Blog · HR Outsourcing
Missouri Final Pay: Ask, and It Is Due That Day
Missouri pays a discharged employee the same day, but only if that employee actually asks for it. A resignation has no dedicated statute and defaults to the next regular payday instead. Miss a discharge request by more than 7 days after it is submitted in writing, and wages keep accruing at the same rate until paid, capped at 60 days.
Missouri final paycheck rules at a glance
Nothing here is legal advice, and wage rules change. Verify before acting on a specific separation.
| Deadline when you fire someone | On the day of discharge, upon the employee’s request. |
|---|---|
| Deadline when someone quits | No specific statute for voluntary quits. Pay by the next regular payday. |
| Governing statute | RSMo 290.110 |
| Penalty for paying late | If the discharged employee requests payment in writing and the money or a valid check does not reach the named station or office within seven days of the request, wages continue at the same rate from the date of discharge until paid, for not more than sixty days. [RSMo 290.110] |
| Accrued unused PTO | No state law forces a payout. Accrued PTO must be paid out only if your written policy or agreement provides for it, so your policy language controls. |
| PTO payout, by statute | Silent. Section 290.110 does not mention vacation pay, so payout at separation is governed entirely by the employer’s own policy. [RSMo 290.110] |
| Coverage after termination | Federal COBRA applies at 20 or more employees. Below that, Missouri has its own continuation law, Missouri State Continuation (Federal COBRA provisions applied to group health policies), running up to 36 months. group health insurance policies for persons NOT subject to federal COBRA/ERISA continuation (i.e., small employers below the federal COBRA threshold) [Mo. Rev. Stat. section 376.428 (Federal COBRA provisions to apply to group health insurance policies)] |
WHAT MAKES MISSOURI DIFFERENT
Section 290.110 covers discharge only, with no quit rule. It excludes an employee paid primarily on commissions whose duties include collection of accounts or care of stock where an audit is necessary or customary, and the penalty clock starts only on a written request to the foreman or the keeper of his time.
The written-request mechanic, step by step
RSMo 290.110 covers discharge only, and it does not make same-day pay automatic. A discharged employee who wants that protection has to submit a written request to the foreman or the keeper of his time, the statute's own phrase for whoever manages payroll or time records at that location. If the money or a valid check does not reach the named station or office within 7 days of that request, wages continue accruing at the employee's same rate, counted from the date of discharge, until the money is actually paid, capped at 60 days total. The clock does not start at discharge itself, it starts at the written request, so an employee who never asks never triggers the continuation penalty either.
Take an employee earning $45,000 a year, or roughly $173.08 a day across 260 working days, discharged on a Monday and submitting the written request the next day. If a valid check does not reach the named station until 21 days after discharge, well past the 7-day compliance window measured from the request, wages continue for those 21 days at $173.08 a day, or $3,634.68, on top of the wages already owed, still well inside the statute's 60-day outer cap of roughly $10,384.80.
Who this rule does not cover
290.110 excludes an employee paid primarily on commission whose duties include collection of accounts or care of stock, where an audit is necessary or customary before a final figure can be verified. That carve-out matters for outside sales representatives and route-based commission roles specifically. The written-request, same-day mechanism simply does not apply to them the way it does to an hourly or salaried employee.
PTO is a policy question, and a quit barely touches the statute
290.110 does not mention vacation at all, so payout of accrued time is entirely a matter of the employer's written policy. Because the statute is written around discharge specifically, a resignation is not addressed by its written-request mechanism either; it simply falls back to the ordinary next-payday rule that governs any other scheduled wage payment in Missouri.
Missouri mirrors federal COBRA below the 20-employee line
Mo. Rev. Stat. 376.428 applies the federal COBRA framework itself to group health policies for people not otherwise subject to federal COBRA or ERISA continuation, which in practice means small employers. Duration mirrors federal COBRA exactly: 18 months for the employee and dependents on a termination or a reduction in hours, and 36 months for dependents on death, divorce, or a similar qualifying event. A Missouri employer under the federal threshold is not learning a new framework here, it is applying the same COBRA rules everyone already knows, under state rather than federal authority.
Documentation, the exit checklist, and federal WARN Act thresholds for larger layoffs work the same way everywhere and are covered once in the termination process guide. This is HR outsourcing, and the Missouri HR outsourcing page covers how it applies to Missouri employers specifically.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is Missouri final pay due after a discharge?
The same day, but only once the discharged employee actually requests it. RSMo 290.110 does not require same-day payment automatically; the request is what triggers the obligation.
When is Missouri final pay due after a resignation?
There is no dedicated statute for a voluntary quit, so it defaults to the next regular payday, the same as any other scheduled wage payment.
What happens if the check does not arrive within 7 days of a Missouri discharge request?
Wages continue accruing at the employee’s same rate, counted from the date of discharge until the money is actually paid, capped at a maximum of 60 days.
Who does a Missouri employee send the written pay request to?
RSMo 290.110 names the foreman or the keeper of his time, the statute’s own term for whoever manages payroll or time records at that location, so the request needs to reach a real decision-maker, not just a general mailbox.
Who is excluded from Missouri’s same-day discharge rule?
An employee paid primarily on commission whose duties include collection of accounts or care of stock, where an audit is necessary or customary before a final number can be verified, is carved out of the written-request mechanism entirely.
What statute governs Missouri final pay?
RSMo 290.110, which covers discharge specifically and sets the written-request trigger, the 7-day compliance window, and the wage-continuation penalty described on this page.
Is PTO payout required at termination in Missouri?
No. Section 290.110 does not mention vacation at all, so payout is governed entirely by whatever the employer’s written policy says.
Does Missouri require continued health coverage after termination?
Yes, below the federal COBRA line. Mo. Rev. Stat. 376.428 applies the federal COBRA framework itself to group health policies for people not otherwise subject to federal COBRA, running 18 months for the employee and dependents on termination, and 36 months for dependents on death or divorce.
How does BEG support a Missouri termination?
Certified HR professionals make sure a discharge request actually reaches someone who can act on it inside the 7-day window, confirm whether the commission-and-audit exclusion applies, and keep isolved-powered payroll ready before that written request ever arrives.
The Request Starts the Clock, Not the Discharge.
A Missouri written pay request has to reach a real person inside 7 days. Certified HR professionals make sure it does, for less than a full-time in-house HR hire costs each year.
Anthony leads HR outsourcing strategy at Business Executive Group. His team makes sure a Missouri discharge request lands with someone who can act on it, and keeps isolved-powered payroll ready before the 7-day window even starts running.
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