Legal Question in Employment Law in Kentucky

In Kentucky, vacation is a voluntary benefit provided by an employer and they are entitled to make their own rules about payment. However, they must be consistent in how they apply the policy. While many employers pay accrued and unused vacation time to departing employees or those who switch to a position without benefits, this is not a requirement. So whether you get to keep the vacation time depends upon the specific facts of your case and your company's policies and procedures.

Some questions to consider include:

1. Do they pay departing employees accrued and unused vacation time?

2. Do they have a use it or lose it policy?

3. Is your vacation earned in the current year? If your employer has a policy that says you get 12 vacation days a year and you accrue vacation time one day per full month worked, you may be allowed to take twelve days vacation on January 2, prior to fully earning it. However, if you leave on January 2, you would not get paid for the 12 vacation days as they have not yet been earned.

You need to look at the employee handbook and talk to HR.