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Vermont 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.
An employee who is discharged must be paid in full within 72 hours of the discharge (21 V.S.A. § 342).
An employee who leaves voluntarily is paid on the last regular pay day, or if there is no regular pay day, on the following Friday.
Vermont treats accrued vacation as wages when the employer's policy creates the right; earned time is payable at separation unless a valid policy ends it.
Commissions earned under the employment agreement are wages under § 342 and follow the same deadline.
Vermont does not add a computable liquidated-damages formula to the wages. The remedy is the unpaid wages through the Department of Labor or small claims court, with costs where the statute allows.
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 Vermont Department of Labor — Wage and Hour, which handles wage claims administratively, usually at no cost. The alternative is small claims court, where the limit for an individual in Vermont 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.
An employee who is discharged must be paid in full within 72 hours of the discharge (21 V.S.A. § 342).
An employee who leaves voluntarily is paid on the last regular pay day, or if there is no regular pay day, on the following Friday.
Vermont treats accrued vacation as wages when the employer's policy creates the right; earned time is payable at separation unless a valid policy ends it.
Two routes: file a wage claim with the Vermont Department of Labor — Wage and Hour (https://labor.vermont.gov/wage-hour), 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