Payday is a good day. With a few exceptions, employees in California must be paid at least twice per month on the days that are designated by the employer in advance of the regular paydays. Employers are required to set a regular payday and are required to post a notice that informs its employees about the day, time, and location of payment. Wages earned by an employee between the 1st and 15th days of a month must be paid no later than the 26th day of the month in which the work was performed; wages earned by an employee between the 16th and last day of a month must be paid no later than the 10th days of the following month. If an employee is paid weekly, biweekly (every two weeks), or semimonthly (twice a month), then wages must be paid no later than seven days after the close of the pay period.
If an employee is terminated, then the employer must pay him/her all of his/her wages, including accrued vacation, immediately at the time of termination. If an employee resigns with more than three days’ (72 hours) notice, then the employer is required to provide the employee’s final wages on the employee’s last day of employment. If an employee resigns and gives less than three days’ notice, then the employer is required to provide the employee’s final wages within 72-hours of the employee’s quitting.
An employer who willfully fails to pay an employee his/her final wages within the time limits stated above, then the employee will be allowed to recover “waiting time penalties” from the employer. The waiting time penalty is an amount equal to the employee’s daily rate of pay for each pay day that the wage remained unpaid, not to exceed 30 days.
