California has no specific legislation regulating paid time off/vacation time. The amount of paid time off/vacation time that an employee receives depends on the agreement they have with their employer. If an employer set paid time off/vacation time as part of their contract with their employees, then it is viewed as part of the employee’s salary and failure to pay it is a violation of the employer-employee contract.
Payment Status
The vacation time/paid time off cannot expire and has to be compensated to the employee. An employer does not have to give all employees equal vacation time/paid time off (VT/PTO) but they should not discriminate against employees due to their race, gender, or other protected statuses. An employer should also not discriminate against an employee because they reiterated that they were entitled to their VT/PTO. They will be liable for discrimination.
Contract Termination
If the employee’s contract is terminated, they are still entitled to their paid time off and/or vacation time. VT/PTO Is viewed as wages and so is earned as work is performed.
California law recognizes floating holidays and personal days which are not counted in the employee’s VT/PTO if they separate. An employee may receive VT/PTO on public holidays or their birthday depending on company policy. However, they may not demand compensation for it upon termination of their contract.
VT/PTO can be given in advance but cannot be deducted from an employee’s income if for some reason an employee leaves before working for the set number of days. An employer can be required to pay a waiting time penalty for delaying in VT/PTO compensation. Currently, the time penalty varies but is up to an employee’s wages for 30 days of work.
Limits to Earned Vacation Time and Paid Time Off
I.) An employee has the power to limit the number of hours of vacation time an employee earns over a period of time. There is no definition on what the cap should be only that it should be “reasonable.”
II.) An employee can set a limit to the amount of VT/PTO an employee earns before demanding payment. An employee can be required to receive a certain number of days before earning more VT/PTO.
III.) An employer can base their PTO and Vacation time compensation based on the employee’s status offering full-time employees compensation and part-time employees none.
IV.) An employer can decide when an employee takes their vacation time and can even make special dates when an employee should not take a vacation.
V.) Although PTO/VT is not protected by California’s Rules on Paid Time Off/Vacation Time, employees are entitled to paid sick leave by the Healthy Families Act of 2016.
Frequently Asked Questions
1.) How Can I receive my VT/PTO if my employer is refusing to compensate me for work done?
You could file a lawsuit against your employer or a complaint with the Labor Commissioner’s Office
2.) My employer refused to give me paid time off over Christmas. Can I demand compensation?
It depends on the contract that you signed upon employment. If it states that you are entitled to PTO over Christmas or other public holidays then you can demand compensation.