When an employee leaves a job for any reason, the employer must follow applicable laws governing how quickly to issue the last paycheck.
While federal law does not require employers to issue the final paycheck immediately, some states may require immediate payment. In addition, some states have different final paycheck deadlines depending upon the reason for the employee leaving (i.e., employees who quit vs. being fired or laid off.)
In MarathonHR’s primary states of operation – Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia – we see differences in final paycheck legal requirements as follows:
FINAL CHECK DEADLINE
ALABAMA
Employee Quits – No law
Employee Fired/Laid Off – No law
FLORIDA
Employee Quits – No law
Employee Fired/Laid Off – No law
GEORGIA
Employee Quits – No law
Employee Fired/Laid Off – No law
NORTH CAROLINA
Employee Quits – Next scheduled payday
Employee Fired/Laid Off – Next scheduled payday
SOUTH CAROLINA
Employee Quits – No law
Employee Fired/Laid Off – Within 48 hours of date of separation or on the next scheduled payday, but not more than 30 days after date of separation
TENNESSEE
Employee Quits – Next scheduled payday or within 21 days, whichever is later
Employee Fired/Laid Off – Next scheduled payday or within 21 days, whichever is later
VIRGINIA
Employee Quits – Next scheduled payday
Employee Fired/Laid Off – Next scheduled payday
It’s important for employers to follow these rules to avoid penalties for noncompliance.
In future articles, we will examine other state law variances that employers need to follow – such as differences in requirements for youth labor, workers’ compensation postings and other worksite postings – as well as look at what an employer should do in the unfortunate event that an employee dies.