If an employee is fired when are they entitled to receive their last paycheck?
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If an employee is fired when are they entitled to receive their last paycheck?
I was fired 2 days ago just after 9pm,.I was told by my supervisor that I would still receive my paycheck the very next day, our regular payday, and would even receive one more on the next payday since I had worked into the next pay period. I came in at 1 pm to get my check like normal but they told me that I already got my last check last month. After a 10 minute back and forth about the fact that I had been fired less than 18 hours before, they changed their story and are claiming I will receive both my last checks in 2 weeks. With as fishy as this sounds, are they able to do this?
Asked on June 9, 2011 under Employment Labor Law, Ohio
Answers:
M.T.G., Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
I am so sorry for the situation and the problems. States have enacted last paycheck laws that help in giving guidance in these matters. For some states laws, though, it depends on whether or not yo have been fired or have resigned. Ohio law is codified under Rev. Code Ann. section 4113.15. Unfortunately, there is no law if an employee is fired. Only a law if the employee quits. That law states that the final check must be given on the first day of the month for wages that were earned in the first half of the prior month, or on the fifteenth day of the month for wages earned in the second half of the prior month. So yes, they can come up with their own plan to pay you as long as it is unreasonable. Now don't think you are out on a limb here. If they continue to give you the run around call the state Department of Labor and complain. Good luck.
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
Unfortunately for you, it appears that your state, Ohio, gives employers a much longer time than usual to pay the last or final paycheck. Most states require that the final paycheck be whenever the next paycheck would have been; a few require it the same or next day. Ohio appears to let employers pay it on the first of the following month, for final wages earned during the first half of the prior month, or fifeteenth of the following month, for final wages earned during the second half of the prior month. You do need to be paid in full for all the work you actually did prior to being fired. Also, if it's your company's policy to pay out unused vacation days on termination, if you have any unused days, they would seem to have to pay them, too.
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