you days off unless you can prove it is motivated by your membership in a protected class of people (i.e., race, religion, etc.) or because you engaged in some form of legally protected conduct.  Taking a picture of your request is not protected conduct. 
 
Understand that while this might be harassment, it is not unlawful harassment unless illegally motivated as stated above. 
 
Good luck to you.

Maurice Mandel II · Answer

I agree with what Neil said, he is a very sharp guy and his comments are usually right on.  My 2 cents on this is the psychology of the boss that you are dealing with, and your own.  Although you believed that you were covering the situation with a person that intentionally disregards important communications by taking a photo of it on his desk, you neglected to do anything to confirm that he got the message that you left "on his 2 days off."  For 5 months.  During that time, you could have sent him emails or texts (which all have date/time stamps on them) and a photo of the request on his desk, or even a second request.  You sent out a communication but got no confirmation on it.  Now, this may not be illegal, improper or negligent, but think about making an appointment with a doctor these days, you get text confirmation and they ask for a reply, or you get a phone call the day before to confirm.  You could have done something during that 5 months to confirm that he got the message and you were scheduled off, but you did not.  Setting your boss up to fail is a useless effort.  Bosses don't fail, they fire.  So my take on this entire bit is that you tried to set up your boss so you could take time off without properly notifying him, "cuz it's happened before".  If it has happened before, the onus is upon you to take EXTRA action to be sure he got it and approved it in advance, not to give him a "gotcha".  If I were the boss, I would be pretty pissed off at you for this attempted set up.  You don't know what happened to your note which you left on his desk when he was not there.  For all you know, Rumpelstiltskin went in that night and cut it into paper dolls.   
If you have a job that is good for you, protect it. 
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Q: Can my employer deny days off when submitted 5 months in advance