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WorkLynx
Preloaded policy

PTO / Vacation Policy template

Paid time off allocation, accrual, carryover, and use. No federal minimum: sets a company standard.

Legal basis
  • No federal minimum; state laws on accrual, carryover, payout at separation vary (CA, MA, NE etc. treat accrued PTO as wages)
Last reviewed April 2026. Guidance, not legal advice.

What the policy covers

  1. PURPOSE
    This policy describes paid time off for vacation, personal, and well-being purposes.
  2. ELIGIBILITY
    All full-time employees are eligible for PTO from their date of hire.
  3. CARRYOVER
    Up to … hours of unused PTO may be carried over into the next calendar year.
  4. REQUESTING PTO
    Submit PTO requests through the company's HR system as far in advance as practicable: typically … for blocks of more than … days.
  5. PAYOUT AT SEPARATION
    … state law … require payout of unused accrued PTO at separation.
  6. PTO AND HOLIDAYS
    Company-designated paid holidays are separate from and in addition to PTO.
  7. NEGATIVE BALANCE
    PTO advances beyond accrued amounts are at company discretion and may be repaid from final wages where state law permits.
  8. UNUSED PTO AT TERMINATION
    Where state law treats accrued PTO as earned wages, it is paid out in full.

Who needs it

Any employer running schedule, leave and the day-to-day of employing people. These set out the rules once so nobody argues about them twice.

Questions people ask

Is a pto / vacation policy a legal requirement?

It rests on No federal minimum; state laws on accrual, carryover, payout at separation vary (CA, MA, NE etc. treat accrued PTO as wages). Some policies must be written down once a business reaches a certain size or does certain work; others are simply how a tribunal, an inspector or an auditor expects to see that you have thought about it. A clear, dated, signed policy is the evidence either way. Guidance, not legal advice.

Can I change it to suit how we work?

Yes. Inside Work-Lynx it is a starting point: put your company name in, adjust the arrangements to what you actually do, set the review date and publish it. Staff read and acknowledge it on their phones, and you can see who has not.

Is it up to date?

Last reviewed April 2026. The pack is updated when the law moves, and every policy carries a review date so it does not quietly go stale.

How do I get it?

It is preloaded in Work-Lynx with the other 28 policies for the US. Work-Lynx is $3 plus $1.25 per employee, 14 days free, no card, and what you see on the pricing page is the bill.

Who is it for?

Any employer running schedule, leave and the day-to-day of employing people. These set out the rules once so nobody argues about them twice.

All 29 US policies, $3 a month

This policy and 28 others are already in Work-Lynx, alongside GPS clock-in, schedules, timesheets, PTO and an employment-question advisor. $3 base plus $1.25 per employee a month. 14 days free, no card, no sales call.

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