In Missouri, if your employer fires, lays off, or otherwise discharges you, your unpaid earned wages become due and payable on the day of the discharge. This rule comes from Missouri Revised Statutes Section 290.110. It is one of the stricter final-pay timing rules in the country for terminated workers, and it differs sharply from the rule for employees who quit voluntarily, who generally must wait until the next regular payday. Missouri also attaches a real financial penalty when a discharged worker properly demands unpaid wages and the employer fails to pay: the wages can continue to accrue at the same rate for up to 60 days.
The Core Rule: Fired vs. Quit
Missouri treats involuntary terminations and voluntary resignations very differently, so the first thing to identify is how your employment ended.
If You Are Fired, Laid Off, or Discharged
Under Section 290.110, when an employer discharges you — with or without cause — or refuses to continue employing you, your earned, unpaid wages become due and payable on the day of discharge. The statute is written to make those wages immediately collectible rather than something you have to wait for until the next scheduled payday.
If you are not paid on that day, the law gives you a tool. You can make a written request to your employer for the amount due (the statute references a request, including by mail, to the employer's last known address or place of business). If the employer does not pay within seven days after that request, a penalty begins: your wages continue at the same daily rate as if you were still working, until the employer pays — but the penalty cannot run for more than 60 days. In practice, the written demand is critical, because the 60-day penalty clock is tied to that request.
If You Quit Voluntarily
Missouri's discharge statute does not set a same-day deadline for employees who resign. If you quit, there is no specific Missouri statute requiring your employer to pay you immediately or earlier than normal. As a practical matter, your final wages are due by the next regular payday for the pay period you worked. Missouri's general wage-payment provisions for certain corporations (Sections 290.080 and following) contemplate regular pay periods, and the safest expectation when you quit is that you will be paid on your employer's normal schedule for the work you already performed.
Does Missouri Require Unused PTO or Vacation to Be Paid Out?
Missouri law does not contain a statute that forces every employer to cash out unused vacation or paid time off when you leave. Whether you are owed accrued PTO depends almost entirely on your employer's written policy, handbook, or employment agreement.
The key principle is this: if your employer's policy or contract promises to pay out earned, unused vacation on separation, that promise is generally enforceable, and the accrued vacation is treated as earned wages you can pursue. If the policy is silent, or if it clearly states that unused PTO is forfeited at termination (a "use it or lose it" rule), Missouri does not independently require a payout. Because so much turns on the wording, you should read your handbook and any signed agreement carefully and keep a copy. Ambiguities are often resolved by looking at what the employer actually promised and how it has paid departing employees in the past.
Waiting-Time Penalties for Late Final Pay
Missouri's penalty under Section 290.110 is meaningful but capped. Here is how it works in plain terms:
- It applies to discharged employees — workers who were fired, laid off, or whom the employer refuses to continue employing — not to those who quit.
- You generally must make a written request for the unpaid wages to trigger the penalty mechanism.
- The employer has seven days after your request to pay. If it does not, the penalty begins.
- The penalty equals your wages continuing at the same rate from the date of discharge, as if you were still on the payroll.
- The penalty is capped at 60 days. It does not run indefinitely.
This penalty is on top of the underlying wages you are actually owed. The cap and the written-request requirement are the two details people most often miss, so document your demand in writing and keep proof of when you sent it.