Resigned from Company, now they refuse to pay unused vacation - HELP

[djkottke]

I live and work in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Last year I accepted a position with a local software company to head up new business development. In my offer letter, it stated as part of the details of the offer:
- 40 hours of personal time per year
- 3 weeks paid vacation at start date
- Additional vacation accrues at 5 hours per pay period starting in 6 months

I very much consider this a component of my compensation, and as such negotiated this.

At 1 year, I resigned with 112 hours of accrued-but-unused vacation. I gave 2 weeks notice, and the next day received an email telling me it was time to move on, and I didn't need to return to work.

When I received my final paycheck it didn't include my unused vacation (or bonuses due, but that is another story). I talked to the department of labor, and they said I should send a registered letter to my former company requesting payment, and that my vacation pay is due within 60 days or according to company policy.

I sent a registered letter requesting payment. Within a couple days I received a call from the company to which they outsource their HR and payroll. I was informed that company policy is to not pay unused vacation. This is the first time I have ever heard of a company with such a policy, and never saw such policy at this company (we didn't have an employee handbook either).

I am preparing to go to concilliation court. The 60 days is up in mid-December. What i found for laws from the state are:

excerpt from MN D of Labor website:

I quit (was fired, laid off, separated) and my employer won’t pay me my vacation (severance) pay. What can I do?
Company policy can determine when any benefits are due such as vacation, sick leave and severance packages. Benefits are payable within 60 days of when they become due. If owed and not paid by the employer, you can file your claim for those benefits in the conciliation court in the county where you worked for the employer (see Minnesota Statutes 181.74).

http://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/stats/181/74.html

My question is how does the court view this? Do I have a case?

Thanks in advance for any input!!!

[cbg]

If the company policy is not to pay unused vacation, then it is quite unlikely that the DOL will require them to do so in your case, regardless of whether there is a statement to that effect in your company handbook (or a company handbook at all) or not.

[totravel01]

I have just put in my two weeks notice with my last day being Christmas, but my company refuses to pay me for my vacation that i have accrued in the last year, when i first started with this company our vacation started from the day we started, they then switched it and it was calendar year, we were not informed on this, and have never received any new handbooks, they are saying that the cut off for vacation to use is Dec 16, and they won't pay me or give me my weeks worth of vacation, unless i stay an extra week and a half and help them out. Can they do this??? they are only doing it because they don't want to deal with the problems that they have created over the holidays! Also, we recieve quarterly bounus, with the last day of the quarter being my last day. In our handbook it states that "an employee must be within good standing to be eligblie for their bonus" this to me means you can't be fired, etc. i am voluntarily ending my employment, when stating that this is what the handbook says, they come back with "at the bottom it says subject to change at anytime" and now they are changing it because of my situation, it has not been brought up before and we have not recieved any written notice of this, once again, they are willing to give it to me ONLY if i stay and help them out.
HELP! Anyone know what i can do or where to go to!!!!
Thanks

[Beth3]

If I understand correctly, your vacation and bonus accrue on the last day of the year or quarter - which is December 31st. If your employer wishes to make your last day of employment the last day you actually worked, they may, which means you don't receive any vacation pay or the bonus.

[totravel01]

no the last day of the quarter is the 25th, which is my last day, and even if i am 6 days shy of a full year of work i should get the other vacation that i have accrued previously, it may not be a full week, but it would be close, correct?

[Pattymd]

Close is not necessarily meaningful in wage and hour laws.