New York: unused vacation when employment ends
Vacation pay is a benefit or wage supplement. An employer that is party to an agreement to provide it must pay what the agreement requires.
| Question | What the source says |
|---|---|
| Payout at separation | Only if the policy says so |
| Use it or lose it | Not established here |
| Accrual cap allowed | Not established here |
| Rate used for a payout | unverified |
Each answer traces to the lines quoted below.
What the source says
- Section 198-c defines benefits or wage supplements to include, but not be limited to, reimbursement for expenses; health, welfare and retirement benefits; and vacation, separation or holiday pay.
- The section reaches an employer who is party to an agreement to provide those benefits and who fails to pay the required amount within thirty days after it is due.
- It does not apply to a person in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity whose earnings exceed one thousand three hundred dollars a week.
- A violation is a misdemeanor punishable under section 198-a.
What we could not establish
These points are not stated on the pages we read. We leave them open rather than guess —
a wrong answer here would send someone into a dispute with the wrong expectation.
- use-it-or-lose-it forfeiture policies
- accrual caps
- the rate used for a payout
Sources
Read on 2026-10-02. Route: WebFetch (curl 403).
What 80 hours a year looks like on a biweekly schedule
The bar below is not specific to New York law — it shows the mechanic every schedule shares. Eighty hours a year across 26 paychecks is 3.08 hours a period. With no ceiling the balance climbs for the whole year.
Closing balance after a year: 80.08 hours.
- Does New York require my employer to pay out unused vacation?
- Vacation pay is a benefit or wage supplement. An employer that is party to an agreement to provide it must pay what the agreement requires.
- Can a policy in New York erase vacation I already earned?
- On use-it-or-lose-it, the source read for this page puts New York at: Not established here. The quoted lines on this page are the basis for that, and anything the source did not settle is listed as not established.
- Where did these lines come from?
- From New York Labor Law § 198-c — Benefits or wage supplements. Each one was opened and read rather than summarised from another site, and the links are on this page.
- Is this legal advice?
- No. This page quotes public sources so you can read them yourself. It is not legal advice and it does not replace your employer’s written policy or a lawyer in your jurisdiction.
Informational only. This page is not legal advice and it does not replace your employer’s
written policy. Where the two differ, the policy document and the current statute govern.