TIME OFF WORK

Although, California Law does not require an employer to provide its employees with either paid or unpaid, vacation time, sick time or personal time off (PTO), many employers offer their employees days off to maximize their employees work and to make their employees happy. If an employer does have an established policy, practice, or agreement, or promises you some type of policy, then, under California law, the employer must comply with the law.

The reasons an employee can take time off are for the following:

Vacation Time- For the employee’s personal need

Sick time- For an employee’s absence for medical reasons

Personal Time Off or PTO- A combination of both sick and vacation time together for any reason.

Holidays- California employers are not required to provide their employees with holidays or to pay extra if you do work on a holiday.

Are you entitled to get paid for the unused days when your relationship is terminated?

Vacation Pay	Sick leave	Paid Time Off (PTO)
Yes. Vacation pay adds up as it is earned, and cannot be forfeited, even upon termination of employment, regardless of the reason for the termination, and thus, Earned and Unused vacation should be paid with final wages	No. You are not entitled to be paid for the sick days you do not use.	Yes. PTO is treated like vacation pay and cannot be subject to a “use it or lose it” policy and, thus, must be paid to the employee at the time of termination.

Can you loose your days off if you don’t use them?

Vacation Pay	Sick leave	Paid Time Off (PTO)
No. However, an employer can manage the amount of vacation that may be taken at any particular time and have a "cap" or "ceiling" on the amount of	Yes.	No.

DID YOU KNOW:

• If your employer does not have a sick day policy, you can be eligible for sick leave under the FMLA and/or the CFLA to take care of yourself and/or your parents, children, spouse, or registered domestic partner.
• No deduction may be made from the salary of an exempt employee for absences occasioned by sickness or accident unless the exempt salaried employee performs no work during that week.
• An employer cannot deduct "advanced" vacation (i.e., vacation that is taken before it is earned or accrued) from your final paycheck.

For more information about Vacation and Sick Time see Opinion Letters from the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement:

If your employer has forced you to forfeit accrued vacation days, or if you were not paid all accrued vacation days upon your departure from employment, you may be entitled to not only the amount of the unpaid vacation days, but to Waiting Time Penalties, interest and reimbursement of reasonable attorney fees and costs from your employer as well. Please call our office at (310) 277-2323 or contact us online for a free consultation

Let us help you recover the wages and benefits you are owed.

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