Under California law, unless otherwise agreed by in a collective bargaining agreement, whenever the employment relationship ends, for any reason whatsoever, such as termination or quitting, and the employee has not used all of his or her earned and accrued vacation, the employer must pay the employee at his or her final rate of pay for all of his or her earned and accrued and unused vacation days. This law is according to Labor Code Section 227.3.
Because paid vacation benefits are considered wages, such pay must be included in the employee’s final paycheck.
David Payab, Esq. from The Law Offices of Payab & Associates can be reached @ (818) 918-5522 or by visiting http://payablaw.com/