Human Resource Blog

2 Week Notices in Texas

	Attendance Management
Vacation Request / Response Form Weekly Time Sheets Attendance Calendar for 2008, 2009, or 2010 Annual Attendance Tracker Vacation Request Form for 2008, 2009, 2010 (Calendar) Detailed Absence Report

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

I recently resigned from my job and offered a 2 weeks notice, which my previous employer denied and let me go right then.
I was told that because I gave a 2 weeks notice that the company was responsible for paying for that time. Is that true, and is there some sort of documentation that I can obtain to help plead my case?

Unfortunately, you were misinformed. There is no Texas or federal law that requires employers to pay the employee for this time.

Good for you, however, for giving the employer two week’s notice. It demonstrates to the former employer, as well as the next employer, that you are a professional and conduct yourself accordingly.

Under federal law and the Texas Payday Law, employees must be paid for all time worked. When an employee gives two week’s notice, and works for that time, the employer is obligated to pay her. However, in some cases the employer may choose not to have the employee work for those final two weeks. Employers make this decision for a variety of reasons. In sales, it is very common for the employer to release the worker early, because unless there is a commission involved, the salesperson is not likely to be very motivated.

A manager who has two weeks or less left is a “lame duck” and may have trouble acting with authority.

“Short timers syndrome” strikes employees at all levels when performance suffers during the employee’s last two weeks.

Some Texas companies have the policy of releasing workers from the final two weeks early, but paying them for the entire time. This is strictly a matter of company policy, though – no law requires a

Texas employer to do this.

There is also no law that requires a Texas employer to pay workers for any earned but unused vacation upon termination. If an employer has a vacation policy in writing, the Texas Workforce Commission will enforce that policy.

If a company has a policy of paying for earned vacation time or for the two week’s notice when employees are released early, those policies must be enforced in a way that does not illegally discriminate against employees in a protected group.