Your last paycheck isn't a favor. It's a deadline with penalties.
Final wages are due no later than the regular payday for your final period, and written vacation-payout policies are enforceable as wage supplements. The letter computes everything owed, plus the statutory add-ons.
Flat fee $499, signed by a licensed New York attorney, draft within 48 hours, mailed on your approval.
Reviewed by Daniel Hochman, Esq. · Last updated November 1, 2026
Your final wages are due no later than the regular payday for your last pay period (NYLL § 191), and there is no processing-time exception. Accrued vacation promised by policy or practice is a wage supplement that can be forfeited only under a clear written policy (NYLL § 198-c). Unpaid final wages carry 100% liquidated damages plus attorney's fees under NYLL § 198(1-a).
For wages and accrued vacation actually unpaid. Wages paid late but paid, severance negotiations, and discretionary bonus disputes are screened at attorney review as the terms describe. If you have the handbook, upload it to back up the policy you describe at intake. Background reading from the firm: final paychecks in New York.
The payday deadline
Final wages are due on the normal payday for the final pay period; there is no processing time exception.
NYLL § 191
Vacation payout is a wage supplement
Where policy or practice provides accrued vacation, failing to pay it within 30 days is a violation; forfeiture requires a clear written forfeiture policy, which the intake asks for.
NYLL § 198-c
Liquidated damages and fees
Unpaid final wages carry 100% liquidated damages plus attorney's fees, the same arithmetic as any wage claim, and the letter shows it. If you never received the required pay-rate notice, Wage Theft Prevention Act damages of up to $5,000 are added to the exposure.
NYLL §§ 198(1-a), 195
Before you spend a dollar: there is a free route
The NYS Department of Labor takes unpaid-wage claims for free, including final paychecks and vacation payouts, and pursues the employer itself. It is slower than a letter, but it costs nothing. This letter is the speed option; if the free route serves you better, attorney screening will say so before you pay.
Questions before you start
What if my employer says vacation is use-it-or-lose-it?
That's only enforceable with a clear written forfeiture policy communicated to you. No written policy, no forfeiture, and the letter says so.
They paid me late but eventually paid. Do I have a claim?
Late-but-paid frequency claims are treated differently under the May 2025 amendment, and attorney review will tell you honestly whether the economics are there before anything drafts.
Statutes cited on this page
Labor Law § 191 (Labor Law)
Labor Law § 198-c (Labor Law)
Labor Law § 198 (Labor Law)
Each link opens the official text at the New York State Senate's Open Legislation site (federal sections: Cornell Law School's U.S. Code).