When your final paycheck is due in New Jersey

In New Jersey, if you are fired or laid off, your final paycheck is due on the regular payday for the pay period in which the employment ended. The same rule applies if you quit.

Fired or laid off
Regular payday for the pay period in which the employment ended
If you quit
Same as fired or laid off
Filing a wage claim
File a wage complaint with the New Jersey Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Compliance.

The law

N.J. Stat. § 34:11-4.3. 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

General information about New Jersey 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.

Who writes these. Kits For That is run by John R. Detty, who served 22 years as a U.S. Navy Legalman, the Navy’s paralegal rating, before retiring. He is not a lawyer, and nothing on this site is legal advice. About the site