In California, paid vacation is a form of wages, and it is earned as you perform your work. It can be determined upon a percentage amount that an employee earns for every full week of work. That percentage amount will add up over a year of work and come out to an amount of hours of paid vacation time earned. If you think your employer owes you in vacation wages, you can file a vacation wage claim.
Earned vacation time must be paid to employees who don’t continue to work by either quitting, getting let go, death or end of contract, and did not take advantage of their vacation time up to that point. The earned vacation time must be paid at the final pay rate to the employee. If you are an employee who was let go or quit, and didn’t receive payment for your unused vacation time, you can file a vacation wage claim in California.
Example:
Jane’s employer’s vacation policy is that she will earn a percentage amount for every week of work she completes. Jane works 40-hour work weeks, 8 hours per day. For every 40-hour week, Jane’s employer gives her 1.538 hours of paid vacation. This will equal out to 2 weeks of paid vacation per year for Jane. If Jane is let go before she uses her 2 weeks of vacation time, her employer must pay her for those 2 weeks upon termination. If Jane’s employer doesn’t pay Jane her vacation time wages, Jane can file a vacation wage claim in California. Jane can also contact a vacation wage claim lawyer who can file the claim for her.
If you have a question about California vacation law or want to file a vacation wage claim in California, contact Strauss & Strauss APC now.