A lot of small and medium sized employers in Washington, DC think that when they fire an employee, or when an employee quits, they can just issue the final paycheck at the next regular pay period; many even hold on to the paychecks on site, expecting the ex-employee to come pick them up.
A lot of those employers are going to get sued.
§ 32–1303 of the Code of the District of Columbia is appropriately titled “Payment of wages upon discharge or resignation of employee and upon suspension of work; employer’s liability for failure to make such payment,” and it breaks down an employers obligations. Outside of a collective bargaining agreement with a real union (which will have priority over the regulations) the following rules apply:
Timelines
If fired—pay by next business day*
If quits—pay by the next pay period, or within 7 days, whichever is sooner
*If the employee is responsible for employer money, the employer has 4 days to make sure the employee’s accounts are in order before paying out
Penalties
For employers that don’t pay within the above timelines, there’s a penalty of 10% of the unpaid wages for each working day that the employee isn’t paid, with a maximum penalty of 3x the paycheck. For those employees that work 5 days a week, that’s just over 5 weeks, which is conveniently how long a lot of employees wait to file a complaint. FYI, if the city has to sue you, you’ll also need to pay the city’s attorneys fees.
Subcontractors; Temp Staffing
Subcontractors—If you hire a subcontractor that has employees and they don’t follow these rules, you’re also liable. The subcontractor will likely (absent agreement) need to cover your costs if you get sued….but if the failure to pay is because you didn’t pay the subcontractor on time, then you’re on the hook for this amount for all affected employees.
Temporary Staffing Firms—You get the most leeway: under the law the staffing firm gets 30 days notice before the employee can file a claim, meaning you have time to fix it before penalties start accruing.
TL;DR
If you fire an employee in DC, make sure they get paid by the next business day.
Maybe consider not waiting for them to show up, and just mail the check out to them.
**Overall note, this explanation of all of the regulations contained in § 32–1303 has been shortened and made concise just so that you, as the reader, can get the basics. Before making any determination or taking any action it’s a good idea to read the law yourself, or speak with counsel. Head here for the full text.