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Laid off in Texas: final pay, and what severance does not cover
A reduction in force is still a separation, and severance is not a substitute for wages already earned. In Texas, a layoff counts as an involuntary separation: final pay is due within six (6) calendar days, the same as a discharge.
If you were offered severance in exchange for a release, the release covers claims — it does not convert earned wages into a favour, and it does not move the statutory deadline.
- Statute
- Tex. Lab. Code § 61.014 (Texas Payday Law)
- If fired
- Final pay is due within six (6) calendar days of the last day of work (Texas Payday Law, Tex. Lab. Code § 61.014). If the sixth day falls on a day the business is normally closed, payment is due the next regular workday.
- If you resigned
- If you quit or resign, final pay is due on the next regularly scheduled payday after your last day. If you gave notice, the employer may end your employment immediately and does not owe wages for the notice period.
- Late-pay penalty
- The Texas Payday Law does not add a waiting-time penalty that is payable to the employee. The remedy is a wage claim filed with the Texas Workforce Commission, which can order the employer to pay the wages found due and can penalise the employer administratively.
- PTO
- Unused vacation, holiday, sick leave and severance are owed only if the employer's written policy or agreement provides for them (TWC guidance).
- Small claims limit
- $20,000 for an individual
- Last verified
- 2026-11-03 two sources agree
What to put in the file before you write anything
- The layoff notice or WARN letter, which usually states the separation date the employer will rely on.
- The severance agreement, read for two things: what it says about final wages, and whether it asks you to release the wage claim itself.
- Your accrual balance for PTO, and the employer policy that governs forfeiture in Texas.
- Any commission or bonus plan document, because the payment date in the plan is what an employer will point to.
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 Texas Workforce Commission — Labor Law Section, a small claims judge — starts from those three facts. The letter is
built from Tex. Lab. Code § 61.014 (Texas Payday Law) 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 $20,000, 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.
Questions
Does accepting severance waive my final paycheck in Texas?
No. Severance is consideration for a release of claims; earned wages are already owed. A release that purports to cover unpaid wages is a separate question, and one worth reading carefully before signing.
Is my layoff deadline different from a firing in Texas?
A layoff counts as an involuntary separation: final pay is due within six (6) calendar days, the same as a discharge.
Other situations in Texas
being fired · resigning · unused PTO · unpaid commissions · all Texas rules
Reviewed 2026-11-03 against the sources listed on the Texas page.
This is a self-help document tool, not legal advice, and no outcome is guaranteed.