Final Paycheck Laws by State
Once upon a time, it was the norm for employees to stay with their employer for decades, oftentimes retiring from the same business at which they started their career. Today, however, employees are more transient, bouncing from job to job at various companies throughout their work life. As such, receiving a final paycheck from an employer is becoming commonplace.
As an employer, it’s important to know the legal requirements surrounding an employee’s final check. Some states have differentiating laws depending on whether the employee quit or was terminated. Regardless, the final check should contain the employee’s regular pay from the most recent pay period along with any additional types of compensation such as accrued PTO or a bonus if your state law and/or company policy requires.
Below is a list of state laws outlining when a final paycheck must be delivered depending on whether the employee quit or was fired. Be sure to double check with your state’s department of labor for any updates or changes to final paycheck laws.
| State | If the Employee Quit | If You Fired the Employee |
| Alabama | There's no law. | There's no law. |
| Alaska | Next scheduled payday that's at least 3 days after the employee gives notice. | Within 3 working days of termination. |
| Arizona | Next scheduled payday. | Whichever is first: within 7 working days or next payday. |
| Arkansas | Next scheduled payday. | Within 7 working days. |
| California | Within 72 hours. | Immediately. |
| Colorado | Next scheduled payday. | Immediately. |
| Connecticut | Next scheduled payday. | Next business day. |
| Delaware | Next scheduled payday. | Next scheduled payday. |
| District of Columbia | Whichever is first: within 7 days or next payday. | Next business day. |
| Florida | There's no law. | There's no law. |
| Georgia | There's no law. | There's no law. |
| Hawaii | Immediately or next scheduled payday, depending on date of final notice. | Immediately or next business day if conditions warrant. |
| Idaho | Whichever is first: within 10 days or next payday. If employee makes a written request for earlier payment, within 48 hours of receiving the request. | Whichever is first: within 10 days or next payday. If employee makes a written request for earlier payment, within 48 hours of receiving the request. |
| Illinois | Next scheduled payday. | Next scheduled payday. |
| Indiana | Next scheduled payday. | Next scheduled payday. |
| Iowa | Next scheduled payday. | Next scheduled payday. |
| Kansas | Next scheduled payday. | Next scheduled payday. |
| Kentucky | Whichever is later: within 14 days or next scheduled payday. | Whichever is later: within 14 days or next scheduled payday. |
| Louisiana | Whichever is first: next scheduled payday or within 15 days. | Whichever is first: next scheduled payday or within 15 days. |
| Maine | Whichever is first: next scheduled payday or within 2 weeks of a demand from the employee. | Whichever is first: next scheduled payday or within 2 weeks of a demand from the employee. |
| Maryland | Next scheduled payday. | Next scheduled payday. |
| Massachusetts | Whichever is first: next paycheck or the Saturday that follows an employee's resignation. | Immediately. |
| Michigan | Next scheduled payday. | Next scheduled payday. |
| Minnesota | Next payday that's at least 5 days after an employee's last day but no more than 20 days after final day. | Immediately. |
| Mississippi | There's no law. | There's no law. |
| Missouri | There's no law. | Immediately |
| Montana | Whichever is first: next scheduled payday or within 15 days. | Immediately, but employer can maintain a written policy that extends this time to the next payday or within 15 days. |
| Nebraska | Whichever is first: next scheduled payday or withing two weeks. | Whichever is first: next scheduled payday or within two weeks. |
| Nevada | Whichever is first: within 7 days or next payday. | Immediately. |
| New Hampshire | Next scheduled payday or within 72 hours (if employee gave at least one pay period's notice). | Within 72 hours. |
| New Jersey | Next scheduled payday. | Next scheduled payday. |
| New Mexico | Next scheduled payday. | Within 5 days. |
| New York | Next scheduled payday. | Next scheduled payday. |
| North Carolina | Next scheduled payday. | Next scheduled payday. |
| North Dakota | Next scheduled payday. | Whichever is first: next scheduled payday or within 15 days. |
| Ohio | Whichever is first: next scheduled payday or within 15 days. | Whichever is first: next scheduled payday or within 15 days. |
| Oklahoma | Next scheduled payday. | Next scheduled payday. |
| Oregon | Immediately if the employee gave 48 hours notice. Otherwise within 5 days. | Next business day. |
| Pennsylvania | Next scheduled payday. | Next scheduled payday. |
| Rhode Island | Next scheduled payday. | Next scheduled payday. |
| South Carolina | There's no law. | Whichever is first: within 48 hours or next scheduled payday |
| South Dakota | Next scheduled payday or when employee returns company property. | Next scheduled payday or when employee returns company property. |
| Tennessee | Within 21 days. | Within 21 days. |
| Texas | Next scheduled payday. | Within 6 days. |
| Utah | Next scheduled payday. | Within 24 hours. |
| Vermont | Whichever is first: next scheduled payday or next Friday. | Within 72 hours. |
| Virginia | Next scheduled payday. | Next scheduled payday. |
| Washington | Next scheduled payday. | Next scheduled payday. |
| West Virginia | Next scheduled payday. | NNext scheduled payday. |
| Wisconsin | Next scheduled payday. | Whichever is first: next scheduled payday or within one month. |
| Wyoming | Next scheduled payday. | Next scheduled payday. |
Can An Employer Withhold A Final Paycheck?
Even if you fire an employee, you cannot withhold unpaid wages he or she is due. Nor can you make a final paycheck conditional. Failure to follow your state’s final paycheck laws can lead to penalties and fines.
RELATED ARTICLE: How to Terminate a Well-Liked Employee
Paycor is not a legal, tax, benefit, accounting or investment advisor. All communication from Paycor should be confirmed by your company’s legal, tax, benefit, accounting or investment advisor before making any decisions.
Buyer's Guide To HCM And Payroll Technology
An HCM platform is the foundation of your business, and choosing the technology is one of the most important decisions you'll make.
Get ExpertiseMore to Discover
Payroll Errors: 12 Common Mistakes You Might Be Making
Payroll Matters The payroll process is a necessary component of any business and The Department of Labor (DOL) keeps a close eye on businesses to help ensure they pay their employees correctly, and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and state taxing authorities are always going to make sure they receive the appropriate tax payments. 12 Common Errors to Avoid Everyone makes mistakes, and we’re hopeful they’re caught before anything bad happens. But it’s imperative to make sure that you’re not making any of these relatively common payroll mistakes if you manually calculate payroll in-house. Misclassifying employees and contractors In the gig economy, temps, freelancers, consultants and other independent contractors are commonly found in...
Dayrise Residential Outgrows Their PEO
Dayrise Residential had a great problem. Founded in 2011, this multifamily housing and operations company now manages nearly 80 properties in eight states and employs, at any given time, close to 500 people. As the Dayrise business grew, they found that their HR and Payroll needs were outgrowing their PEO. Dayrise needed to streamline their recruiting process to keep pace with the demands of filling new positions. And once the recruiting problem was solved, they needed help onboarding and training employees. They also needed access to their data and analytics—and their rigid PEO partner just couldn’t make it happen. So Dayrise met with Paycor. What impressed them right away was that Paycor is not in the business of flashy demos and “...HR
Lunch Break Laws By State
Lunch Breaks Aren’t a Requirement for Employers Most employers provide their employees with a paid or unpaid lunch break and some provide additional rest break periods. But did you know that breaks aren’t required by law? Federal law, anyway. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the law that governs wages and hours, does not mandate that employers provide meal or rest breaks to employees. Like many other federal laws in the human resources space, some states have stepped in to bridge the gap. Here's What You Need to Know The federal law dictates that if an employee gets meal or rest breaks, the company does not have to pay them for that time unless: State law requires paid breaks The employee works through a break time (e.g., if they eat...HR
