Although there is no federal law that entitles private sector employees to paid or unpaid vacation, most employers do give employees a paid vacation, and most employees consider it to be one of their most important benefits. There is a growing body of state law--an amalgam of statutes and court decisions--that does govern how employers administer vacation time, including whether and how much employees must be paid at termination for accrued but unused vacation. Employers must know their own state laws in order to develop a comprehensive policy covering eligibility, accrual, carryover, forfeiture, administration, pay upon termination, and integration of vacation policy with other state laws, and to ensure strict compliance and consistency of administration. The policy should be communicated to employees at the time they begin work (in a number of states, this is required).