Home › Final paycheck letters › Idaho
Idaho sets its own deadline, its own penalty, and its own rule on unused vacation. Here is what the statute says, what it is worth to you, and where to file if the money never arrives.
On termination by either the employer or the employee, wages must be paid or made available at the usual place of payment by the earlier of the next regularly scheduled payday or 10 days after the separation, excluding weekends and holidays (Idaho Code § 45-606(1)).
Resignation is covered by the same rule: earlier of the next regularly scheduled payday or 10 days. A written request for earlier payment shortens the deadline to 48 hours.
Idaho does not require payout of accrued vacation unless the employer's written policy or an agreement provides for it.
Commissions earned before separation are wages under § 45-606 and follow the same 10-day deadline, with the same 48-hour acceleration on written request.
Idaho Code § 45-606 sets the deadline but attaches no liquidated-damages multiple to a late final paycheck. What the statute does give you is leverage: once the employee makes a written request for earlier payment, the wages must be paid within 48 hours, weekends and holidays excluded — and this letter is that request.
This state does not impose a separate statutory penalty for late final pay. Treat that number as leverage in the letter, not as a promise: a court or agency decides what is actually owed, and the penalty provisions usually require the employer to have acted wilfully or without good cause.
File with the Idaho Department of Labor, which handles wage claims administratively, usually at no cost. The alternative is small claims court, where the limit for an individual in Idaho is $5,000. Both routes go better with a dated written demand and a certified-mail receipt, because the first question either forum asks is when the employer knew.
On termination by either the employer or the employee, wages must be paid or made available at the usual place of payment by the earlier of the next regularly scheduled payday or 10 days after the separation, excluding weekends and holidays (Idaho Code § 45-606(1)).
Resignation is covered by the same rule: earlier of the next regularly scheduled payday or 10 days. A written request for earlier payment shortens the deadline to 48 hours.
Idaho does not require payout of accrued vacation unless the employer's written policy or an agreement provides for it.
Two routes: file a wage claim with the Idaho Department of Labor (https://labor.idaho.gov/), or sue in small claims court where an individual's claim limit is $5,000. A dated written demand sent first is what makes either route easier, because it fixes the date the employer was on notice.
Only official sources are used: the state labor agency, the statute itself, and where relevant the U.S. Department of Labor. Third-party summary sites are deliberately excluded because they disagree with each other on penalty formulas.
Reviewed 2026-11-03 · reviewed again every 90 days.
being fired · resigning · a layoff · unused PTO · unpaid commissions
Illinois · Iowa · Kansas · all states