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Unused PTO in New Hampshire: must it be paid out?

New Hampshire requires payout of accrued vacation only if the employer's written policy provides for it.

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
N.H. RSA 275:44
If fired
When an employer discharges an employee, the wages must be paid in full within 72 hours (RSA 275:44, I).
If you resigned
When an employee quits or resigns, wages must be paid no later than the next regular payday (RSA 275:44, II).
Late-pay penalty
New Hampshire does not add liquidated damages to the employee's claim for a late final paycheck. The remedy is the wages through the Department of Labor or district court.
PTO
New Hampshire requires payout of accrued vacation only if the employer's written policy provides for it.
Small claims limit
$5,000 for an individual
Last verified
2026-11-03 single source

What to put in the file before you write anything

  1. Your accrual balance on the last day of work, from the payroll system rather than from memory.
  2. 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.
  3. Whether the policy says "use it or lose it", caps accrual, or is silent. Silence usually favours the employee.
  4. 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 New Hampshire Department of Labor, a small claims judge — starts from those three facts. The letter is built from N.H. RSA 275:44 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 $5,000, 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 New Hampshire law require vacation payout?

New Hampshire requires payout of accrued vacation only if the employer's written policy provides for it.

Can my employer retroactively cancel my PTO balance in New Hampshire?

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 New Hampshire

being fired · resigning · a layoff · unpaid commissions · all New Hampshire rules

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