California Employment Lawyers
VACATION TIME
Vacation time (either paid or unpaid) is not guaranteed by California employment law. Many employers do, however, provide such benefits to their employees. Under California employment law, vacation time is considered to be a wage. Once earned, vacation time cannot be taken away and any vacation benefits accrued but not used at the time of termination are owed to the employee in his or her final paycheck.
Many employers have policies mandating that employees use their vacation benefits within one calendar year or else those benefits are lost. These are often called “Use It or Lose It” policies and are in direct violation of California employment law. However, it is legal for the employer to cap how much vacation time an employee is allowed to earn in one year, provided that such a cap is clearly communicated to the employee.
Girard Gibbs LLP is a law firm based in San Francisco, California. Our employment lawyers are highly knowledgeable about employee rights under federal and California employment law, and actively pursue claims on behalf of employees whose rights have been violated. If you believe you have not been compensated for vacation pay, overtime pay, and meal and break time, or that your employee rights have otherwise been violated, please fill out the form below or call us toll free at (866) 981-4800 for a consultation without charge.
Important Note: This summary is intended to provide a basic overview of the typical types of employment cases handled by our firm. It is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
Frequently Asked Questions about California Vacation Pay
Q: My employer’s vacation policy states that no vacation is earned during the first six months of employment. Is this legal?
A: Yes. An employer can specify a period of time at the beginning of the employment relationship during which an employee does not earn any vacation benefits. This can apply to a probationary period and can even apply to the whole first year of employment.
These types of vacation policies are only legal if they are not a pretense for denying employees accrued vacation.
Q: How is vacation earned?
A: According to California employment law, paid vacation is a form of wage and is earned as labor is performed. An employer’s vacation policy may provide for the earning of vacation benefits by the day, by the week, by the pay period, or on some other periodic basis.
Q: I am a part-time employee and am excluded from my employer’s vacation plan (only full-time employees get vacation). Is this legal?
A: Yes. An employer can legally exclude certain classes of employees, such as part-time, temporary, probationary, etc. The employer’s vacation policy should clearly state which specific employee classifications are excluded.
Q: My employer’s vacation policy states that if I do not use all of my annual vacation entitlement by the end of the year, I lose the unused balance. Is this legal?
A: No. Policies which state that an employee must forfeit vacation pay that is not used by a specific date (“use it or lose it”) is illegal under California employment law.
Q: My employer caps the amount of vacation that I can earn. Is this legal?
A: Yes. A cap limits the amount of vacation that and employee can accrue. Once a certain level or amount of accrued vacation is earned but not taken, no further vacation or vacation pay accrues until the balance falls below the cap. This is different from a “use it or lose it” policy, which is illegal.
Q: Can my employer tell me when to take my vacation?
A: Yes, your employer has the right to manage its vacation pay responsibilities, and one of the ways it can do this is by controlling when vacation can be taken and the amount of vacation that may be taken at any particular time.
Q: What happens to my earned but unused vacation if I am discharged or quit my job?
A: Under California employment law, unless otherwise stipulated by a collective bargaining agreement, whenever the employment relationship ends and the employee has not used all of his or her earned vacation, the employer must pay the employee at his or her final rate of pay for all of his or her unused vacation days. Because paid vacation benefits are considered wages, such pay must be included in the employee’s final paycheck.
Q: Can my employer fire me because I inquired about my employment rights?
A: It is illegal for your employer to discriminate or retaliate against you for inquiring about your rights, safety concerns or asking about your accrued vacation. Retaliation can mean the threat of or actual termination, demotion, suspension, or harassment.
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