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State by State Paid Time Off Laws

State by State Paid Time Off Laws
State Vacation payout upon termination required? Use-it-or-lose-it? Additional information
Alabama No. Employers must follow their policy. Yes If an employer has a formal vacation policy, it may not unilaterally rescind that policy. Employers must notify employees in advance if they decide not to continue paying accrued, unused vacation upon separation.
Alaska No. Employers must follow their policy.   Yes An employer's policy or agreement determines whether earned, unused vacation is paid on separation. 
Arizona No. Employers must follow their policy. Yes Earned vacation time is considered wages when an organization has established policies or precedent of paying employees for this time.  An employer's policy or agreement determines whether earned, unused vacation is paid on separation.
Arkansas No. Employers must follow their policy. Yes An employer's policy or agreement determined whether earned, unused vacation is paid on separation.
California Yes No All accrued vacation is considered earned wages and must be paid out upon termination at final rate of pay, regardless of the reason for the separation. While, California prohibits policies that make employees take vacation by a certain date or lose it, an employer can place a reasonable cap on vacation leave preventing as employee from accruing or earning vacation over a certain number of hours.
Colorado Yes No If an employer provides paid vacation for and employee, the employer shall pay upon separation from employment all vacation pay warned and determinable in accordance with the terms of any agreement between the employer and the employee.
Connecticut No. Employers must follow their policy. Not addressed by the state of CT. If an employer policy or collective bargaining agreement provides for the payment of accrued fringe benefits upon termination, including paid vacations, and an employee is terminated without having received such accrued fringe benefits, such employee shall be compensated for such accrued fringe benefits exclusive of normal pension benefits in the form of wages in accordance with such agreement or policy.
Delaware No. Employers must follow their policy. Not addressed by the state of DE. Any employer who is party to an agreement to pay vacation pay to any employee shall pay the amount necessary within 30 days after such payments are required to be made.
District of Columbia No. Employers must follow their policy. Not addressed by the state of D.C. Employers must compensate vacation pay upon termination if vacation pay is part of employee compensation or if there is no agreement or policy against it.
Florida No Not addressed by the state of FL. Not addressed by the state of FL.
Georgia No Not addressed by the state of GA. There is no requirement for vacation pay to be provided before or after termination.
Hawaii No. Employers must follow their policy. Not addressed by the state of HI. Employers must provide vacation leave policies to employees in writing or through a notice in an accessible place. Any changes to vacation leave policies must be given to employees in writing before the date of change.
Idaho No. Employers must follow their policy. Not addressed by the state of ID. Vacation pay policies are matters for agreement between the employee and employer. Employers must be notified of any policy changes before they go into effect.
Illinois Yes Yes Employers are required to pay the total monetary value of earned and unused vacation pay at employee termination. This applies even if the employee quits or is fired.
Indiana Yes Yes If, according to an employee's employment contract, certain conditions must be met before earned vacation pay can be paid, those same conditions will still apply if an employee is terminated.
Iowa No. Employers must follow their policy. Not addressed by the state of IA. Unused vacation pay is only required when an employer has a contract, agreement, policy, or procedure that dictates so.
Kansas No. Employers must follow their policy. Yes Employers may adopt a vacation policy that only allows employees to earn vacation pay when they reach an anniversary date. If this is the case, employers can also make no payment to an employee if they stop working before the anniversary date.
Kentucky No. Employers must follow their policy. Not addressed by the state of KY. If an employer offers vested vacation pay, it is treated as regular wages and must be payed upon employee termination.
Louisiana Yes Yes Employers cannot require employees to sign a contract or policy taking away any accrued wages (including vacation pay) upon termination. Additionally, employers must compensate terminated employees before the next payday or within 15 days (whichever comes first), or they will be liable to 90 days of the employee's wages at the employee's normal rate.
Maine No. Employers must follow their policy. Yes Employers are only required to pay accrued vacation pay upon employee termination if they have a policy that requires it.
Maryland No. Employers must follow their policy Not addressed by the state of MD. If an employee is not informed at the beginning of their employment that their accrued vacation time will be lost upon termination, that employee may claim their accrued vacation pay. If an employer does not have a written policy specifying that vacation pay will be lost at termination, then employees are entitled to the full cash value of accrued vacation pay.
Massachusetts Yes Yes Employers must give adequate notice of a use-it-or-lose-it policy so employees have enough time to use their vacation time. Employers must treat vacation pay as wages upon termination and cannot, in any way, exempt themselves from paying accrued vacation pay upon employee termination.
Michigan No. Employers must follow their policy. Not addressed by the state of MI. All fringe benefits are required to be paid in accordance with contracts or written policies. Vacation pay is not considered wages.
Minnesota No. Employers must follow their policy. Not addressed by the state of MN. Employer policy determines when benefits are due. If there are benefits due and an employer neglects to pay them, employees may file a claim.
Mississippi No Not addressed by the state of MS. Employer contract determined vacation pay upon termination.
Missouri No Not addressed by the state of MO. Wages do not include vacation pay.
Montana No. Employers must follow their policy. No Employer policy determines vacation pay upon termination. Though use-it-or-lose-it is prohibited, employers may have a maximum cap policy on accrued vacation time.
Nebraska Yes No All accrued vacation pay must be paid to employees upon termination, unless the employer and the collective-bargaining representative have specifically agreed otherwise. A contract must be signed at the beginning of employment or at least 90 days before employee termination, whichever is later.
Nevada No. Employers must follow their policy. Not addressed by the state of NV. An employer is not required to provide compensation for accrued and unused vacation time unless the employee is rehired by the employer within 90 days after separation from that employer and the separation from employment was not due to the employee voluntarily leaving his or her employment. In this case, all unused vacation time must be returned to the employee.
New Hampshire No. Employers must follow their policy. Yes Vacation pay is only considered wages when an employer policy determines vacation pay is due.
New Jersey No. Employers must follow their policy. Not addressed by the state of NJ. If an employer chooses to provide vacation pay they must give it uniformly and in accordance with established policies or agreements.
New Mexico No  Not addressed by the state. There is no statute that requires employers to pay vacation pay.
New York No. Employers must follow their policy. Not addressed by the state of NY. Employers can specify, in written policy that employees will lose vacation pay upon termination. If this policy is not in writing, then employers are required to pay the employee for all accrued vacation time.
North Carolina No. Employers must follow their policy. Yes Employers must specify in writing the guidelines for accruing vacation pay, vacation pay upon termination, and any use-it-or-lose-it policies.
North Dakota Yes Yes Employers must pay all accrued vacation time upon termination, with a few exceptions.  If the employee leaves voluntarily an employer may withhold vacation pay if the employer gave a written notice at the beginning of employee's employment, the employee has been employed for less than a year, or the employee gave less than five days notice. A private employer may withhold vacation pay if it was awarded and not yet earned or the employer provided a notice before vacation pay was awarded. Employees must have notice and ample time to use vacation time for a use-it-or-lose-it policy.
Ohio No. Employers must follow their policy. Not addressed by the state of OH. Any vacation pay upon termination is determined by the employer's policy or agreement.
Oklahoma No. Employers must follow their policy. Yes Employers only have to pay accrued vacation time upon termination if their policy specifies it.
Oregon No. Employers must follow their policy. Not addressed by the state of OR. Vacation pay is considered a wage agreement between employers and their employees. Employers are only required to provide vacation pay or compensate employers for unused vacation pay if it specifies it in their agreement.
Pennsylvania No. Employers must follow their policy. Not addressed by the state of PA. Employers are not required to provide vacation pay or compensate employees for unused vacation pay unless they have an agreement that specifies so.
Rhode Island Yes  Not addressed by the state of RI. After one year of employment, all accrued vacation pay becomes wages and must be payed upon employee termination.
South Carolina No. Employers must follow their policy Not addressed by the state of SC. Employers must give employees notice of the vacation pay policy and not differ from it.
South Dakota No Not addressed by the state of SD. Not addressed by the state of SD.
Tennessee No. Employers must follow their policy. Not addressed by the state of TN. An employee only receives accrued vacation pay upon termination if the employer has a written policy that states so.
Texas No. Employers must follow their policy. Yes Employers should create a clear vacation pay policy that specifies whether the employee will be paid for any accrued and unused vacation pay upon termination.
Utah No. Employers must follow their policy. Yes Employers must create a policy for vacation time and follow it. If an employer wants to institute a use-it-or-lose-it policy, it must be explicitly stated in their policy or they will have to pay employees for any unused accrued vacation time.
Vermont No. Employers must follow their policy. Not addressed by the state of VT.

Employers are not required in any way to pay benefits upon separation, Employers who have a written agreement for vacation pay are liable to their employees for the benefits specified in the agreement.

Virginia No. Employers must follow their policy. Yes

An employer's policy or employee contract governs whether earned, unused vacation is paid on separation.

Washington No. Employers must follow their policy. Not addressed by the state of WA.

Employers may, but aren't required to, provide benefits through a policy or collective bargaining agreement. Employers must follow their own policy.

West Virginia No. Employers must follow their policy. Not addressed by the state of WV.

Employers are responsible for creating a written policy if they choose to offer vacation pay. Employers may change their existing policy with a written notice to all employees. If an employer choses to change or discontinue their vacation pay policy, employees must be allowed to use the vacation time accrued under the previous policy. Additionally, employers may choose to payout benefits upon termination to some employees and not others if it is specified in their policy.

Wisconsin No. Employers must follow their policy. Not addressed by the state of WI.

Employers may choose to create a benefits policy, but it is not required. If an employer has a written vacation policy and doesn't include a written forfeit policy, then the employer is required to pay the employee for any accrued and unused vacation time upon termination.

Wyoming No. Employers must follow their policy. Yes

Employers do not have to pay terminated employees for accrued and unused vacation time if they have a written policy that states so, and the employee acknowledged the policy.

Revised: May 9, 2022

DISCLAIMER: This information is meant as a starting point for research by our clients and prospective clients. We have not created this content to apply to any single business's particular circumstances. The content should not be regarded as legal advice and not be relied upon as such. In relation to any particular problem, clients are advised to seek specific advice. Relevant laws may change after the publication of this content. 


DISCLAIMER: The information provided herein does not constitute the provision of legal advice, tax advice, accounting services or professional consulting of any kind. The information provided herein should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional legal, tax, accounting, or other professional advisers. Before making any decision or taking any action, you should consult a professional adviser who has been provided with all pertinent facts relevant to your particular situation and for your particular state(s) of operation.