Vacation pay in California
In California, employers do not have to provide employees with vacation pay. If they do, however, they must comply with the rules of labor law. Vacation pay is considered wages and is earned as labor is performed. Once it is earned, it cannot be forfeited. If the employee is terminated or leaves the job voluntarily, the employer must pay compensation for any unused time (unless a collective bargaining agreement states otherwise).
Employers do, however, have a few options for limiting vacation time and are allowed to do the following:
Set a reasonable cap on the amount of vacation time an employee is allowed to accrue
Withhold the accrual of vacation time until an introductory or probationary period has passed
Exclude certain types of employees from accruing vacation time, i.e., part-time or temporary employees
Control when vacation is taken and how much can be taken at one time