I am an employer in Florida. By law, upon separation, do we need to pay an employee for any unused, accrued vacation time? Thank you!

Florida doesn't have provisions in their law for the payout of vacation, but if the employer has a policy that states that they pay it out, that is usually the guidline to follow.

I have been reading this forum as I have left my current employer to take another job. It has become very apparent to me that the labour laws in Florida, are to say the least primitive. If an employer in Australia (where I come from origionally) tried to do some of the things employers here try, they would be hauled into court and fined.

I have just been through the vacation pay situation, as my employer refuses to pay my accrued vacation pay even though the employee handbook quite clearly states that "Upon termination, you will be paid a pro rata share of vacation calculated from the amount earned on your anniversary date, to your termination date, less any vacation taken."

They say that it is not their policy to pay as it is not earned until the anniversary. To me it seems that is so called policy is in direct contadiction to the employee handbook.

I do intend to consult a lawyer about this, but I would be interested to hear what others think.

I repeat my early comment, that labour laws in the USA are extremely primitive and seem to be totally one-sided in favour of the employer with the employee having little or no rights. Am I misreading this?

Employees in the US have plenty of rights. One of those rights, at least in Florida, does not happen to be to receive unused vacation, which in the US is a voluntary benefit.

So that means then that even if their employee handbook which each employee has to aggree to follow, says that they will vacation pay they dont have to pay it? If that is the legal situation then we have another classic case of the law and justice being on two seprate planets.

Maybe I am niave, but it does strike me as being immoral.

A number of my former employers customers where disturbed when they found out I was leaving and even asked me I could still do the work for them (I am an IT specialist). As I foolishly signed a non-compete aggreement when i started with the company (and that is another story of a totally onsided law)
I had to tell the customers that I was not able to do the work form them.

Is there any restraint on my telling some of my former customers, socially, (as they have also become personal friends), the details of the unethical treatment my former employer used on me?

Based on the paragraph you quoted, vacation pay is only paid out after you have reached your anniversary date. If you have not yet reached it, I don't see anything in that statement that would require them to pay it.

Unethical is a matter of opinion. Depending on exactly what you said, to whom you said it, and what overall effect it had, you COULD be sued.