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Unused PTO in the District of Columbia: must it be paid out?

District law treats vacation pay as wages once the right to it has been earned; a policy that forfeits accrued time at separation has to be one that applied while the time was accruing.

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
D.C. Code §§ 32-1302, 32-1303
If fired
If you are discharged, your wages must be paid not later than the working day after the discharge. If you were responsible for the employer's money, the employer may take up to 4 days to verify your accounts before paying (D.C. Code § 32-1303(1)).
If you resigned
If you resign, wages are due on the next regular payday or within 7 days of resigning, whichever comes first (§ 32-1303(2)).
Late-pay penalty
D.C. Code § 32-1303(4): liquidated damages of 10% of the unpaid wages for each working day the failure continues after the due date, or treble the unpaid wages, whichever is smaller. Ten working days of delay already reaches the treble ceiling.
PTO
District law treats vacation pay as wages once the right to it has been earned; a policy that forfeits accrued time at separation has to be one that applied while the time was accruing.
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

  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 D.C. Department of Employment Services — Office of Wage and Hour Compliance, a small claims judge — starts from those three facts. The letter is built from D.C. Code §§ 32-1302, 32-1303 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 District of Columbia law require vacation payout?

District law treats vacation pay as wages once the right to it has been earned; a policy that forfeits accrued time at separation has to be one that applied while the time was accruing.

Can my employer retroactively cancel my PTO balance in the District of Columbia?

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 the District of Columbia

being fired · resigning · a layoff · unpaid commissions · all District of Columbia rules

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