When your final paycheck is due in Illinois
In Illinois, if you are fired or laid off, your final paycheck is due at separation if possible; no later than the next regular payday. The same rule applies if you quit.
- Fired or laid off
- At separation if possible; no later than the next regular payday
- If you quit
- Same as fired or laid off
- If the employer pays late
- Damages of 5% of the underpayment for each month it remains unpaid.
- Unused vacation
- Earned vacation must be paid as part of final pay; policies cannot make it forfeit at separation.
- Filing a wage claim
- File a wage claim with the Illinois Department of Labor.
The law
820 ILCS 115/5, 115/14. Read the statute or the state agency’s page.
Checked in October 2026 against a published copy of the statute, because the official code site was unavailable. Laws change, so confirm the current rule before you rely on it.
What to do next
If the deadline has passed, ask for the wages in writing first and keep a copy. The free first letter in the Wage Claim Letters kit does this. If that doesn’t work, file a wage claim with the agency listed above. The final paycheck lookup compares states side by side.
Other states
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- Washington, D.C.
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
General information about Illinois law, not legal advice, and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Wage Claim Letters is a self-help template kit from Kits For That.