How Many Vacation Days Do You Get in California?

By Anna Duncan

If you’re planning to work in California, you might be wondering how many vacation days you’ll get. As of 2021, California state law does not mandate a set number of vacation days for employees. However, there are some rules employers must follow regarding vacation time.

Accruing Vacation Time

Under California law, vacation time is considered a form of earned wages. This means that if an employer offers vacation time as a benefit, they must allow employees to accrue it over time. The rate at which vacation time is accrued can vary from company to company.

Example:

For example, let’s say your employer offers two weeks of paid vacation per year. If you work full-time and your employer uses an accrual system that allows you to earn one hour of vacation for every 30 hours worked, you would need to work 60 weeks (or approximately one year and three months) before you could take those two weeks off with pay.

Vacation Payouts

When your employment ends in California, your employer must pay out any unused vacation time that you have accrued. This includes both earned and unused vacation time from previous years.

Use-It-or-Lose-It Policies

Some employers in California may have a “use-it-or-lose-it” policy when it comes to vacation time. This means that any unused vacation time at the end of the year or the end of a certain period will be forfeited.

There are restrictions on this kind of policy though. Employers cannot take away earned but unused vacation days or require employees to use their vacation days by a certain date without compensating them if they don’t use it.

Final Thoughts

While there is no set number of mandatory paid vacation days in California state law, employers who offer this benefit to their employees must follow certain rules. These rules protect the employees’ right to accrue vacation time and to receive compensation for unused vacation time when they leave their employment.

If you have any questions or concerns about your vacation time, it’s always a good idea to speak with your employer or HR department for clarification.