Can an employment separation agreement legally deny owed vacation pay?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Can an employment separation agreement legally deny owed vacation pay?
Asked on November 11, 2011 under Employment Labor Law, New Jersey
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
Yes, so long as the employee agrees to this and signs or executes the agreement.
A separation agreement is a contract; the two parties, employer and employee, may agree to anything not inherently illegal (e.g. no agreement to commit tax fraud). A party may agree to give up compensation which it has otherwise earned or is entitled to--nothing requires an employee to accept all pay or other benefits if he or she does not want to. Therefore, the employee may agree to give up the vacation pay, and the employer may ask him or her to do this. Presumably, the total severance package makes it "worth the while" for the employee to do so, otherwise he or she would not sign it.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.