Q: Looking for clarity on Illinois paid accrued vacation law
Hi, I left my job on December 6, 2019, I was paid the 8 hours of vacation I had left. However my colleague told me to ask for my accrued vacation time also as he said Illinois is 1 of the 2 states that have a law saying you are owed accrued vacation time. I contacted my previous employer he basically said since I quit before January 1st, I get nothing. Had I quit after January 1st, I would have had 15 days. Do I have a case or should I just leave it alone? Thank you
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A:
In Ilinois, the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act protects the rights of employees to receive their due compensation. If 8 vacation hours was all you had left in 2019, you didn't accrue any vacation time in 2020 and there is no violation of an employment contract or policy, you likely are not owed additional pay.
Take a look at the Illinois Department of Labor's vacation FAQs #3.
https://www2.illinois.gov/idol/FAQs/Pages/Vacation-FAQ.aspx
FAQ #3:
When I separate from employment, does my employer have a legal
obligation to pay me vacation?
If an employment policy states that an employer does not have to pay at the time
of separation all unused vacation, the employment policy is not allowed to provide
for a forfeiture of earned time upon separation.
The employer is required to pay the monetary equivalent of all earned vacation to
an employee who resigns or is terminated without having taken all vacation time
earned in accordance with such individual employment contract or policy.
Individual examples of the Act's application are set forth on the FAQ information.
Cynthia Rote agrees with this answer
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