Legal Question in Employment Law in California

It depends on what your vacation policy says. If the employee has earned any vacation time, per company policy, he must be paid whatever portion has been earned. If your policy says an employee must be there for a specific period of time before any vacation time is earned, then he is not owed any time. While there is no law that requires employers to pay for vacation, when they do, companies should have clearly defined vacation policies so both the employer and employee know what their rights and obligations are.

Mr. Kirschbaum's answer is correct, but I find it kind of confusing, so I write to clarify. What he is saying is that there is nothing that requires an employer to provide paid vacation time. There is also no limitation on what requirements an employer chooses to place on when or how vacation time is earned or vests. Once vacation time is earned and vested, however, any unused time must be paid along with the employee's last paycheck no matter how or why their employment ends. Furthermore, if the employee gives at least 72 hours notice of quitting, the employee must be paid their last check including unused vacation, on their last day of work.