Unfortunately, the law does not require employers to pay out sick time on termination, and does not require employers to provide sufficient notice to use sick time before termination. (And note: for any employer I've worked with, you could only use sick time if actually sick, so you'd have to have had sufficient notice and have been sick for over 20 days to use this time.) Therefore, under the law, the employer does not have to pay you for or let you use this time.If you had an employment contract or a union agreement entitling you to be paid on termination, however, such a contract or agreement would be enforceable, and you could sue for the money if not paid.Even in the absence of a specific written agreement to this effect, if the company had an actual, demonstrable policy of paying employees for their sick time when they were terminated, you could possibly enforce the "implied" contract their demonstrable policy created. So if other employees have been paid for sick time in like circumstances, you may have a good claim for the time.