I was let go by a company who downsized after 6 1/2 mo. of employment. I was told when offered the job that I would have 2 wks of vacation per year, which would accrue. At the time I was let go, I had not taken any paid time off, & when asked r.e. my accrued vacation, was told that the company was "under no obligation to pay it out." I've filed a small claims case. This is complicated, as the original company is based out of California, & the Arizona locations are owned as part of a franchise agreement. In addition, the company used Administaff to handle their payroll, benefits, etc. The company website/programs that we all used for most functions on a daily basis has an HR section with a 2007 employee handbook which states that you accrue vacation, that after 6 months you're eligible for 1 wk. of paid vacation, & that if you sever, they will pay you for unused accrued vacation. The owner is trying to claim that that handbook applies to California only, yet nowhere on the document does it say that & I've never been given anything specific to Arizona. Do you think I have a good chance of winning this?

You have a chance of winning. I have no idea about "good" or not. In my experience, small claims courts sometimes come up with some fairly creative judgements, not always obviously associated with the related laws.

My recommendation is to make your claim, keep it simple, and let your employer do the arguing. Given what you have said, the law seems to support you. Small claim court judgements sometimes seem to go in favor of which ever party least annoys the judge.

Per the BNA payroll library (a paid service):

Vacation Pay on Termination
Wages include vacation pay when an employer has a policy or practice of making such payments. Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 23-350

Duplicate post. Sorry.

Do you think it would help if I try to get letters from other co-workers who were also told when hired that they would get 2 wks vacation that accrued as well? And, if so, do they need to be handwritten/notarized? I only know of one former coworker who was paid anything when she left & she told me they termed it "severance", not vacation.

Do you think it would help if I try to get letters from other co-workers who were also told when hired that they would get 2 wks vacation that accrued as well? And, if so, do they need to be handwritten/notarized? I only know of one former coworker who was paid anything when she left & she told me they termed it "severance", not vacation.

No. It is not based upon what anyone was told. It is based on their history. If they have a history of paying vacation upon termination, they will have to do the same with you. If they have a history of NOT paying, they will have to do the same with you. Severance is not the same as vacation.

How would I as a former employee determine if they have a history of paying out vacation at termination? I just think that if anyone has asked, they tell them no & they leave it at that. I'm the first one who has decided to take it any further.

You can contact the department of labor for YOUR state for assistance.

The company website/programs that we all used for most functions on a daily basis has an HR section with a 2007 employee handbook which states that you accrue vacation, that after 6 months you're eligible for 1 wk. of paid vacation, & that if you sever, they will pay you for unused accrued vacation.

I also am going suggest that maybe you are overthinking this. If the above statement is true, print out the above, and maybe save screenshots to disk. The law I earlier quoted said "Wages include vacation pay when an employer has a policy or practice of making such payments. Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 23-350". You do not need to show "practice" if you can show "policy". You earlier said you could show "policy". You have meet the burden of supporting your claim. If you mess around with employee statements and other stuff, then maybe it will look like your policy claim is no good.

We are talking about a DOL wage claim here, not the next O.J. trial. Make the employer defend the claim. Make the employer tell DOL that what they said on their website was not what they meant. There is no sure thing here, but the administrator who hears this is not likely to be very impressed by an original wage claim supported by tons of weak evidence. In my experience, DOL claim administrators do not like parties that waste their time.