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 official 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.
Pick your state
Fired and quit deadlines shown on each card; full rule and penalty inside.
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 — 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. 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.