Missouri
Missouri Final Paycheck Laws: Day-of-Discharge Pay, Penalty on Request
Independently fact-checked against primary sources (last audited August 13, 2026). · 3 primary sources cited on this page. How we verify our legal content
Missouri's final-paycheck statute reads fast on its face, wages are due the day of discharge, but the penalty for missing that deadline only switches on after the fired employee makes a written request that pay be sent to a specific office, a two-step design that a lot of summaries collapse into one.
Jurisdiction scope: This page covers RSMo Chapter 290, Wages, Hours, Working Conditions, for private-sector employees, specifically Section 290.110 and the related deduction provisions in Sections 290.080 and 290.315.
When Is My Final Paycheck Due If I'm Fired in Missouri?
On paper, Missouri sets a same-day deadline for an involuntary separation. Wages earned at the contract rate become due and payable on the day of discharge, and the statute reaches layoffs too.
"Whenever any person, firm or corporation doing business in this state shall discharge, with or without cause, or refuse to further employ any servant or employee thereof, the unpaid wages of the servant or employee then earned at the contract rate, without abatement or deduction, shall be and become due and payable on the day of the discharge or refusal to longer employ..." RSMo 290.110
That "without abatement or deduction" language is doing real work; it forecloses an employer trying to reduce or delay the payment for reasons unrelated to the wages actually earned.
When Is My Final Paycheck Due If I Quit in Missouri?
RSMo 290.110 applies only to a discharge or a "refusal to further employ," meaning employer-initiated separations. By its own text, it does not cover a voluntary resignation, and no separate Missouri statute imposing an accelerated deadline for a quit was found in the reviewed sections of Chapter 290. The practical default for a Missouri employee who resigns is payment on the next regular payday, following ordinary employer pay-period practice, but that default is not itself independently codified for a quit specifically in the sections reviewed for this page.
What Is Missouri's Waiting-Time Penalty and How Do I Trigger It?
Missouri's continuing-wages penalty has a real trigger step that a same-day-deadline headline can obscure. The penalty does not start automatically the moment your paycheck is late. It starts only after you make a written request that the employer send your pay to a station or office where a regular agent is kept, and only if the money or a valid check does not reach that station or office within 7 days of your request.
"...and if the money or a valid check therefor, does not reach the station or office within seven days from the date it is so requested, then as a penalty for such nonpayment the wages of the servant or employee shall continue from the date of the discharge or refusal to further employ, at the same rate until paid; provided, such wages shall not continue more than sixty days." RSMo 290.110
Once triggered, the penalty is your wages continuing to accrue at your normal contract rate from the date of discharge until you're paid, capped at 60 days total. The statute carves out commission-based employees whose duties involve collecting accounts or caring for merchandise that requires an audit to determine what is owed.
Is My Employer Required to Pay Out My Unused Vacation in Missouri?
No. The Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations states this directly on its own site.
"Employers are not required to provide vacation pay, holiday pay, or severance pay; these are benefits given at an employer's discretion." Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, Wages, Hours and Dismissal Rights
Whether you receive a payout for unused vacation depends entirely on whatever your employer's own policy or contract says.
Can My Missouri Employer Deduct From My Paycheck or Withhold It for Company Property?
The "without abatement or deduction" language in RSMo 290.110 directly answers the unreturned-property question: your employer cannot withhold your earned final wages as leverage to get a laptop, uniform, or keys back. A dispute over the property's value is a separate matter from the wages themselves.
Missouri does have two deduction-adjacent statutes, but neither creates a general deduction cap for ordinary private employers. RSMo 290.080 requires certain employers to furnish a written statement of deductions at least monthly, an itemized-disclosure requirement, not a substantive limit on what can be deducted. RSMo 290.315 restricts deductions only for contractors or subcontractors on public-works projects subject to Missouri's prevailing-wage law, requiring a written agreement approved by the public body awarding the contract; it does not apply to an ordinary private employer outside that context. No broader Missouri statute setting deduction limits for equipment, shortages, or cash-drawer shortfalls was found beyond these two narrow provisions.
How to Recover Unpaid Wages in Missouri
The Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, Division of Labor Standards, investigates wage complaints but states plainly that it cannot legally compel an employer to pay. The practical recovery path is small claims court, which has jurisdiction where the amount in controversy does not exceed $5,000, so a claim of exactly $5,000 still fits, or circuit court for anything above that. This page does not state a specific statute-of-limitations figure for a Section 290.110 continuing-wages claim, because that question was not settled by the sources reviewed for this article; because deadlines in Missouri wage cases can be strict, do not wait to act if your final paycheck is late.
Information last verified on 2026-08-12. This article is general legal information, not legal advice, and has not yet been reviewed by a licensed attorney. For guidance about your specific situation, consult an employment lawyer licensed in Missouri.
Related Resources
- Final Paycheck Laws by State
- Unpaid Wages: How to File a Claim
- Missouri At-Will Employment Laws
- Missouri Whistleblower Laws
- Missouri Statute of Limitations
- Missouri Debt Collection Laws
- Missouri Bankruptcy Laws
Last updated: 2026-08-12.
More Missouri Laws
- Missouri At-Will Employment Laws
- Missouri Debt Collection Laws
- Missouri Statute of Limitations
- Missouri Whistleblower Laws
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Missouri a same-day final paycheck state?
Yes, on paper, for a firing or layoff: wages are due the day of discharge or refusal to further employ under RSMo 290.110. Missouri does not have a separate accelerated deadline for a voluntary resignation.
Does that mean I automatically get a penalty if I'm paid a day late in Missouri?
No. The continuing-wages penalty only starts after you make a written request that your pay be sent to a specific station or office, and it isn't paid within 7 days of that request.
What about if I quit my job in Missouri?
RSMo 290.110 does not cover a voluntary resignation by its own text, and no separate Missouri statute accelerates that deadline. The practical default is your next regular payday.
What is the penalty amount if my Missouri employer misses the deadline?
Continuing wages at your normal contract rate from the date of discharge, capped at 60 days, once the written-request trigger and 7-day window have both been met.
Does Missouri require my employer to pay out unused PTO?
No. The Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations confirms vacation, holiday, and severance pay are discretionary employer benefits.
Can my Missouri employer hold my last paycheck until I return my uniform?
No. RSMo 290.110 requires payment of earned wages 'without abatement or deduction'; a property dispute must be pursued separately.
Updates
Corrected the small-claims threshold to reflect that RSMo 482.305 covers claims of $5,000 or less, and restored the punctuation of a quoted Missouri Department of Labor statement on vacation, holiday, and severance pay.
Independently fact-checked against the cited primary sources
The Law Behind This Article
This article rests on the statutory provisions below, held in our own legal record and retrieved from the official source. Tap a section to read the operative text.
Revised Statutes of Missouri, Title XVIII (LABOR AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS), Chapter 290
§ 290.110Payment due discharged employee — exceptions — penalty for delay.In force
Whenever any person, firm or corporation doing business in this state shall discharge, with or without cause, or refuse to further employ any servant or employee thereof, the unpaid wages of the servant or employee then earned at the contract rate, without abatement or deduction, shall be and become due and payable on the day of the discharge or refusal to longer employ and the servant or employee may request in writing of his foreman or the keeper of his time to have the money due him, or a valid check therefor, sent to any station or office where a regular agent is kept; and if the money or a valid check therefor, does not reach the station or office within seven days from the date it is so requested, then as a penalty for such nonpayment the wages of the servant or employee shall continue from the date of the discharge or refusal to further employ, at the same rate until paid; provided, such wages shall not continue more than sixty days. This section shall not apply in the case of an employee whose remuneration for work is based primarily on commissions and whose duties include collection of accounts, care of a stock or merchandise and similar activities and where an audit is…
Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-09-03 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at revisor.mo.gov
Cited in 32 court opinions in our collectionLatest citing opinion in our collection: 2025
In the courts (editorial summary, independently checked):Ball v. American Greetings Corp. (1988) applied the RSMo 290.110 penalty for unpaid final wages and held a valid claim for wages earned is not disqualified by joinder with an invalid vacation or severance claim. Board v. Eurostyle, Inc. (1999) treated 290.110 as inapplicable to prevailing-wage public works claims.
Opinions citing this section in our collection:
- Vice v. Thurston (Missouri Court of Appeals 1990, 793 S.W.2d 900)“…aimed due pursuant to both an employment contract and under § 290.110, RSMo 1986. The judgment is affirmed. Appel…”
- Roebuck v. Valentine-Radford, Inc. (Missouri Court of Appeals 1997, 956 S.W.2d 329)“…laintiffs evidence on his claims for breach of contract and § 290.110, RSMo 1994, quantum meruit, negligence, and…”
- Brackett v. Easton Boot and Shoe Company (Supreme Court of Missouri 1965, 388 S.W.2d 842)“…ement did not constitute unpaid wages within the meaning of Section 290.110, RSMo 1959, V.A.M.S. It is true that said sec…”
Identified automatically from the court opinions citing this section — not a ranking of which case controls.
§ 290.080Employees paid semimonthly, exception — statement of deductions — violation, misdemeanor.In force
All corporations doing business in this state, and all persons operating railroads or railroad shops in this state, shall pay the wages and salaries of their employees as often as semimonthly, within sixteen days of the close of each payroll period; provided, however, that executive, administrative and professional employees, and sales people and other employees compensated in whole or in part on a commission basis, at the option of such employers, may be paid their salaries or commissions monthly. Such corporations and persons either as a part of the check, draft or other voucher paying the wages or separately, shall furnish the employee at least once a month a statement showing the total amount of deductions for the period. Any corporation or person violating this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be fined in any sum not less than fifty dollars, nor more than five hundred dollars, for each offense.
Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-07-31 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at revisor.mo.gov
Cited in 1 court opinions in our collectionLatest citing opinion in our collection: 1989
Opinions citing this section in our collection:
- Massachusetts v. Morash (Supreme Court of the United States 1989, 490 U.S. 107)“…s. Code Ann. §§ 71-1-35 to 71-1-53 (1972 and Supp. 1988); Mo. Rev. Stat. §§290.080 to 290.110 (1986); Mont. Code Ann. §§…”
Identified automatically from the court opinions citing this section — not a ranking of which case controls.
§ 290.315Deductions from wages, agreement to be written, approval of public body required.In force
All contractors and subcontractors subject to sections 290.210 to 290.340 shall make full payment of the required wages in legal tender, without any deduction for food, sleeping accommodations, transportation, use of small tools, or any other thing of any kind or description. This section shall not apply where the employer and employee enter into an agreement in writing at the beginning of said term of employment covering deductions for food, sleeping accommodations, or other similar items, provided such agreement is submitted by the employer to the public body awarding the contract and the same is approved by such public body as fair and reasonable.
Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-07-31 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at revisor.mo.gov
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Sources and References
- RSMo 290.110, Wages due upon discharge; penalty for nonpayment after written request(revisor.mo.gov).gov
- RSMo 290.080, Statement of deductions required(revisor.mo.gov).gov
- Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, Wages, Hours and Dismissal Rights(labor.mo.gov).gov
- RSMo 482.305, Small claims court jurisdiction, amount in controversy not exceeding five thousand dollars(revisor.mo.gov)