Incorrectly believing you'll be penalized is still the company's fault, because you're going to be penalized at some point and the company is hiding what that p

Incorrectly believing you'll be penalized is still the company's fault, because you're going to be penalized at some point and the company is hiding what that point is. Taking the PTO becomes a gamble. Nobody would accept a job where the company told you "well, it's unlimited pay. Just tell us when you need some money and if it's not unreasonable we'll give it to you."