Employment · Final Paycheck
Final Paycheck Laws in Arkansas
When your last paycheck is due after you leave a job in Arkansas: the deadline if you were fired, the deadline if you quit, and what happens if the check is late.
Prefer a quick check? Enter your last day worked in the Arkansas final paycheck checker →
Fired vs. quit — when the check is due
The two deadlines side by side. In most states they match; in a few they don’t.
By the next regular payday. If you are fired and ask for your pay, most sources read Ark. Code §11-4-405 to give you your final wages within 7 days, and the statute penalizes an employer who has not paid within 7 days of that next payday.
On the next regular payday. Arkansas has no statute setting a separate deadline for employees who quit, so a resignation follows your normal pay schedule unless a written agreement says otherwise.
Arkansas is one of the few states where quitting and being fired carry different deadlines. Check the side that applies to you.
If your final pay is late
The California waiting-time penalty is one of a kind; every other state uses a different remedy.
Note: this is a damages or civil-penalty remedy, not a California-style per-day waiting-time penalty. Only California’s §203 lets your daily wage keep running as a penalty until you are paid.
The full rule, with the statute
Every deadline and remedy, and how Arkansas sets each.
| Situation | Deadline in Arkansas | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| If you were fired | 7 days | By the next regular payday. If you are fired and ask for your pay, most sources read Ark. Code §11-4-405 to give you your final wages within 7 days, and the statute penalizes an employer who has not paid within 7 days of that next payday. |
| If you quit | Next payday | On the next regular payday. Arkansas has no statute setting a separate deadline for employees who quit, so a resignation follows your normal pay schedule unless a written agreement says otherwise. |
| Notice matters? | No | Giving notice does not change the deadline in this state. |
| Waiting-time penalty | None | No per-day continuing-wage penalty. That remedy exists only in California under §203. |
| Other late-pay remedy | Double the wages due | Under Ark. Code §11-4-405(b), an employer that fails to pay a discharged employee within 7 days of the next regular payday owes double the wages due. This is a fixed doubling of the amount owed, not a per-day penalty that keeps growing, and it does not apply to an employee who quits. |
Act 2019, No. 853 §7 (effective 2019-07-24): Act 853 of 2019 rewrote §11-4-405. It replaced the old railroad-era continuing-wage penalty with the current rule: a discharged employee is paid by the next regular payday, and an employer that has not paid within 7 days of that payday owes double the wages due.
Deadlines here cover earned wages. Whether unused vacation or PTO must be included in a final check is a separate question that varies by state and by the employer’s written policy.
What Arkansas workers get wrong
Arkansas splits its final-paycheck rules by how you leave. If you are fired or discharged, Ark. Code §11-4-405 requires your employer to pay all wages due by your next regular payday, and if you ask for the money most legal guides read the statute to give you your pay within 7 days. Miss that window and the penalty bites: an employer that has not paid within 7 days of the next regular payday owes you double the wages due, a one-time doubling rather than a penalty that keeps running. If you quit, the picture is simpler, because Arkansas has no statute setting a separate deadline for a resignation, so your final check follows your normal payday unless a written agreement says otherwise. Arkansas also has no law forcing a payout of unused vacation or PTO, so that comes down to your employer's written policy. The 2019 legislature rewrote this section, so older summaries describing a continuing daily-wage penalty are out of date.
Common questions
When is my final paycheck due in Arkansas if I am fired?
By your next regular payday. If you ask for your pay after being discharged, most guides read Ark. Code §11-4-405 to give you your final wages within 7 days, and the statute penalizes an employer who has not paid within 7 days of that payday.
When do I get my final paycheck in Arkansas if I quit?
On your next regular payday. Arkansas has no statute setting a separate deadline for employees who quit, so a resignation follows your normal pay schedule unless a written agreement provides otherwise.
What is the penalty if my Arkansas employer pays my final check late?
Under Ark. Code §11-4-405(b), an employer that fails to pay a discharged employee within 7 days of the next regular payday owes double the wages due. It is a one-time doubling, not a daily penalty that keeps growing, and it applies to discharge, not to quitting.
Does Arkansas require paying out unused vacation or PTO in a final check?
No. Arkansas has no law requiring a payout of accrued vacation or PTO when you leave. Whether unused time is paid depends on your employer’s written policy or your employment agreement.
Did Arkansas change its final-paycheck law recently?
Yes. Act 853 of 2019 rewrote §11-4-405, effective July 24, 2019. It replaced the old railroad-era continuing-wage penalty with the current rule: pay by the next regular payday, with double wages owed if the employer has not paid within 7 days of that payday. Older summaries describing an ongoing daily penalty are out of date.
Where do I file an unpaid final-wage complaint in Arkansas?
The Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing handles wage complaints, and you can also pursue the amount owed in small claims court. For the §11-4-405 doubling penalty on a discharge, many workers use a private wage claim or an attorney.
Not legal advicePlainStatute provides plain-language summaries of public law for general information only. This is not legal advice. Statutes change; always confirm current requirements with the official source linked above before acting.