PTO is not required in California in any general sense. State law does not force employers to offer paid vacation, paid holidays, or a combined PTO bank. What the law does require is paid sick leave for nearly every worker, plus a handful of specific leave types like bereavement and reproductive loss leave. And once an employer voluntarily offers vacation or PTO, California treats those hours as earned wages with strong protections.
Vacation and Holidays Are Not Required
The Division of Labor Standards Enforcement is direct on this point: no California law requires an employer to provide paid or unpaid vacation time.1Division of Labor Standards Enforcement. Vacation Federal law agrees. The Fair Labor Standards Act does not require payment for time not worked, including vacations and holidays.2U.S. Department of Labor. Vacation Leave
That means Christmas, New Year’s Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, the Fourth of July, and every other holiday are regular workdays under California law unless your employer’s policy says otherwise. An employer can require you to work a holiday at your normal rate of pay and owe you no premium for it. Whether you get paid vacation, paid holidays, or holiday premium pay depends entirely on the company policy, employee handbook, or contract you’re working under.
Paid Sick Leave Is Required
Paid sick leave is the piece of PTO California actually mandates. The Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 guarantees paid sick days to almost every worker in the state.3California Legislative Information. California Code Labor Code 245 You qualify if you work at least 30 days in California within a year of starting a job. Full-time, part-time, and temporary workers are all covered.
How Much You Earn
You accrue at least one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours you work, starting on day one.4California Legislative Information. California Code Labor Code 246 Your employer must let you use at least 40 hours or five days per year, whichever is greater. The five-day floor took effect in 2024, up from the previous three-day minimum.
An employer can meet the requirement either by using the standard accrual method or by front-loading the full 40 hours at the start of each year. Under accrual, the employer can cap your total balance at 80 hours or 10 days, and unused hours carry over year to year. Front-loading removes the carryover obligation.
What You Can Use It For
Permitted uses run well past your own illness. Sick leave covers diagnosis, treatment, or preventive care for you or a family member, with “family member” defined broadly to include a spouse, registered domestic partner, child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, or a person you designate.5Department of Industrial Relations. California Paid Sick Leave: Frequently Asked Questions
You can also use sick leave if you or a family member are a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking and need medical care, counseling, safety planning, or court time. Starting in 2025, the law added jury duty and appearing as a witness in court. Outdoor agricultural workers can use sick leave to avoid hazardous smoke, heat, or flooding during a declared emergency.
No Payout at Termination
Standalone sick leave does not have to be cashed out when you leave. Your employer owes you nothing for unused sick days unless company policy says otherwise. If you’re rehired by the same employer within 12 months, your previously accrued sick leave is restored.
Bereavement and Reproductive Loss Leave
California requires employers with five or more employees to provide up to five days of bereavement leave after a family member’s death, once you have been employed at least 30 days. Covered family members include a spouse, domestic partner, child, parent, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, and parent-in-law.6California Civil Rights Department. Bereavement Leave AB 1949 FAQ
The leave doesn’t have to be paid. Your employer must grant the time off, but you get paid only if you use accrued vacation, sick leave, or other paid leave you already have. Separately, California provides up to five days of leave after a reproductive loss such as miscarriage, stillbirth, or failed adoption, surrogacy, or fertility treatment.7California Civil Rights Department. Reproductive Loss Leave
State-Run Paid Leave Programs
California also runs its own paid leave programs funded through payroll deductions. The money comes from the state, not from your employer’s PTO bank, and people often confuse the two.
Paid Family Leave provides up to eight weeks of partial wage replacement when you need time to bond with a new child, care for a seriously ill family member, or handle certain military family needs.8Employment Development Department. California Boosts Paid Family Leave and Disability Benefits to Record Levels for New Claims Filed in 2025 Expecting mothers can receive an additional four weeks of benefits before giving birth.
The California Family Rights Act provides up to 12 weeks of job-protected unpaid leave per year at companies with five or more workers, covering bonding with a new child, caring for a seriously ill family member, or your own serious health condition. The leave itself is unpaid, but you can layer PFL benefits on top or use accrued vacation or sick leave to keep income coming in. CFRA is broader than the federal Family and Medical Leave Act: it applies to smaller employers and covers a wider range of family members.
Once Vacation Is Offered, It’s Yours
California law shifts sharply the moment your employer offers paid vacation or a combined PTO bank. Every hour you accrue becomes a vested wage. California courts treat vacation as deferred compensation, meaning those hours belong to you the same way money in your bank account does.9California Legislative Information. California Code LAB 227.3
Use-It-Or-Lose-It Policies Are Void
California prohibits any policy that forces you to forfeit earned vacation time. If a handbook says unused vacation expires at year’s end, that provision is unenforceable. Employers can, however, set a reasonable cap on total accrual. Once you hit the cap, you stop earning new hours until you use some. The DLSE has historically considered a cap of about 1.75 times your annual accrual rate to be reasonable. A cap pauses future accrual; it does not erase what you already have.
Payout at Separation
When you leave a job for any reason, your employer must pay out all accrued, unused vacation or PTO at your final rate of pay. If you’re fired, payment is due immediately. If you quit with at least 72 hours’ notice, it’s due on your last day. If you quit without notice, the employer has 72 hours to pay.10Department of Industrial Relations. Paydays, Pay Periods, and the Final Wages Missing these deadlines triggers waiting time penalties of one day’s wages for each calendar day the payment is late, up to 30 days.11Department of Industrial Relations. Waiting Time Penalties
Combined PTO Banks
Plenty of employers bundle vacation and sick leave into one PTO bank. The consequence catches both sides off guard: once sick leave is combined with vacation, the whole balance falls under the vacation payout rules. Standalone sick leave doesn’t have to be paid out when you leave, but a combined PTO bank does.5Department of Industrial Relations. California Paid Sick Leave: Frequently Asked Questions
Cities With Stronger Rules
Several California cities have passed their own sick leave laws that go beyond the state minimum. San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Oakland each require more generous accrual or higher caps. If you work in one of these cities, your employer must follow whichever law gives you the greater benefit. Specifics vary and change periodically, so checking your local government’s website is worth the effort if you work in a major urban area.