He is protected under CA labor Law. Accrued time off in California must be paid out in cash value at time of employee separation. Even if the employee transfers to another state and remains with the employer. Either he takes it now or the estate pays it later. I believe even if he were to take a pay cut the accrued vacation must be paid at the rate he was at when it was earned.
I think the point was more that he is not just an employee of the company, he is one of two people on the board of directors and an owner. If he really gave a shit about trying to retain value for creditors, he would have delayed his vacation.