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You quit in Connecticut — when is your final paycheck due?

Employers often tell departing employees that quitting forfeits the last paycheck, or that pay will arrive "when payroll gets to it". Neither is the law in Connecticut.

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)).

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. Your written resignation and the date it was delivered — email timestamps are enough, and the delivery date is what starts the clock.
  2. Whether you gave notice, and how much: some states shorten or lengthen the deadline based on notice, and the letter has to state it accurately.
  3. Your final timesheet or shift records for the last pay period, including any hours worked after you announced you were leaving.
  4. Any policy the employer says forfeits pay, PTO or commissions. Ask for it in writing — that request is itself part of the record.

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

Does giving notice change my final pay date in Connecticut?

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)).

Can my employer hold my last check until I return equipment in Connecticut?

Not lawfully as a condition of wages. Deductions and offsets are limited, and holding earned wages to force the return of property is the kind of self-help that turns a wage claim into a penalty claim.

Other situations in Connecticut

being fired · 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.