How Often Must You Pay the Piper: Payday Frequency Requirements
“What’s worth doing is worth doing for money.”
–Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas), in the movie Wall Street, 1987
How often do employers have to issue paychecks to workers? The short answer is it depends. It can vary based on whether the employer is a government contractor (federal or state) and what state the employee works in. This blog explores frequency of wage payment laws and regulations.
On U.S. Government service contracts, it is not less often than bi-weekly or semi-monthly. Here is what the Service Contract Act regulations say:
(a) (1) Monetary wages specified under the Act shall be paid to the employees to whom they are due promptly and in no event later than one pay period following the end of the pay period in which they are earned….
(b) The Act does not prescribe the length of the pay period. However, for purposes of administration of the Act, and to conform with practices required under other statues that may be applicable to the employment, wage and hours worked must be calculated on the basis of a fixed and regularly recurring workweek of seven consecutive 24-hour workday periods, and the records must be kept on this basis. It is appropriate to use this workweek for the pay period. A bi-weekly or semimonthly pay period may, however, be used if advance notification is given to the affected employees. A pay period longer than semimonthly is not recognized as appropriate for service employees and wage payments at greater intervals with not be considered as constituting proper payments in compliance with the Act.
29 C.F.R. § 4.165.
On US Government and federal assisted construction contracts, the payroll frequency is weekly for covered workers. The Copeland Antikickback Act requires a weekly payroll for all covered labors and mechanics who work on U.S. Government construction projects. The Davis-Bacon Act regulations say:
The Davis-Bacon Act regulates U.S. Government contracts of $2,000 or more for the construction, alteration or repair of a public work. All Davis-Bacon Act covered contracts are supposed to contain the Copeland Anti-Kickback Act (40 U.S.C. § 3145) requirement for a weekly payroll report.
29 C.F.R § 5.5(a)(3). This weekly payroll requirement includes filing a "Statement of Compliance" indicating that the payrolls are correct and complete, and that each laborer or mechanic has been paid not less than the proper Davis-Bacon prevailing wage rate for the work performed. These certified payrolls will be reviewed to determine whether workers on Davis-Bacon covered projects receive their required prevailing wages and benefits.
If you are working on a federal service or construction project, or a federally assisted construction project , then you default to the ordinary federal and state rules. Under the Fair labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), frequency of pay is left to whatever required by state law. Here is what the FLSA regulations say:
There is no requirement in the Act that overtime compensation be paid weekly. The general rule is that overtime compensation earned in a particular workweek must be paid on the regular pay day for the period in which such workweek ends. When the correct amount of overtime compensation cannot be determined until some time after the regular pay period, however, the requirements of the Act will be satisfied if the employer pays the excess overtime compensation as soon after the regular pay period as is practicable. Payment may not be delayed for a period longer than is reasonably necessary for the employer to compute and arrange for payment of the amount due and in no event may payment be delayed beyond the next payday after such compensation can be made….
29 C.F.R. § 778.106.
Under state law, the frequency of payment can vary. It is usually bi-weekly or semi-monthly. But it varies by jurisdiction. And it can be weekly on state construction contracts, and the same in some for nonexempt lower paid workers in states like Rhode Island, unless you get an exemption. Virginia only requires monthly for certain higher paid workers. So, check state law carefully.
It is not possible for us to survey every state and report on the nuance of its law. And it would be a moving target since state wage law can change. But fortunately, the US Department of Labor (“DOL”) has done some of that work for us. On January 1, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor released the following table of State Payday Requirements:
In Alaska, the average is Semi-Monthly or Monthly, but there are no regulations or specified.
In Arrizona, it is Semi-Monthly, and payday two or more days in a month, not more than 16 days apart.
In Arkansas it is Semi-Monthly.
Alabama was did not specified.
California is either Weekly, Bi-Weekly or Semi-Monthly. Frequency of Payday in the state varies on the job.
In Colorado it is Monthly.
For Connecticut it is Weekly but can have longer internal permitted if approved by labor commissioner.
In Delaware it is Monthly.
For the District of Columbia, it is Semi-Monthly.
In Georgia it is also Semi-Monthly.
For Hawaii it is either Semi-Monthly or Monthly. Employees may choose to be paid on a monthly basis under special election procedure.
In Idaho, it is Monthly.
For Illinois it is Semi-Monthly, but it is Monthly for Executive, Administrative and Professional personnel (same goes for Nevada, New Mexico and Virginia).
For Indiana, it is Bi-Weekly or Semi-Monthly.
In Iowa, it can be Weekly, Bi-Weekly, Semi-Monthly or Monthly.
In Kansas it is Monthly.
In Kentucky it is Semi-Monthly.
In Louisiana it can be Bi-Weekly or Semi-Monthly.
For Maine, it is Semi-Monthly. Payment due at regular intervals not exceeding 16 days
In Maryland, it is Bi-Weekly or Semi-Monthly.
For Massachusetts, it is Weekly or Bi-Weekly. Semi-Monthly and Monthly pay dates permissible in certain situations.
Michigan offers Weekly, Bi-Weekly, Semi-Monthly and Monthly; depending on the occupation
In Minnesota it is Semi-Monthly or Monthly.
For Mississippi it is Bi-Weekly or Semi-Monthly. Applicable to every entity engaged in manufacturing of any kind in the state with 50 or more employees and employing public labor, and to every public service firm doing business in the state. Payment is required once every two weeks or twice in a month.
In Montana, if not an established time period or time when wages are due and payable, the pay period is usually Semi-Monthly.
In Nebraska, it is designated by employer.
In Nevada, it is Semi-Monthly or Monthly for Executive, Administrative, and Professional Personnel.
For New Hampshire it is Weekly or Bi-Weekly but can be Semi-Monthly or Monthly payments are available upon written permission from the NHDOL.
In New Jersey it is Semi-Monthly or Monthly. Employer may pay bona fide executive, supervisory and other special classifications of employees once per month.
New York is Weekly payday for manual workers. Semi-Monthly payday upon approval for manual workers and for clerical and other workers.
North Carolina is not specified. Pay periods may be Daily, Weekly, Bi-weekly, Semi-Monthly or Monthly.
In North Dakota it is Monthly.
Ohio is Semi-Monthly.
Oklahoma is Semi-Monthly.
In Oregon it is Monthly.
Pennsylvania is not specified.
For Rhode Island, it is Weekly, Bi-Weekly or Semi-Monthly. Childcare providers shall have the option to be paid every two weeks.
In South Dakota it is Monthly.
Tennessee is Semi-Monthly.
For Texas it is Semi-Monthly. Monthly payday for employees exempt from the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Utah is Semi-Monthly but employees on a yearly salary can be paid on a monthly basis.
In Vermont it is Weekly. Employers may implement Bi-Weekly and Semi-Monthly payday with written notice.
In Virginia it is Bi-Weekly, Semi-Monthly or Monthly. Employees whose weekly wages total more than 150 percent of the average weekly wage of the Commonwealth may be paid Monthly.
For Washington it is Monthly.
In West Virginia it is Semi-Monthly.
For Wisconsin it is Monthly.
In Wyoming, it is Semi-Monthly.
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/state/payday.
Of course, caveat emptor – employers and employees should double check the relevant state laws! If it is a state financed prevailing wage covered construction project, then check out the applicable state little Davis-Bacon Act laws to see what frequency of pay is required. Many states require employees in such state financed construction contracts to be paid weekly. The DOL summary above does not pick up all the nuances in the various state laws, nor does it encompass any local laws, and nor is it always up to date.
In sum, this simple issue of how often employees must be paid, can get very complicated fast. But remember, the employees likely get the most protective of whatever wage and hour laws apply to them.