Most employers are not aware that they are not legally required to allow their employees take holiday off. However, in order to boost productivity and retain employees, California employers offer vacation as a benefit of employment.

Employers who choose to offer vacation must follow certain guidelines. In California, accrued vacation is considered as a form of wages that have been earned by an employee. This means that it cannot expire and should be paid to the employee upon termination of employment. The same rules applies to paid time off.

Generally, vacation accrues with time as the employee works. Therefore, if the vacation policy allows for ten days of vacation every year, he or she can accrue five vacation days in six months. But employers can designate a wait period at the beginning of the employment before vacation days begin to accrue. Usually, the wait period correlates to 90 days but it can be as long as the entire first year of employment.

Though California does not allow use it or lose it vacation policy where the accrued vacation should be used within a certain period or it is forfeited, employers can place a cap on the accrual of vacation days. This means once the vacation days reach a certain number, they stop accruing until they are used up. This helps employers to maintain control over accrual of vacation days and prevent employees from getting unreasonable amount of vacation time.

California law allows employers to give vacation days to a certain group of employees and not others as long as they do not discriminate against gender, race or religion. For example, vacation may be limited to the managers only or full time employees.

Sick leave is not subject to the same rules as paid time off and vacation days. As of July 2015, California employers should provide a reasonable number of paid sick days per year.

California also observes legal holidays at which time the government offices are closed. The official federal holidays are: every Sunday, New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, admission day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, December 25, Good Friday, Lincoln day, President’s Day (Washington’s Birthday) and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

However, California employers are not legally required to pay employees when they close for business of legal holidays. If an employee works on official holidays, they are paid their usual rates unless stated otherwise in the employment policy or when the employer works in excess of 40 hours a week. Saturdays and Sundays are also paid the same rate as weekdays.

Additionally, California law does not require employers to close their businesses during official holidays or give their employees day off on such days. Weekend or holiday days are paid at the discretion of the employee and according to the employment policy.

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The Californian law does not dictate that vacations are mandatory. Due to the importance these have on the employee morale and subsequently the business returns however makes it an ideal option for many employers. A holiday allows the employee some time off work so that he or she can relax and come back with renewed energy. When an employer decides to allow vacations there are some rules that they must follow.

Vacation duration

This is solely determined by the employer and can range from a few days to a month as they may deem fit. This decision however should not be biased depending on factors such as gender, religion and sex. Other than how long the vacation can last, the employer also determines when these vacations cannot be taken. These will usually be periods when the business is at its peak. The maximum number of employees that can be on vacation at any given time is also determined by the employer.

Who qualifies to have vacations? This is also at the discretion of the employer. Not everyone in the company may be allowed a vacation. Some will allow only the managers while others will allow only the permanent employees and others allow all employees to have this privilege. So long as there is no biasness based on personal traits like race then it is legal.

Sick leaves

Under the Californian law, an employer must provide a minimum number of paid sick days in a year for all its employees.

Accrual

While some employees will be glad to go on vacation, others prefer to work all year round. The latter can gain from vacation accrual law which states that from when an employer deems it fit for the employee to have paid vacations, the dues accrue. The days also accrue and you can go on a longer vacation in the next. In California, accrued vacation is considered as unpaid wages if not used. This wage continues to accrue unless there is a cap set on the vacation accrual. The law permits employers to place a reasonable cap, that is, a period after which the accrual stops. There is no actual set value but 1.5times the annual accrual rate is acceptable.

Employers can advance vacations to their employees is they deem it necessary.

Payout

Accrued vacation must be paid to the employee when he or she loses the job be it through being fired or quitting. It is part of the wages the employee has earned at the company and needs to be paid in the final wage. Advanced vacations however may not be deducted from the employee’s final cheque.

On the other hand sick days do not need to be paid off upon separation unless they are included in a general PTO policy.

All payout needs to be paid on separation as per the law or a waiting charge of daily wage for up to 30 days will apply.

Paid time off

This may come on any day of the year or on special days like birthdays, Christmas and anniversaries (known as floating holidays). When on a special occasion these are not considered as vacations but for the prior they are and need to be paid out upon separation.

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