Hello, my hubby works for a company in California, but they are HQd in IL. Their benefits poilicy states the following regarding vacation:

"unused vacation time cannot be carried over into your next anniversary year unless you are eligible to defer vacation."

It was my understanding that if you work f/t in CA, regardless of where your company is HQd, they have to follow the law of the state where you work F/T. Does the use or lose it policy apply? Thank in advance for your help on this. :)

This practice is not legal in California and I'm assuming that's why the added clause about "eligibility for deferment" exists in your husband's company policy. I found the below on California's DLSE website:

Q. My employer’s vacation policy provides that if I do not use all of my annual vacation entitlement by the end of the year, that I lose the unused balance. Is this legal?


A. 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.

Useful link:
http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/FAQ_Vacation.htm