G4S Denies earned vacation time to senior officers. San Jose California

I have been an employee with G4S since 2005 to present.. Everyear, G4S (on our anniversary) sent a check for our vacation. Our vacation policy has always been.

1 year: 40 hours (1 week)

3 years: 80 Hours (2 weeks)

5 years: 120 Hours (3 weeks) (max)

At the end of Janruary this year, we received an email stating vacation buyouts were to be requested. One officer with 5 years seniority received his vacation and 120 hours without having to request it. The other senior Officers who began turning in their requests and were expecting 120 hours were all denied. The reason given by G4S San Jose for their requests being denied was that G4S only accepts requests for buyouts if its an 'emergency'. A majority of the officers requested the buyouts for exactly that purpose, including myself. (My fiance had surgery a month prior). We all were expecting them this year, like every year.

After resubmitting our requests with the explanation of our emergencies, we all received only 40 hours as opposed to the 120 hours we received in years past. I contacted the new G4S San Jose Payroll clerk (Lanette Sarte) and was told that the contract stated that vacations are "40 hours each year". This was a lie. The contract stated "40 hours after the first year" meaning the contract wording set a base minimum not a general standard, and that was because the guards were under a union and the vacation time acrued was set with a "collective bargaining agreement". We are no longer union. 

After asking why one Officer was able to receive his 120 hours without having to request it, I was pretty much told that they have, by mistake, been overpaying me and all the other officers for over 10 years! I find this very hard to believe. The 5 other senior officers and myself will be filing grievences with the California Labor board and exploring our legal options.