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

Being fired does not change what you are owed — it changes the deadline. In Ohio, ohio sets no separate deadline for a discharge. Wages must be paid on the employer's regularly scheduled payday, and most employers must pay at least twice a month (Ohio Rev. Code § 4113.15(A)) — so the final check is due on the next regular payday.

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
Ohio Rev. Code § 4113.15; § 4113.99
If fired
Ohio sets no separate deadline for a discharge. Wages must be paid on the employer's regularly scheduled payday, and most employers must pay at least twice a month (Ohio Rev. Code § 4113.15(A)) — so the final check is due on the next regular payday.
If you resigned
Same rule on resignation: the final wages are due on the next regularly scheduled payday, not on the day you leave.
Late-pay penalty
Ohio Rev. Code § 4113.15(B): if wages stay unpaid for 30 days beyond the regularly scheduled payday, the employer is liable for liquidated damages equal to 6% of the amount still unpaid or $200, whichever is greater — but only for amounts not in good-faith dispute.
PTO
Ohio does not require payout of unused vacation unless the employer's written policy or an employment contract promises it.
Small claims limit
$6,000 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 Ohio 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 Ohio Department of Commerce — Bureau of Wage & Hour Administration, a small claims judge — starts from those three facts. The letter is built from Ohio Rev. Code § 4113.15; § 4113.99 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 $6,000, 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 Ohio letter — $9.99 Free: calculate my deadline

Questions

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

Ohio sets no separate deadline for a discharge. Wages must be paid on the employer's regularly scheduled payday, and most employers must pay at least twice a month (Ohio Rev. Code § 4113.15(A)) — so the final check is due on the next regular payday.

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

Ohio Rev. Code § 4113.15(B): if wages stay unpaid for 30 days beyond the regularly scheduled payday, the employer is liable for liquidated damages equal to 6% of the amount still unpaid or $200, whichever is greater — but only for amounts not in good-faith dispute.

Other situations in Ohio

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

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