Vacation Time

In California, employers are not required to provide paid vacation to their employees. However, many employers choose to offer paid vacation time as a benefit of employment. Employers who choose to offer paid vacation must follow certain guidelines. California law considers accrued vacation to be a form of wages that have already been earned by the employee. This is significant because it means that once an employee accrues vacation, it does not expire. If the employee does not use the accrued vacation time, the employer must pay the employee for the vacation time upon the employee’s termination or separation from the employer. In other words, generally speaking an employer cannot have a “use it or lose it” vacation time policy. If you are in need of an employment lawyer because you are concerned about how your employer has implemented a vacation policy, it is important that you contact an experienced Los Angeles Vacation Time Lawyer who will review the facts of your case and who will help you receive the vacation pay to which you are entitled.

Although many employers in California and across the country offer vacation benefits, employers are not legally obligated to do so under either federal or state law. When employers decide that they do want to offer vacation pay, they have great flexibility as to how to structure a vacation plan. For example, an employer’s vacation plan may provide for the earning of vacation benefits by the day, by the week, or by the pay period. In addition, an employer does not have to offer unlimited vacation time. In other words the employer is permitted to place a cap on the amount of time an employee can earn as long as the cap is reasonable.

California law does allow employers to restrict vacation policies in a number of ways.

• Cap on vacation accrual

  California views vacation time as a form of wages. Just like hourly pay, vacation time is progressively earned by the employee each day that the employee works. For example, an employer policy may state that a full-time employee earns two weeks (or 80 hours) of vacation each year actually. That means that each employee accrues approximately 0.30 hours of vacation time each work day. While California does not allow employers to have vacation policies where employees could forfeit accrued vacation time, employers are permitted to place a reasonable limit on the amount of vacation time that an employee can earn. Thus, an employer is permitted to have a policy that would prevent an employee from accruing additional vacation days once that employee reaches a certain number. However, once the employee uses some vacation days, he or she can again accrue more vacation days at the normal rate on the cap is again reached.

• Excluding classes of employees

  It is legal for employers to exclude certain classes of employees from accruing vacation time. For example, many employers exclude part-time, temporary and probationary employees from accruing vacation time.

• Restricting when employees can take vacation

  Employers also have the right to put reasonable restrictions on when employees can take vacations and the amount of vacation that can be taken at one time. For example, an accounting firm may have a policy that no one can take vacations during the 6-week period leading up to April 15th.

Once an employee has accrued vacation days an employer cannot take them away. Despite this rule, there are ways that employers do take away vacation days without the employee realizing it. Examples of how this is commonly done include:

• Terminating an employee without paying the employee for accrued unused vacation time
• Failing to pay an employee for accrued unused vacation time when the employee resigns
• Putting an expiration on vacation time
• Making employees take unpaid vacation

If you believe that you have been unfairly denied vacation time you may be able to recover compensation for your lost vacation wages. However, it is important that you are represented by an attorney with experience who will investigate your case and help you obtain the vacation pay that you were unlawfully denied. The staff at VAKILI & LEUS, LLP has years of experience successfully representing clients has years of experience successfully representing clients who have claims against their employers for vacation pay, wage and hour violations, and other employment-related issues. Contact us at 1-855-52LA-LAW (1-855-525-2529) to schedule a free, no obligation consultation regarding your concerns related to your employment.