Last verified: October 2026 (against state statute text and official labor-agency pages)
Quick answer: Louisiana runs one rule for both firings and resignations: final wages are due on or before the next regular payday or no later than 15 days after separation, whichever occurs first, under La. R.S. 23:631. Accrued vacation counts as an amount due when the employer’s own vacation policy made the employee eligible to take it. The headline penalty — up to 90 days’ wages under R.S. 23:635 — is not automatic: it requires the employee’s written demand and applies only where the employer did not act in good faith.
The deadlines: fired vs. quit
Louisiana runs one rule for both:
- Discharge — fired or laid off (§ 23:631(A)(1)(a)): pay on or before the next regular payday, or no later than 15 days following the discharge, whichever occurs first.
- Resignation — the employee quit (§ 23:631(A)(1)(b)): pay on or before the next regular payday for the pay cycle in which the employee was working, or no later than 15 days following the resignation, whichever occurs first.
“Whichever first” is doing real work. Compare two dates and pay by the earlier one. Discharged January 5 with a next payday of January 30: 15 days after discharge is January 20, which is first — wages are due January 20. Discharged January 5 with a next payday of January 12: the payday is first — wages are due January 12. Employers on monthly or long pay cycles lose the payday route most often; on weekly payroll, the payday usually comes first.
Resignations get the same two-date test. An employee resigns February 10; the next regular payday for that cycle is February 28, but 15 days after resignation is February 25 — first, so wages are due February 25. Do not assume a resignation buys you the full pay cycle.
In practice: put both dates on the separation paperwork the day notice is given or received — the next regular payday and the 15-day date — and calendar the earlier. The 15-day date frequently controls for discharges; the payday often controls for quits on short cycles.
Commissions and bonuses
By statute (§ 23:631(E), eff. August 1, 2024), commissions, incentive pay, and bonuses count as amounts due at separation only if earned at separation and not modified under a written policy. Two consequences:
- Earned is earned. A commission earned before separation — the plan’s milestone was met — is due by the § 23:631 deadline and cannot be recharacterized as discretionary after the fact.
- The written policy matters. The amendment contemplates modification under a written policy — which must actually exist and say what it says. A verbal understanding or a retroactive rewrite will not carry the statute’s weight.
For amounts not yet earned because the plan’s milestone has not occurred, document that, tell the employee when the amount will be calculated, and pay it on the plan’s schedule. Do not hold undisputed hourly or salary wages because a commission line is still open — pay the undisputed amount by the whichever-first deadline.
Vacation, PTO, and other leave
Accrued vacation is an amount due at separation when, under the employer’s stated vacation policy, the employee was eligible to take it and had accrued it (see § 23:631(D)). Once the employer’s own stated policy makes vacation available and the employee has accrued it, the payout is part of the final wages owed by the whichever-first deadline.
What this means for a small business:
- Read your own vacation policy before the separation meeting. The policy’s eligibility and accrual terms decide whether a vacation balance is owed — the statute enforces the policy’s promise rather than inventing a payout.
- A “stated” policy is the trigger. Unwritten understandings about vacation create exactly the disputes this section is designed to resolve. Put eligibility, accrual, and payout terms in writing.
- Pay accrued vacation at the regular rate with the final wages, and record each leave bank’s balance and payout decision on the separation paperwork.
Deductions from final pay
A final check is wages first. Do not reduce it with end-of-employment charges — unreturned property, shortages, breakage, training costs, or an alleged debt — unless you can identify a lawful basis for that specific deduction and document it. An employer’s belief that money is owed does not convert the paycheck into a collection device, and an unauthorized deduction simply creates an unpaid-wages amount that can trigger the § 23:635 penalty once a written demand goes unanswered without good faith.
Follow the same discipline as for the deadline: list every proposed deduction before payroll runs, identify its basis, and remove anything unsupported. Pay wages due by the whichever-first deadline, request return of equipment in writing, and pursue any genuine claim outside the paycheck.
How final wages can be delivered
Deliver final wages by a method that reaches the employee by the deadline: hand delivery with a signed receipt, direct deposit already in place, the regular payroll method, or mail with enough lead time. The whichever-first deadline can be days away — a discharge on the 1st with a monthly payday on the 30th means wages are due the 16th — so do not default to the regular payroll run without checking which date controls. Keep proof of amount, date, and method, and reissue promptly if a check is returned — an unclaimed check is not a paid check.
Penalties for late payment
Louisiana’s penalty — up to 90 days’ wages — looks severe on paper, which is exactly why its conditions matter. Under R.S. 23:635:
- The measure: a day’s pay for each day unpaid after the deadline, capped at 90 days’ wages.
- The trigger: the employee must first make a written demand. No written demand, no penalty.
- The condition: the penalty applies only where the employer did not act in good faith. An employer with a genuine, good-faith basis for the dispute is not in the penalty’s crosshairs.
- Attorney’s fees are available as well.
The trap to avoid: quoting “90 days’ wages” as automatic. It is not. An employer that misses the deadline, receives a written demand, and pays promptly faces very different exposure than one that ignores the demand without a good-faith basis. The statute punishes bad-faith stonewalling, not every payroll error — so document a genuine dispute, in writing, at the time.
Worked examples
Example 1 — the 15-day date controls. Discharged January 5; next regular payday January 30. Fifteen days after discharge is January 20 — earlier — so wages are due January 20. Waiting for the January 30 run misses the deadline by 10 days.
Example 2 — the payday controls. Same January 5 discharge, but weekly payroll with the next payday January 12 — earlier than the 15-day date — so wages are due January 12. The answer changes with the pay cycle.
Example 3 — the same test for a quit. An employee resigns February 10. The next regular payday for that cycle is February 28; 15 days after resignation is February 25 — first, so wages are due February 25.
Example 4 — the penalty with its conditions. An employee owed $150 per day is discharged, the deadline passes unpaid, and the employee sends a written demand. The employer ignores it with no good-faith basis, and 40 days pass. The penalty: 40 × $150 = $6,000, on top of the wages owed — capped at 90 days’ wages ($13,500). Contrast: an employer with a genuine, documented good-faith dispute that pays the undisputed portion promptly is not the case the penalty was written for.
How Louisiana compares to neighboring states
Louisiana’s whichever-first structure — next payday or 15 days, earlier of the two — is tighter than a plain next-payday rule, because the 15-day date frequently beats the payday on longer pay cycles. The single rule for firings and resignations also differs from neighbors that split the two, and the 2024 statutory treatment of commissions and bonuses (§ 23:631(E)) is more specific than what most neighboring states put in statute. Run Louisiana’s two-date comparison for Louisiana separations rather than importing a neighbor’s simpler clock.
Louisiana vs. federal law
The federal Fair Labor Standards Act sets no final-paycheck deadline; timing is a matter of state law, here La. R.S. 23:631. Federal law still governs minimum wage and overtime in the final check, so the amount must be federally compliant as well as timely under Louisiana law. Louisiana’s demand-and-good-faith penalty scheme in R.S. 23:635 then applies on top of that federal floor when wages are not paid.
Common mistakes small businesses make
- Paying on the next payday without checking the 15-day date. The statute gives you whichever is first. On monthly payroll, the 15-day date almost always controls — and missing it starts the penalty exposure.
- Treating quits more leniently than firings. Section 23:631 runs the same whichever-first test for resignations. A quit does not buy the full pay cycle.
- Quoting the 90-day penalty as automatic. It requires the employee’s written demand and applies only where the employer did not act in good faith. Omitting those conditions overstates the law — and understates the value of documenting a genuine dispute.
- Rewriting the commission plan after separation. Earned commissions are due; only a genuine written policy, in place beforehand, modifies that.
- Deducting for property or shortages without a lawful basis. An unsupported deduction becomes unpaid wages, and an ignored written demand without good faith is exactly what § 23:635 punishes.
Compliance checklist
- For every separation, calculate both dates — the next regular payday and 15 days after separation — and calendar the earlier one.
- Apply the same test to quits and firings; § 23:631 does not give resignations a slower clock.
- Read the written commission/bonus plan before the separation meeting; pay what is earned, document what is not yet due.
- Check the stated vacation policy for eligibility and accrual, and include any accrued vacation owed in the final wages.
- Audit every deduction for a documented lawful basis; remove anything unsupported and pursue property or debts separately.
- If you receive a written demand, respond in writing and promptly: pay what is owed, document any genuine good-faith dispute, and never ignore it.
FAQ
How fast must a fired employee be paid in Louisiana?
On or before the next regular payday or no later than 15 days after discharge, whichever occurs first (§ 23:631(A)(1)(a)).
How fast must an employee who quits be paid?
The same test: the next regular payday for the pay cycle worked or 15 days after resignation, whichever is first (§ 23:631(A)(1)(b)).
Is accrued vacation owed at separation?
It counts as an amount due when, under the employer’s stated vacation policy, the employee was eligible to take it and had accrued it (§ 23:631(D)) — put the policy in writing.
Are commissions owed at separation?
Only if earned at separation and not modified under a written policy (§ 23:631(E), eff. August 1, 2024). Earned commissions are due by the whichever-first deadline.
What is the penalty for late payment?
Up to 90 days’ wages — a day’s pay per day late, capped at 90 — under R.S. 23:635, plus attorney’s fees. Not automatic: the employee must first make a written demand, and the penalty applies only where the employer did not act in good faith.
Where does an employee get help in Louisiana?
The Louisiana Workforce Commission handles wage matters; the statute text is in Title 23 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes.
Related guides
This page provides general information about Louisiana final paycheck law, not legal advice. Verify deadlines and your specific situation with the Louisiana Workforce Commission or an employment attorney.