Human Resource Blog

Resignation/Last Paycheck in California

	Compensation
Employee Payroll Action Form W-4 Employee Withholding Allowance Cert. Employee Payroll Status/Change Form Direct Deposit Form Total Compensation Summary

	Termination
Employee Warning Notice Employee Final Warning Notice Employee Resignation Form Exit Interview Questionnaire Separation Checklist

I live & was working in CA for a company based in TX. I resigned Feb 19, and gave my last date of employment as March 7. My ex-employer decided to make it Feb 19, instead. They did state they would pay me through the 7th however I would not receive that check until Feb 29. Being that I am no longer employed with them (by their choice) do they owe me for every day they did not get to me my final paycheck? If so what law should I reference?

As you probably know, California has one of the strictest laws in the land regarding payment of final wages. An employee who is discharged must be paid all of his or her wages, including accrued vacation, immediately at the time of termination under Labor Code Sections 201 and 227.3. Even when a group of employees are laid off they must be paid within 72 hours.  

This law applies to every employee who works in California, regardless of where the employer is based.

 If an employee requests it, the payment may be mailed. However, under Labor Code Section 213(d), any direct deposit is immediately terminated when the employee quits or is discharged, and the payment must be by check or cash.   An employee who quits without giving 72 hours notice must be paid within 72 hours of quitting under Labor Code Section 202.  

When a California employee is terminated, he or she must be paid all the earned wages under Labor Code Sections 201 and 227.3. This employee gave notice, but the employer declined to allow her to work out her notice. In effect, the employer terminated the employee rather than having her quit.   

Legally, under California law, the employee is entitled only to payment for the time that she actually worked. So she should have received payment for the hours worked through Feb. 19 immediately.

The employer was under no obligation to pay the worker for the additional two weeks.  From the question, it sounds as if the employer paid the worker for an additional two weeks, through March 7. But, the employee did not receive that payment until Feb. 29.

It’s not clear if the Department of Industrial Relations will determine that the final payment was due on March 7, or not.  The employer could argue that the worker was employed until March 7, but just not required to perform any work or come into the office for the final two weeks. In that case, the final wages would not be due until March 7. Or, the Department of Labor Standards might decide that the employee was employed until Feb. 19 and the additional payment was a bonus.  So it’s not clear if the employer was in violation of this law in this situation.

Contact the nearest office of the CA Department of Industrial Relations for a definitive answer.  

An employer who willfully fails to pay any wages due a terminated employee (discharge or quit) in the prescribed time frame may be assessed a waiting time penalty. The waiting time penalty is an amount equal to the employee’s daily rate of pay for each day the wages remain unpaid, up to a maximum of thirty (30) calendar days.