What is the name of your state? California
Once an employee has earned paid time off (leave time), can an employer take away unused time at the end of the calendar year?What is the name of your state?
Most employers are unaware use-it-or-lose-it vacation policies are illegal in California. A _use-it-or-lose-it_ policy means employees lose accrued vacation days if the employee doesn_t take the days by a specific deadline. According to the California Supreme Court, vacation is a vested benefit that can_t be taken away once it is earned.
Acceptable alternatives to use-it-or-lose-it policies are reasonable caps and cash-out policies. Under a reasonable cap plan, once an employee has earned a set amount of vacation but has not taken it, the employee stops earning vacation until the employee uses some accrued vacation time. Employees also may be required to cash out accrued vacation they haven_t taken.
All accrued but unused vacation must be paid out at the end of the employment relationship, even if the employee wasn_t yet eligible to take the vacation time. This is true regardless of whether the employee quits, is terminated or is laid off. Vacation pay is subject to the same time limits as other final pay.
If your employer has in-house counsel I suggest you advise them of the Conley decision and that Class action status can be file for each employee whether current or past who has been affected by this policy.