Vacation and Severance Pay in New Jersey

New Jersey has not created a law requiring the payment of unused vacation time.  Nonetheless, an employee who is terminated may still be entitled to the payment of vacation days that have been accrued based on the policies or practices of a company.  The theory behind this argument is that the policy or practice is a contract with the employee and is considered a benefit.  The majority of companies have policies setting forth a schedule for accruing paid vacation days.  We recommend that an employee who has been terminated review the policies or handbook and discuss the vacation accrual schedule with an employment attorney.  A terminated employee may be entitled to the equivalent pay for any unused accrued vacation days.  Accordingly, if you are provided with a severance agreement by the company, you may be entitled to the payment for unused accrued vacation days in addition to any amount of severance you receive.  You should request that the accrured vacation be included in the language of the severance agreement.

You should feel free to call our firm, Castronovo & McKinney, LLC, at (973) 920-7888 for a free consultation.