I have recently returned to a previous employer and have found a lot of things have changed. The most important change is that out of the 35 employees only 3 are considered "full time" the rest including me are considered part time. According to my boss anyone who works less then 37 averaged hours a week is a part time employee and is not eligible for holiday or vacation days no matter the length of your employment. So those employees who have been with the company for 3+ yrs have now lost all their earned vacation time. I would just like to know how many hours must you work before being legally deemed as a full time employee?

I don't know the laws in the States, so I'd call the employment office, just to make sure. I'm sure they'd know.

In Canada, 40 hrs/week is what's required to be considered a "full-time" employee. But all that means is that you work 40 hours a week, not that you're eligible for vacation days of benefits.

In order to be eligible for that you have to be a permanent employee. A lot of companies are hiring casual staff. The sad fact is, the casual staff are permanent, they just aren't listed as such. Because of this the company can get away with not offering paid vacations or sick day, benefits or job security. They can fire you whenever they want for no reason at all.

With the way things are right now, be happy you have a job. There are so many unemployed people out there right now that would kill for a 37 hour/week job.

U.S. Department of Labor - Find It By Topic - Work Hours - Full-time Employment

I can't find anything specifically about IL law, but here's a US government site you might be interested in. It says that the definition is generally left up to employers. I've always heard the same as alty, generally 40 hours. Although some companies it's even more than that. Until recently, for my company, it was 50 hours for full-time staff.

I am not sure, but I do know that it IS less than 40 hours; it is 30 something (no pun). I will check later but I think that it is either 32 or 35 hours per week to be considered full time.

Thanks a bunch guys, I keep hearing different things as well a lot people seem to think its 32-35hrs I'm going to call the employment office as well as look into that link. Thanks again.

I do believe as long as it is under 40 that the company can set their own rules.

And of course who said that a full time employee has to even get vacation ay