Employment · Final Paycheck
Final Paycheck Laws by State
When your last paycheck is due after you quit or are fired, state by state: the deadline, whether giving notice changes it, and what happens if the check is late, each cited to the statute.
Fastest final paycheck when fired
Where a fired employee must be paid soonest. Most states use "next regular payday" for both quitting and firing; only a few set a shorter clock for a discharge.
Fastest when fired
Watch out for
Only California has a true per-day waiting-time penalty (§203, up to 30 days). Other states use liquidated or treble damages, not the same thing. Michigan reads "immediately" in its statute but is applied as the next payday. Florida and Georgia have no state law; the federal next-payday default applies. Arizona’s fired deadline is 7 working days, not calendar.
Type a state to jump straight to its full final paycheck guide.
Every state in one table
The fired and quit deadlines, the late-pay remedy, and the statute. Grouped by how the state clock compares with your next regular payday.
No state deadline (federal FLSA governs) (4)
No state statute sets a clock, so the federal default applies: final wages are due on the next regular payday, whether you quit or are fired.
| State | If you are fired | If you quit | Late-pay remedy | Statute |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Next payday | Next payday | FLSA remedies only | FLSA default |
| Florida | Next payday | Next payday | FLSA remedies only | FLSA default |
| Georgia | Next payday | Next payday | FLSA remedies only | FLSA default |
| Mississippi | Next payday | Next payday | FLSA remedies only | FLSA default |
State clock faster than a regular payday (19)
At least one deadline, usually the fired one, beats the next scheduled payday.
| State | If you are fired | If you quit | Late-pay remedy | Statute |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska | 3 working days | Next payday | Up to 90 working days of wages | AS 23.05.140, |
| Arizona | 7 work days | Next payday | Treble damages | A.R.S. §23-353; §23-355 |
| California | Same day | 72 hourslast day with 72-hour notice | Up to 30 days' wagesdaily wage runs until paid | Cal. Labor Code §201; §202; §203 |
| Colorado | Same day | Next payday | Penalty: 2x wages (min $1,000), or 3x if willful | C.R.S. §8-4-109 |
| Hawaii | Same day | Next payday | Unpaid wages doubled, plus 6% interest and a civil penalty | HRS §388-3; HRS §388-10 |
| Idaho | 10 days or next payday | 10 days or next payday | Wage continuation up to 15 days, or treble damages | Idaho Code §45-606; §45-607 and §45-615 |
| Louisiana | 15 days or next payday | 15 days or next payday | Penalty wages up to 90 days | La. R.S. §23:631; La. R.S. §23:632 |
| Massachusetts | Same day | Next payday | Mandatory treble damages | M.G.L. c.149 §148; §150 |
| Minnesota | On demand | Next payday | Daily-wage penalty up to 15 days | Minn. Stat. §181.13 and §181.14 |
| Missouri | Same day | Next payday | Continuing wages up to 60 days | Mo. Rev. Stat. §290.110 |
| Montana | Same day | Next payday | Penalty up to 110% of unpaid wages | Mont. Code Ann. §39-3-205; §39-3-206 |
| Nevada | Same day | 7 days | Up to 30 days of continuing wages | Nev. Rev. Stat. §§ 608.020, 608.030, 608.040 |
| New Hampshire | 72 hours | Next payday | Liquidated damages up to 100% | N.H. RSA 275:44 |
| New Mexico | 5 days | Next payday | Wages continue up to 60 days | NMSA 1978 §50-4-4, §50-4-5, §50-4-26 |
| Oregon | Next business day | 5 business days | Penalty wages up to 30 days | ORS 652.140; ORS 652.150 |
| South Carolina | 48 hours / next payday | 48 hours / next payday | Up to 3x unpaid wages, plus costs and attorney fees | S.C. Code §41-10-50; §41-10-80 |
| Texas | 6 days | Next payday | Admin penalty (bad faith) | Texas Payday Law, Tex. Labor Code §61.014; §61.053 |
| Utah | 24 hours | Next payday | Continuing wages up to 60 days | Utah Code §34-28-5 |
| Vermont | 72 hours | Next payday | Twice the wages owed, plus costs and attorney’s fees | 21 V.S.A. §342; penalty under 21 V.S.A. §347 |
Next regular payday, whether you quit or are fired (27)
A few of these states add an outer day limit (the cell shows it).
| State | If you are fired | If you quit | Late-pay remedy | Statute |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | Next payday | Next payday | Double the wages due | Ark. Code Ann. §11-4-405 |
| Connecticut | Next business day | Next payday | Double damages plus fees | Conn. Gen. Stat. §31-71c; §31-72 |
| Delaware | Next payday | Next payday | Liquidated damages up to 100% of unpaid wages | 19 Del. C. §1103 |
| Illinois | Next payday | Next payday | Damages 5% per month | 820 ILCS 115/5; 115/14 |
| Indiana | Next payday | Next payday | Liquidated damages up to double the unpaid wages | Ind. Code §22-2-9-2; Ind. Code §22-2-5-2 |
| Iowa | Next payday | Next payday | Liquidated damages up to 100% | Iowa Code §91A.4 |
| Kansas | Next payday | Next payday | Willful-failure penalty up to 100% of unpaid wages | K.S.A. §44-315 |
| Kentucky | Next payday or 14 days | Next payday or 14 days | Liquidated damages up to an equal amount | KRS §337.055; KRS §337.385 |
| Maine | Next payday | Next payday | Double wages as liquidated damages | 26 M.R.S. §626; §626-A |
| Maryland | Next payday | Next payday | Up to 3x wages plus attorney fees | Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. §3-505; §3-507.2 |
| Michigan | Next payday | Next payday | 10%/yr + up to 2× (flagrant) | MCL §408.475; R. 408.9007; §408.488 |
| Nebraska | Next payday or 14 days | Next payday or 14 days | Attorney fees plus double-wage damages if willful | Neb. Rev. Stat. §48-1230; §48-1231 |
| New Jersey | Next payday | Next payday | Liquidated damages up to 200% | N.J.S.A. §34:11-4.3; §34:11-4.10 |
| New York | Next payday | Next payday | Liquidated damages up to 100% | N.Y. Labor Law §191; §198 |
| North Carolina | Next payday | Next payday | Wage recovery + interest | N.C. Gen. Stat. §95-25.7 |
| North Dakota | Next payday | Next payday | Interest, plus double or treble damages for repeat violators | N.D. Cent. Code §34-14-03; §34-14-09.1 |
| Ohio | Next payday | Next payday | Liquidated damages 6% or $200 | R.C. §4113.15; §4113.15 |
| Oklahoma | Next payday | Next payday | Liquidated damages up to 100% | Okla. Stat. tit. 40, §165.3 |
| Pennsylvania | Next payday | Next payday | Liquidated damages 25% or $500 | 43 P.S. §260.5; §260.10 |
| Rhode Island | Next payday | Next payday | Liquidated damages up to 2x | R.I. Gen. Laws §28-14-4; §28-14-19.2 |
| South Dakota | Next payday | Next payday | State agency wage claim | S.D.C.L. §60-11-10 and §60-11-11 |
| Tennessee | Next payday or 21 days | Next payday or 21 days | State civil penalty (not paid to you) | Tenn. Code Ann. §50-2-103, |
| Virginia | Next payday | Next payday | Treble damages (if knowing) | Va. Code §40.1-29 |
| Washington | Next payday | Next payday | Double damages (willful) | RCW §49.48.010; §49.52.070; §49.48.083 |
| West Virginia | Next payday | Next payday | Liquidated damages: 2x the unpaid wages | W. Va. Code §21-5-4 |
| Wisconsin | Next payday | Next payday | Increased wages up to 100% | Wis. Stat. §109.03; Wis. Stat. §109.11 |
| Wyoming | Next payday | Next payday | 18% annual interest, plus fees | Wyo. Stat. §27-4-104 |
Jump to your state
Open any state for its full detail, cited to the statute.
How final-paycheck deadlines work
When you leave a job, state law, not your employer, usually sets the deadline for your last paycheck. Most states use a single rule: your next regular payday, whether you quit or were fired. A handful are stricter. California and Massachusetts require payment the same day you are fired; Texas gives six days; Arizona gives seven working days. And in a few states (Florida and Georgia) there is no state final-paycheck law at all, so the federal FLSA default (next payday) applies.
Two things trip people up. First, the penalty for a late check is not the same everywhere: only California has a per-day "waiting-time" penalty that keeps your wages running for up to 30 days. Every other state uses liquidated damages, treble damages, or civil penalties. Those are real remedies, but a different mechanism. Second, unused vacation or PTO is a separate question from the paycheck deadline and depends on your state and your employer’s written policy; the PTO payout checker shows your state's rule and what your unused hours are worth. Every figure here links to the official source, and pages still pending final statute verification say so plainly. This is legal information, not legal advice.