Final Paycheck & COBRA Compliance Calculator

It depends on the state and on who ended the employment. Some states require payment the same day for a discharge — California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana, Nevada and Hawaii among them. Others allow the next regular payday, and several set an absolute cap such as six calendar days in Texas or 72 hours in Vermont and New Hampshire. Four states — Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi — have no final-pay statute at all, so the next regular payday applies by default. Resignations usually carry a later deadline than discharges, and in California, Hawaii, Oregon and New Hampshire the deadline tightens if the employee gave notice.

In about a dozen states accrued vacation is treated as earned wages and must be paid out on separation regardless of policy. Everywhere else the employer’s own written policy or agreement governs — which does not mean "no". If your handbook promises payout, that promise is generally enforceable as wages, and a policy that is silent or ambiguous tends to be read against the employer. Forfeiture clauses are unenforceable in several states even where payout is not otherwise mandated.

Federal COBRA applies to group health plans sponsored by employers with 20 or more employees on more than half the typical business days of the previous calendar year. Part-time employees count as fractions toward that threshold. Below 20 employees federal COBRA does not apply, but most states have a "mini-COBRA" continuation law of their own with different thresholds and durations, so a small employer is rarely free of any obligation.

The employer has 30 days from the qualifying event to notify the plan administrator. The administrator then has 14 days to send the election notice to the qualified beneficiary. Where the employer is also the plan administrator — common for self-administered plans — the two collapse into a single 44-day deadline. The beneficiary then has 60 days to elect, counted from the later of the notice date and the date coverage was lost, and 45 days from electing to make the first premium payment.

18 months for a termination of employment or a reduction in hours. 29 months where a qualified beneficiary is disabled at the time of the qualifying event and the disability is determined by the Social Security Administration. 36 months for divorce or legal separation, the death of the covered employee, a dependent child ageing off the plan, or the employee becoming entitled to Medicare. Gross misconduct is the one termination that disqualifies a beneficiary entirely, and it is interpreted narrowly.

Up to 102% of the applicable premium — the full cost of the coverage, both employer and employee shares, plus a 2% administrative fee. During an 11-month disability extension the cap rises to 150%. The beneficiary gets a 30-day grace period on each monthly premium after the first.

Penalties vary widely and are often severe relative to the sum owed. California imposes waiting-time penalties of a day’s wages for each day late, up to 30 days. Arkansas doubles the wages owed if payment is late after a written demand. Several states add liquidated damages, interest, and the employee’s attorney fees. The practical exposure is usually a multiple of the paycheck itself, which is why the same-day states matter so much more than the difference in deadline suggests.

No. It is a planning aid that shows the deadline the published rules point to, the rule it came from, and where to confirm it. The state table is dated so you can see how current it is, and every result links to the US Department of Labor’s own state directory. Statutes change, local ordinances add requirements, and collective agreements and multi-state work complicate both halves — confirm with your employment counsel before you rely on a date.