Final Paycheck and Unpaid Wage Claims

When an employer must pay your last wages after you quit or are fired, whether unused vacation counts as wages, and how to recover pay you are owed through a state labor agency or a lawsuit.

Looking for a lawyer rather than a definition? Skip to the state-by-state list of Wage & Hour law firms.

What it means

Federal law sets the minimum wage and overtime rules but does not say when a final paycheck is due; the U.S. Department of Labor's position is that federal law only requires the wages to be paid on the regular payday for the period. The deadline comes from state wage payment laws, and they differ a great deal. Some states require payment immediately or within a very short time when the employer ends the job, with a slightly longer allowance when the employee quits without notice; others allow the employer to wait until the next regular payday. California, for example, requires a discharged employee to be paid at the time of discharge and adds a waiting-time penalty of a day's wages for each day the payment is late, up to a cap.

What counts as wages also depends on state law. Commissions and bonuses that were already earned under the terms of the plan are usually owed. Accrued vacation is treated as earned wages that must be paid out in some states, including California, while other states let the employer's written policy decide whether unused vacation is paid at the end. An employer generally cannot hold back a final check until company property is returned or make deductions the law does not allow; deductions that pull pay below the minimum wage are not allowed under federal law either.

An employee who is not paid can file a wage claim with the state labor department, which in many states investigates and holds a hearing at no cost, or with the federal Wage and Hour Division when the claim is for minimum wage or overtime. A private lawsuit is also possible; under the Fair Labor Standards Act a court can award the unpaid amount, an equal amount as liquidated damages, and attorney's fees. Small amounts can also go to small claims court. Wage claims have short limitation periods, and an employer may not punish a worker for making one (see workplace retaliation). Whether a worker is an employee at all can decide the claim (see independent contractor vs employee).

Where this comes from

When people hire a lawyer for this

Most wage claims can start at the state labor agency, which costs nothing. A lawyer is worth calling when the amount is large, when commissions or bonuses are in dispute, when the employer says you were a contractor, when many co-workers are owed the same thing, or when you were fired after complaining. Many employment lawyers take wage cases on contingency or recover their fees from the employer under fee-shifting statutes.

Worried about the cost? A lawyer can be hired for one part of a case only (limited-scope representation), may be paid from what a claim recovers (contingency fee), or may be free through a pro bono program or legal aid; a court can also waive its own filing fees.

Find Wage & Hour law firms in your state

Choose your state to see Wage & Hour law firms in the city where we list the most; your city may be under “other cities”, A to Z.

• Alabama (Birmingham)
  +1 other city

  • Montgomery
• Alaska (Anchorage)
• Arizona (Chandler)
  +6 other cities

  • Gilbert
  • Glendale
  • Mesa
  • Phoenix
  • Scottsdale
  • Tucson
• Arkansas (Little Rock)
• California (Anaheim)
  +70 other cities

  • Bakersfield
  • Chula Vista
  • Fontana
  • Fremont
  • Fresno
  • Irvine
  • Long Beach
  • Oakland
  • Riverside
  • San Bernardino
  • San Francisco
  • Santa Ana
  • and 58 more with fewer listed firms
• Colorado (Aurora)
  +2 other cities

  • Colorado Springs
  • Denver
• Connecticut (Bridgeport)
• District of Columbia (Washington)
• Florida (Hialeah)
  +5 other cities

  • Jacksonville
  • Miami
  • Orlando
  • St Petersburg
  • Tampa
• Georgia (Atlanta)
• Hawaii (Honolulu)
• Illinois (Chicago)
• Indiana (Fort Wayne)
  +1 other city

  • Indianapolis
• Iowa (Des Moines)
• Kansas (Kansas City)
  +1 other city

  • Wichita
• Kentucky (Lexington)
  +1 other city

  • Louisville
• Louisiana (Baton Rouge)
  +2 other cities

  • New Orleans
  • Shreveport
• Maryland (Baltimore)
• Massachusetts (Boston)
• Michigan (Detroit)
• Minnesota (Minneapolis)
  +1 other city

  • Saint Paul
• Missouri (Kansas City)
  +1 other city

  • St. Louis
• Nevada (Henderson)
  +2 other cities

  • Las Vegas
  • North Las Vegas
• New Hampshire (Manchester)
• New Jersey (Jersey City)
  +1 other city

  • Newark
• New Mexico (Albuquerque)
• New York (Buffalo)
  +2 other cities

  • New York City
  • Rochester
• North Carolina (Charlotte)
  +1 other city

  • Winston-Salem
• Ohio (Cincinnati)
  +3 other cities

  • Cleveland
  • Columbus
  • Toledo
• Oklahoma (Oklahoma City)
  +1 other city

  • Tulsa
• Oregon (Portland)
• Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh)
  +1 other city

  • Philadelphia
• Rhode Island (Providence)
• South Carolina (Columbia)
• Tennessee (Memphis)
  +1 other city

  • Nashville
• Texas (Austin)
  +12 other cities

  • Arlington
  • Corpus Christi
  • Dallas
  • El Paso
  • Fort Worth
  • Garland
  • Houston
  • Irving
  • Laredo
  • Lubbock
  • Plano
  • San Antonio
• Utah (Salt Lake City)
• Virginia (Richmond)
• Washington (Seattle)
  +1 other city

  • Tacoma
• West Virginia (Charleston)
• Wisconsin (Madison)
  +1 other city

  • Milwaukee

Related terms

Entries on the same subject:

• FMLA Leave (Family and Medical Leave Act)A federal right to unpaid, job-protected leave for a serious health condition, a new child, or a family member's serious illness, with health coverage kept in place.
• Overtime and Minimum Wage (FLSA)The federal floor for pay: a minimum hourly wage, and time and a half for hours over forty in a workweek, unless the job is exempt.

Other entries in the same area of law, each written from the same primary sources.

• At-Will Employment and Wrongful TerminationThe default rule that an employer may end employment for any reason or none, and the exceptions that make some firings unlawful.
• Employment DiscriminationWhich traits federal law protects at work, which employers each law covers, the main kinds of discrimination claim, and what a court can order.
• ERISA Benefit Claim Denial (Disability, Health and Pension Plans)The federal rules for appealing, and then suing over, a denied claim under an employer-sponsored disability, health, life or retirement plan.
• FELA Railroad Worker Injury ClaimThe federal law that lets an injured railroad employee sue the railroad for negligence instead of receiving workers' compensation.
• Pregnancy Discrimination and Accommodation at WorkThe federal rules that bar firing or demoting a worker for pregnancy, require reasonable accommodations for pregnancy-related limitations, and protect break time and a private space to pump breast milk, plus how to file a charge.
• Severance AgreementWhat a severance agreement trades, which claims it can and cannot release, the special rules for workers aged 40 and over, and the clauses worth reading twice.
• Sexual Harassment at WorkUnwelcome sexual conduct at work that is a condition of the job or creates a hostile environment, a form of sex discrimination under Title VII.
• Unemployment Benefits (Unemployment Insurance)State-run insurance that pays part of a worker's lost wages after a job ends through no fault of their own, decided by a state agency with a right to a hearing.
• Union and Concerted Activity Rights (NLRA)The right of most private-sector employees to organize, join a union, or act together about pay and conditions without a union, and how unfair labor practices are charged.
• Whistleblower Claims and Qui Tam (False Claims Act)Laws that protect, and in some cases reward, people who report fraud against the government or other violations, including private qui tam suits under the False Claims Act.
• Workplace Safety Complaints (OSHA)The federal right to a safe workplace, how a worker files a confidential OSHA complaint, the narrow right to refuse dangerous work, and protection against retaliation.

« All glossary terms