Final Paycheck
The last payment an employer must provide after a worker's employment ends, with specific deadlines under Minnesota law depending on whether the worker quit or was fired.
When your job ends in Minnesota, your employer must give you a final paycheck that covers all wages you earned. Minnesota law sets strict deadlines for when this payment must happen, and those deadlines depend on how you left the job.
If you were fired or laid off, your employer must pay all wages owed within 24 hours of your termination. If you quit and gave at least five days of notice, your employer must pay you within the next regular pay period (or within 20 days of your last day, whichever comes first). If you quit without giving notice, the employer has the same deadline: the next pay period or 20 days.
If your employer misses these deadlines, Minnesota law provides penalties. Your employer may owe you an additional amount on top of the unpaid wages for each day the payment is late. These penalties are meant to discourage employers from dragging their feet on final pay.
Why it matters: Knowing the deadline for your final paycheck means you do not have to wait and wonder. If your employer does not pay on time, you have legal options to recover your wages and penalties. The law is designed to protect workers from being left unpaid after leaving a job.
Example: Jen is fired from her warehouse job in Bloomington on a Monday. Under Minnesota law, her employer must pay all wages owed by Tuesday (within 24 hours). When two weeks pass with no payment, Jen files a wage claim. Her employer now owes the original wages plus penalties for every day the payment was late.
When you leave a job (whether you quit, are laid off, or are fired) and are waiting for your last paycheck