Legal Question in Employment Law in California

Re: Accrued vacation benefit

Employers must pay employees all accrued vacation earned. If the vacation you earned was at the higher rate of pay, then you must be paid at that rate. Unused sick pay is not an accrued benefit and does not have to be paid to you. By definition, it is only paid if you are sick.

If the company goes into bankruptcy, you may still get paid if there are enough assets to pay debts of the company. Wages have a priority over unsecured debts but not over some secured debts. If this happens, make sure you put a claim in with the bankruptcy court.

The only other damages you may be entitled to besides the unpaid vacation pay is waiting time penalties, which is the equivalent of a day's pay for every day payment is late, up to a maximum of 30 days, for a "willful" refusal to pay.

Re: Accrued vacation benefit

The prior post is correct. One way to receive some of your benefits would be to attempt to use them now. Schedule vacation time or request the pay now. Schedule the use of your personal days. As to sick days, depending on the policy, you may be able to schedule medical appointments or other elective time off. A reduction in your pay rate may be "good cause" for resigning and still qualify for unemplyment benefits. The standard will be whether it is such a significant reduction that no reasonable person would continue working at that rate of pay. If the company is closing, you may want to file your claim now, naming responsible management officials in your claim. This is a preliminary analysis, more facts might change the conclusion.