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Fired in Connecticut: when your last paycheck has to be paid

Being fired does not change what you are owed — it changes the deadline. In Connecticut, if you are discharged, your wages must be paid in full not later than the business day after the date of discharge (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-71c(b)). Connecticut is one of the few states with a next-day rule.

If that date has passed and the money has not arrived, you are no longer asking for a favour; you are recording a missed legal deadline. That is the difference a demand letter makes.

Statute
Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 31-71c, 31-72
If fired
If you are discharged, your wages must be paid in full not later than the business day after the date of discharge (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-71c(b)). Connecticut is one of the few states with a next-day rule.
If you resigned
If you resign, your wages must be paid in full not later than the next regular payday, either through the usual pay channels or by mail (§ 31-71c(a)).
Late-pay penalty
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-72: an employee whose wages were not paid as required may recover twice the full amount of the wages, plus costs and reasonable attorney's fees. The doubling is the statute's own remedy, not a discretionary add-on.
PTO
Connecticut treats accrued vacation as wages: earned, unused vacation must be paid at separation unless a written policy in force while it was earned provides otherwise (§ 31-74a).
Small claims limit
$5,000 for an individual
Last verified
2026-11-03 single source

What to put in the file before you write anything

  1. The exact date of your separation as it appears on the termination notice, the last timecard, or the last email from the employer — not the date you were told.
  2. Your final pay stub, or the absence of one, plus your last two regular stubs to prove the rate of pay.
  3. Any text, email or letter that states the reason for the termination. In Connecticut the deadline does not depend on the reason, but the record does.
  4. A screenshot of the payroll portal showing the last payment date, so the gap is documented by the employer's own system.

What the letter does that a phone call cannot

A demand letter fixes three things at once: the amount, the date each item was due, and the date the employer was on notice. Every forum that can help you — the Connecticut Department of Labor — Wage and Workplace Standards, a small claims judge — starts from those three facts. The letter is built from Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 31-71c, 31-72 and your own figures, so the deadline it states is the one that applies to your separation, not a generic thirty days.

If the amount fits inside $5,000, small claims court is usually faster than an agency queue; if it does not, the agency route and a demand first is the cheaper path.

Build the Connecticut letter — $9.99 Free: calculate my deadline

Questions

Can my employer wait until the next payday after firing me in Connecticut?

If you are discharged, your wages must be paid in full not later than the business day after the date of discharge (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-71c(b)). Connecticut is one of the few states with a next-day rule.

What can I claim on top of the wages in Connecticut?

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-72: an employee whose wages were not paid as required may recover twice the full amount of the wages, plus costs and reasonable attorney's fees. The doubling is the statute's own remedy, not a discretionary add-on.

Other situations in Connecticut

resigning · a layoff · unused PTO · unpaid commissions · all Connecticut rules

Reviewed 2026-11-03 against the sources listed on the Connecticut page. This is a self-help document tool, not legal advice, and no outcome is guaranteed.