Unused Vacation Time At End Of Year

[Jael]

I work for a company headquartered in CA as a salaried employee working in TX. The company was purchased this year by a multi-national headquartered in Europe. My employment ceased with the original company as of the date of the sale and I became an employee of the new company. As a tenured employee of the original company, I receive 3 weeks vacation time per year. Vacation time is accrued each pay period at a rate of 1/12th value per pay period. I was told the vacation policy would remain in force until the beginning of 2011. That policy does not address disposition of unused vacation time.

I am told any unused vacation time remaining at the end of the year will be paid-out before the new vacation time policy is made effective Jan 1, 2011. While I understand TX has no law requiring employers to pay out for unused vacation, in 2008 I was required to sign a revised employment policy that stated,"the law of the State of California will govern the interpretation, validity, and effect of this contract without regard to the place of making or the place of performance"

Can my new employer legally limit the amount of unused vacation time I can take before the end of the year?

[Joey]

An employer in California and an employer in Texas can limit the amount of time you can take at any time with Vacation.

Here is California's laws from The California Department of Industrial relations:http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/FAQ_Vacation.htm

6. Q. Can my employer tell me when to take my vacation? A. Yes, your employer has the right to manage its vacation pay responsibilities, and one of the ways it can do this is by controlling when vacation can be taken and the amount of vacation that may be taken at any particular time.

Here is the Texas Workforce Commission's rules on Vacation:

Q: Does an employer have to offer its employees vacation pay? If so, what are the guidelines?

A: Under the Texas Payday Law an employer is not required to offer fringe benefits such as vacation pay, holiday pay or other pay for hours not worked. However, if the employer offers these benefits in writing, the employer would be obligated to comply with their own policy or employment agreement. The employer has the right to establish policy on how these benefits are earned, accrued, used and if they are paid out when not used, barring any policy which might be considered discriminatory as defined by law.

Shirley