Many employers may utilize what’s colloquially referred to as a “use it or lose it’ policy. An employee has a certain amount of time, often by the end of a calendar year, or an employee’s anniversary date, to use up or lose any accrued vacation time. If employers don’t have a policy spelled out that caps vacation/sick leave/PTO time when an employment relationship terminates, the employee is entitled to a payout of the accrued vacation balance. That is provided the employee isn’t involuntarily separated for something like workplace misconduct.