State Pay Day Requirements

Nearly every state has a law establishing the minimum frequency for paying employees, often referred to as a pay day requirement. Most state pay day laws mandate payment either twice a month (semi-monthly) or every other week (bi-weekly), but some states require weekly or monthly payment. California and Illinois require paychecks to be handed out on a semi-monthly basis, for example, while workers in Kansas must be paid at least once a month.

Some pay day requirements are more complicated. For instance, Arizona law requires paychecks to be issued on two or more days per month, but no more than 16 days apart. Paycheck frequency in Michigan, meanwhile, is determined by one's occupation.

State pay day requirements are listed in the following chart (Alabama, Florida, and South Carolina currently do not have pay day requirements). Where a number accompanies an "x" on the chart, scroll down for more details about that state's particular law.

See FindLaw's Wage and Hour Laws section for more related articles and resources.

¹ Alabama, Florida, and South Carolina. No regulations or not specified.
² Illinois, Nevada, New Mexico and Virginia. Monthly payday requirements for Executive, Administrative, and Professional personnel.
³ Arizona. Payday two or more days in a month, not more than 16 days apart.
⁴ Connecticut. Longer interval (up to monthly) permitted if approved by labor commissioner.
⁵ Hawaii. Employees may choose to be paid on a monthly basis under special election procedure. Director of labor and industrial relations also may grant exceptions to the general semi-monthly payday requirement. Payday requirement applies only to private sector employment.
⁶ Iowa. Any predictable and reliable pay schedule is permitted as long as employees get paid at least monthly and no later than 12 days (excluding Sundays and legal holidays) from the end of the period when the wages were earned. This can be waived by written agreement; employees on commission have different requirements.

⁷ Louisiana. Applicable to entities engaged in manufacturing, mining, or boring for oil, employing 10 or more employees, and to every public service corporation. Payment is required once every two weeks or twice during each calendar month.
⁸ Maine. Payment due at regular intervals not to exceed 16 days.
⁹ California and Michigan. Frequency of payday depends on the occupation.
¹⁰ Minnesota. Employees engaged in transitory employment, i.e. migrant workers, which require an employee to change the employee's place of abode, because the employment is terminated either by the completion of the work or by the discharge or quitting of the employee must be paid within 24 hours.¹¹ Montana. Payday 10 days apart.

    ¹¹ Mississippi. Applicable to every entity engaged in manufacturing of any kind in the State employing 50 or more employees and employing public labor, and to every public service corporation doing business in the State. Payment is required once every two weeks or twice during each calendar month.

   ¹²Montana. Wages must be paid within 10 business days after the wages are due and payable.

¹³ Nebraska and Pennsylvania. Payday designated by employer.
¹⁴ New York. Weekly payday for manual workers. Semi-monthly payday upon approval for manual workers and for clerical and other workers.
¹⁵ North Carolina. None specified, pay periods may be daily, weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly or monthly.

   ¹⁶ Rhode Island. Childcare providers shall have the option to be paid every two weeks; employers that meet certain requirements outlined in Rhode Island General Law Section 28-14-2.2 may petition the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training for permission to pay employees less frequently than weekly, but must pay wages at least twice a month.

¹⁷ Texas. Monthly payday for employees exempt from overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
¹⁸ Utah. Payments are to be paid at regular intervals, but in periods no longer than semi-monthly.
¹⁹ Vermont. Employers may implement bi-weekly and semi-monthly payday with written notice.
²⁰ Virginia. Employees whose weekly wages total more than 150 percent of the average weekly wage of the Commonwealth may be paid monthly, upon agreement of each affected employee.
²¹ New Jersey. Employer may pay bona fide executive, supervisory and other special classifications of employees once per month.

Note: State laws are subject to change at any time. Please review the law or consult with an attorney to ensure the validity of the law you're researching.

Talk to a Local Lawyer to Learn More About State Pay Day Requirements

This chart gives you a whole lot of information, but doesn't answer every question you may have about your individual state's pay day requirements. If you or someone you know has a question about employment laws in your state, the best way to get your questions answered and learn about the law is to speak with a local employment lawyer.