I was not allowed to use 5 days of vacation and 2 personal time off days from 2005. I was told I would be paid out for those days but it's almost 3 months now and they have not paid me for the time. A recent phone call though revealed that corporate office does not think they have to pay us. I requested the time to be added to my final 2005 paycheck but was told by my manager the corporate office would take care of it. So i have a couple questions. First, Is there a time limit for them to pay me the vacation time owed from last year? And second, can I request interest to be accrued on top of the money owed if there is a time limit they have exceeded? Also I have a seperate question. Another employee was overpaid by 200 dollars on the last paycheck and my manager noticing this error informed him he would simply deduct the amount from the next paycheck. Is this illegal? I saw the CSEA v. California case online and it seems to apply here but I just want to make sure before I tell this guy to stand up to the boss on this.

The employer can choose to pay out the vacation at its option. Since it has not chosen to do so, the vacation would simply remain vested. Thus, you would not have a right to get paid for it until you either take the vacation time or leave the company.

In terms of your friend, the legality of the deduction depends on a number of factors. However, it realistic terms it is totally irrelevant. Let us say that your friend does convince the company that taking the $200 out of his pay check is illegal. It doesn't change the fact that he still owes it to the company. The company could just sue him for the money. In addition, unless he was under an employment contract (which the employee in the case you cited was) they could fire him for not paying it back immediately. So, even if it is illegal, your friend could find himself legally fired and sued.