Work · Vacation Payout

Vacation Payout When You Leave, by State

Whether your employer must pay out unused vacation when you leave, the states that mandate it, the states where the policy controls, and the cap-versus-forfeiture line that trips people up. Each cited to the statute.

6 of 50 states published. 3 verified against the official statute; the rest drafted from corroborating sources, including states whose rule rests on labor-agency guidance.The split is clean: some states treat earned vacation as wages that must be paid out, others leave it entirely to the employer’s written policy.

Read this first: mandate states vs policy-controls states

The core question is simple: when you leave, does your employer owe you cash for vacation you earned but never took? California and Illinois say yes, earned vacation is wages, and outright forfeiture is illegal. Texas, Florida, and Pennsylvania leave it to the employer’s written policy, so use-it-or-lose-it is lawful. New York sits in between: payable by default, but a clear written policy can forfeit it.

One line trips everyone up: a cap that stops you earning new vacation above a ceiling is allowed everywhere, even in the mandate states. What California and Illinois forbid is forfeiting vacation you already earned. Sick leave is generally not paid out anywhere unless it shares a single PTO bank. Every figure links to the statute or agency, and pages still pending verification say so.

Pick your state

Whether payout is owed, the timing, and the statute on each card.

What these pages are, and what they aren't

Each state page is a reference for whether unused vacation is paid out and the neutral steps to claim it. They are deliberately not advice for your job: policy wording, probationary periods, and sick-leave rules can all change the answer, so each page links to the statute or agency and a wage-claim route. This is legal information, not legal advice.