Final paycheck laws by state When the last check is due

The federal rule

The U.S. Department of Labor, or DOL, answers this on its last paycheck page. It says federal law does not require employers to give former employees their final paycheck immediately. It also says some states may require immediate payment. If the regular payday for the last pay period has passed and the worker has not been paid, the DOL points the worker to its Wage and Hour Division or the state labor department.

So the deadline is a state question. The same firing can mean a check today in one state and a check in two weeks in another.

Two questions decide the deadline

1. Where did the person work? Use that state’s law.
2. How did the job end? Most states set one deadline when you end the job (fired or laid off) and another when the worker quits. Some also care whether the worker gave notice.

Five states, side by side

California

California has the strictest rule here and a penalty to match. The Labor Commissioner explains it on the paydays questions page.

• Fired: all wages, including accrued vacation, are due immediately at the time of termination, under Labor Code sections 201 and 227.3.
• Quits with at least 72 hours’ notice: all wages, including accrued vacation, are due at the time of quitting, under section 202.
• Quits without 72 hours’ notice: all wages are due within 72 hours. The worker may ask you to mail the check to an address, and the mailing date counts as the payment date.
• Late: if you willfully fail to pay on time, you can owe a waiting time penalty of the worker’s daily rate for each day the wages stay unpaid, up to 30 days, under section 203.

Accrued vacation is part of the final check in California. Plan for that before you hold the meeting. The California page covers the state payroll tax account.

Massachusetts

The Massachusetts law about wages page quotes General Laws chapter 149, section 148. An employee who is discharged must be paid in full on the day of discharge. An employee who leaves voluntarily must be paid in full on the next regular payday, or on the following Saturday if there is no regular payday. The Massachusetts page covers the state accounts.

Oregon

ORS 652.140 sets three cases.

• Discharge, or the job ends by mutual agreement: wages are due by the end of the first business day after.
• The worker quits with at least 48 hours’ notice, not counting Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays: wages are due immediately.
• The worker quits without that notice: wages are due within five days, not counting Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, or on the next regular payday, whichever comes first.

The statute has other cases for some kinds of work. Read it for your job type. The Oregon page covers the state accounts.

Texas

The Texas Workforce Commission explains the Texas Payday Law on its final pay page. Section 61.014 sets the dates. When someone is laid off, discharged, or fired, final pay is due within six calendar days. When someone quits, retires, or resigns, final pay is due on the next regularly scheduled payday after the resignation takes effect. The Texas page covers the Workforce Commission unemployment account.

New York

New York Labor Law section 191(3) uses one rule for every way a job ends. Pay the wages no later than the regular payday for the pay period in which the job ended. If the worker asks, send the wages by mail. The New York page covers the state accounts.

Three examples

These use only the rules above. The dates are examples you can redo with your own calendar.

You pay every other Friday. On Tuesday, October 6, you let a worker go. In California the check is due that Tuesday, at the time of termination, with accrued vacation in it. In Massachusetts it is due that Tuesday too. In Oregon it is due by the end of Wednesday, the first business day after. In Texas it is due within six calendar days, so by Monday, October 12. In New York it is due by the regular payday for the pay period in which the job ended.

Now the worker quits instead, on that same Tuesday, with no notice. In California the check is due within 72 hours. In Oregon it is due within five business days or on the next regular payday, whichever comes first. In Massachusetts and Texas it is due on the next regular payday. In New York the rule does not change.

Last, the worker gives two weeks’ notice and leaves on the date given. In California the check is due on the last day, because the notice was more than 72 hours. In Oregon it is due immediately, because the notice was more than 48 hours, not counting weekends and holidays.

The way the job ends changes the date in four of the five states. Write down how it ended, and the date, in the worker’s file.

Other states

Each state writes its own rule. The five above show the range: from the same day to the next regular payday, with different rules for firing and quitting. The DOL keeps a directory of state labor offices where you can confirm your state’s rule.

What goes in the final check

The final check is an ordinary paycheck for the last stretch of work. Withhold the same taxes as any payday. How to run payroll walks the math. A few items need attention:

• All hours through the last day, including overtime. What is a pay period? explains how a partial period works.
• Accrued vacation, where your state or your own policy requires it. California does.
• Commissions and bonuses already earned, under your agreement and your state’s law.
• A pay stub, in a state that requires one. What goes on a pay stub? covers California, New York, and Oregon.

After the last check, the worker still gets a Form W-2 in January. How to file W-2 forms says you may give it sooner, and must give it within 30 days if the worker asks, or after the final wage payment if that is later.

Running the last check in software

If your software runs an off-cycle check for a final payment, check how fast it moves the money. A same-day deadline in California or Massachusetts leaves no room for a deposit that lands later. How much payroll services cost compares plans.

The methodology page grades how much state paperwork software takes off your desk. Gusto is one plain link. Patriot is the other service on this site.