# California — Final paycheck deadlines by US state — how long an employer has to pay a departing employee's last wages, quoted from the state's own labor law

For California, deadline after firing/layoff is immediately at the time of termination; deadline after quitting is within 72 hours of quitting; penalty for late payment is an amount equal to the employee's daily rate of pay for each day the wages remain unpaid, up to a maximum of thirty (30) calendar days; statute or source is Labor Code Sections 201 and 227.3, recorded from its source on 2026-08-31.

- **State:** California _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **Deadline after firing/layoff:** immediately at the time of termination _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Deadline after quitting:** within 72 hours of quitting _(verified: appears in its own passage below)_
- **Penalty for late payment:** an amount equal to the employee's daily rate of pay for each day the wages remain unpaid, up to a maximum of thirty (30) calendar days _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **Statute or source:** Labor Code Sections 201 and 227.3 _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_

## What the source says

> An employee who is discharged must be paid all of his or her wages, including accrued vacation, immediately at the time of termination. Labor Code Sections 201 and 227.3

## Where each value comes from

This source states these in separate places, so each value is shown with the passage that states it.

### Deadline after quitting

> An employee without a written employment contract for a definite period of time who quits without giving 72 hours prior notice must be paid all of his or her wages, including accrued vacation, within 72 hours of quitting.

### Penalty for late payment

> The waiting time penalty is an amount equal to the employee's daily rate of pay for each day the wages remain unpaid, up to a maximum of thirty (30) calendar days.

## Source

- https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/faq_paydays.htm

Last verified: 2026-08-31. Review by: 2027-08-31.
Part of [Final paycheck deadlines by US state — how long an employer has to pay a departing employee's last wages, quoted from the state's own labor law](https://referencesource.org/final-paycheck-deadlines-by-state/).