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Unused PTO in Nevada: must it be paid out?

Nevada requires payout of accrued vacation according to the employer's written policy; an employer with a qualifying policy must pay earned, unused time at separation.

The practical question is not whether your employer has a policy — most do — but whether that policy actually forfeits earned time, and whether it was communicated before you earned it.

Statute: NRS 608.020, 608.030, 608.040
If fired: NRS 608.020: an employee who is discharged must be paid immediately — the wages due are payable at the time of discharge, not on the next payday.
If you resigned: NRS 608.030: an employee who resigns must be paid the wages due by the next regular payday, or within seven days if the employer has no regular payday.
Late-pay penalty: NRS 608.040: if wages are not paid when due, the employer owes the employee the wages plus up to 30 days of additional wages at the employee's regular daily rate.
PTO: Nevada requires payout of accrued vacation according to the employer's written policy; an employer with a qualifying policy must pay earned, unused time at separation.
Small claims limit: $10,000 for an individual
Last verified: 2026-11-03 single source

What to put in the file before you write anything

Your accrual balance on the last day of work, from the payroll system rather than from memory.
The policy in force during your employment, with its effective date — a policy adopted after you accrued time is a weaker defence for the employer.
Whether the policy says "use it or lose it", caps accrual, or is silent. Silence usually favours the employee.
The payout rate: accrued hours are normally paid at your final rate of pay, not at an older, lower rate.

What the letter does that a phone call cannot

A demand letter fixes three things at once: the amount, the date each item was due, and the date the employer was on notice. Every forum that can help you — the Nevada Office of the Labor Commissioner, a small claims judge — starts from those three facts. The letter is built from NRS 608.020, 608.030, 608.040 and your own figures, so the deadline it states is the one that applies to your separation, not a generic thirty days.

If the amount fits inside $10,000, small claims court is usually faster than an agency queue; if it does not, the agency route and a demand first is the cheaper path.

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Questions

Does Nevada law require vacation payout?

Nevada requires payout of accrued vacation according to the employer's written policy; an employer with a qualifying policy must pay earned, unused time at separation.

Can my employer retroactively cancel my PTO balance in Nevada?

A forfeiture has to come from a policy that applied while the time was being earned. A policy introduced at separation, or applied only to departing employees, is the weakest version of the argument and is worth challenging in writing.

Other situations in Nevada

being fired · resigning · a layoff · unpaid commissions · all Nevada rules

Reviewed 2026-11-03 against the sources listed on the Nevada page. This is a self-help document tool, not legal advice, and no outcome is guaranteed.