Your Right to Severance Pay and Vacation Pay in New York
Do you have the right to severance pay in New York?
You do not have the right to severance pay unless you have an employment contract that sets forth the right to severance pay. Or, if you are in a union, you may have the right to severance pay under the terms of a collective bargaining agreement. In rare cases, employers will set forth a severance policy in the company employment manual.
The New York Labor Law does not provide employees with the right to severance pay. Those companies that provide severance pay, do so on a voluntary basis. Employees generally do not have a legal right to severance pay. If companies do not have to provide severance pay, why do they do it? They do it to make the transition smoother - companies want departing employees to leave quietly, cooperate with the transition and promise never to sue them.
Under certain situations that involve allegations of unlawful conduct such as employment discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation or other similar charges, a settlement or severance agreement can be negotiated. Employees can use the leverage of a potential employment suit to negotiate favorable terms.
Do you have the right to accrued vacation pay in New York if you quit or get fired?
Your right to accrued vacation time depends upon the terms of your employer's vacation/resignation policy. If your employer has a policy that allows for the accrual of vacation time and the policy does not state that the time is forfeited upon termination or resignation, then you have the right to receive your accrued vacation time.
If your employer does not have an accrued vacation time policy, then you do not have the right to any unused vacation time if you are fired or resign. New York Labor Law does not provide employees with an independent right to unused vacation time.
If you have questions about a companies severance pay or vacation pay policies in New York, please give us a call. We have been helping New York employees for over ten years.
