Accrual

• In California, vacation days are considered earned wages which accrue as you work. To calculate how much you've accrued, multiply the days you are entitled to a year by eight, then divide the result by 52. This is what you accrue each workweek.
  
  

Payouts

• Vacation days can't be "lost." Regardless of the reason your employment terminates, you're entitled to payment of the unused days. When they are paid out, it's at the employee's current rate of pay, regardless of when it was earned. "Use it or lose it" policies are illegal.
  
  

Employer Options

• Employers can cap the amount of accrued vacation, and they can pay out unearned vacation at year end. They can set a waiting period before you earn vacation, such as during the probationary period or even for the first year, as long as it isn't a subterfuge to skirt the law. An acceptable policy is no vacation the first year, two weeks the second year and three weeks the third year.