What does the law say about being paid for unused vacation after leaving a job?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
What does the law say about being paid for unused vacation after leaving a job?
When I left my job I had 14.5 days remaining, and the site where we entered our vacation clearly showed that I had 14.5 unused days. When I received my final pay, it was much less than what I thought, and the HR director told me I was only being paid for 5 days because that is what I had accrued to date. She then told me that when I was working I could have used my full 15 days at any time, including right at the first of the year after our time off for the year reset. Is this legal? How could I use time I had not yet accrued? I could not do this with sick time. Can I fight this?
Asked on May 2, 2012 under Employment Labor Law, Pennsylvania
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
Like most states, PA does not require employers to provide vacation at all to employees, or to pay them out for unused days on termination of employment. All the employer is required to do is to honor whatever policy was in force--i.e. whatever policy they voluntarily chose--as of when you were terminated. So it should pay out your days in accordance with its own then-in-place policy; if that policy only required the payment of, say, 5 days, that would be legal. You can look to employee handbooks or memos on the subject to determine policy; if there is no guidance there, look to what was done with other employees on similar separation from employment.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.