Question: When an employee is out on an extended medical leave due to a work-related injury, does the employee continue to accrue vacation?
Answer: There is no legal requirement to provide vacation benefits to employees. If you do offer vacation benefits to employees, you are not required to continue vacation accrual during an unpaid leave of absence. (However, if you continue vacation accrual during non-workers’ compensation related medical leaves, you must follow the same practice for employees on a medical leave due to a work-related injury.)
If you have a medical leave policy, it should specify how long vacation will continue to accrue during the leave. If your policy does not have provisions regarding vacation accrual, you should rely on your past practice. It is typical to continue vacation accrual during the paid portion of leaves only.