Can we grant vacation time without it being accrued?

Q. Can the owners of my company grant salaried employees vacation without it being accrrued? To be more specific, the owners made two employees salaried beginning Jan. 1. They gave each employee a salary increase and three weeks vacation. Am I wrong to assume this will force the employees to have their pay reduced because they will not have any time accrued if they get sick earlier in the year; e.g. January, and push them to take vacation towards the end of the year or otherwise cash out all but five days going into the following year? – Anonymous, California