Is it legal for employer’s vacation policy to provide that if an employee does not use all annual vacation entitlement by the end of the year, that the unused balance is lost?.

No, such a provision is not legal. In California, vacation pay is another form of wages which vests as it is earned (in this context, “vests” means you are invested or endowed with rights in the wages). Accordingly, a policy that provides for the forfeiture of vacation pay that is not used by a specified date (“use it or lose it”) is an illegal policy under California law and will not be recognized by the Labor Commissioner.

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