Missouri PTO Laws 2026: Day-of-Discharge Final Paycheck Rule Under RSMo § 290.110

Missouri sits firmly in the employer-discretion tier of PTO law. No vacation mandate, no sick leave requirement, use-it-or-lose-it legal, and no required payout at termination unless your employer's written policy says so. What's distinctive about Missouri is its preemption statute — which actively blocks cities from passing their own sick leave or minimum wage rules, leaving the entire state on a single employer-friendly baseline. For workers, this makes understanding your specific company's written policy more important than in states with stronger statutory protections.

Vacation Pay: Policy Is Everything in Missouri

Missouri has no statute treating accrued vacation as earned wages, unlike California, Illinois, or Massachusetts. Vacation pay is a discretionary benefit, and your rights depend entirely on what your employer has put in writing. Missouri courts will enforce a vacation payout promise in a handbook or offer letter as a contract — but they won't create an entitlement that doesn't exist in the policy.

Use-It-or-Lose-It: Legal and Common

Missouri employers can legally run use-it-or-lose-it vacation policies — year-end resets, rollover caps, anniversary forfeiture — as long as the policy is clearly stated. Missouri has no law protecting accrued vacation from forfeiture the way California's Labor Code does.

The most common Missouri structures: annual reset on December 31 or work anniversary; partial rollover (40–80 hour cap); no rollover and no payout at termination. Some larger Missouri employers — particularly those in healthcare, finance, and technology — offer more generous rollover and payout policies to compete for talent, but there's no legal floor.

Final Paycheck Rules: Day-of-Discharge for Terminations

Missouri's final paycheck rule depends on whether the separation is voluntary or involuntary, and the difference is bigger than most Missouri HR teams realize:

• Fired or laid off (involuntary discharge). Under RSMo § 290.110, an employer who discharges an employee — with or without cause — must pay all unpaid wages then earned on the day of the discharge. This includes any vacation payout owed under the employer's written policy.
• Voluntary resignation (quit). § 290.110 speaks only to discharge. Missouri sets no separate statutory deadline for an employee who resigns, so the ordinary pay cycle governs and wages are due on the next regular payday after the last day worked.

The day-of-discharge rule for terminations is a notable feature of Missouri wage law that often surprises employers used to "next regular payday" rules from other states. Same-day payment is required at the moment of discharge — there's no grace period for payroll processing, no automatic extension to the next pay cycle.

The Written-Demand Penalty Mechanism

Missouri's penalty structure for unpaid wages is unusual. Alaska allows up to 90 days of continued wages but only for a willful failure, and West Virginia's liquidated damages of 2× the unpaid wages — 3× total recovery — likewise depend on the employee first sending the written demand its § 21-5-4a requires. Missouri is the same family: the penalty turns on a procedural step the employee must take.

1. The employee is discharged but not paid wages owed on the day of discharge.
2. The employee (or their personal representative) makes a written demand on the employer for the unpaid wages.
3. The money or a valid check must reach the place the employee named within seven days of that written request. The seven days is in the statute, not a rule of thumb.
4. If the check does not arrive within that seven-day window, the statute continues the employee's wages at the same rate from the date of the discharge until paid — not from the date of the demand — and caps the run at sixty days. RSMo § 290.110 is explicit: such wages shall not continue more than sixty days.

One carve-out is written into § 290.110: it does not apply to employees whose pay is based primarily on commissions where an audit is needed to work out the net amount due. The structure otherwise means a Missouri employee cannot passively wait for the penalty to accrue — they have to make the written request. The demand is the gate. For HR teams, this is a procedural lifeline: if you missed the day-of-discharge deadline by mistake, paying promptly after receiving a written demand limits the exposure significantly.

For Employers: Missouri PTO Policy Best Practices

Missouri's lack of mandates gives employers flexibility — but vague policies create disputes. Core recommendations:

• State explicitly what happens to unused vacation at termination — forfeiture or payout
• If use-it-or-lose-it, specify the exact reset date and conditions
• Apply the policy consistently across employees — selective enforcement creates discrimination exposure
• Update policies in writing with advance notice before changing them
• Consider whether your voluntary sick leave policy adequately covers your workforce, even without a legal mandate

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Missouri require vacation payout at termination?

Only if your employer's written policy promises it. Missouri has no statute requiring vacation payout. If your handbook or offer letter commits to payout, Missouri courts treat that as an enforceable contractual obligation. If the policy is silent or states forfeiture, you have no legal entitlement.

Does Missouri have paid sick leave?

No — though it briefly did. Proposition A, approved by voters in November 2024, required most Missouri employers to provide earned paid sick time from May 1, 2025. The legislature repealed that portion in House Bill 567, signed July 10, 2025, and the sick-leave mandate ended on August 28, 2025 (Proposition A's minimum-wage increases were not repealed and still stand). Missouri's preemption statute (§290.528) also blocks cities from passing their own mandates; Missouri's 2017 preemption statutes nullified the local minimum-wage ordinances Kansas City and St. Louis had passed, and § 290.528 extends the same bar to employment benefits. As of September 2026, sick leave in Missouri is entirely at employer discretion.

Is use-it-or-lose-it legal in Missouri?

Yes. Missouri employers can legally forfeit unused vacation at year-end or under other conditions, provided the policy is clearly communicated in writing. There is no Missouri law equivalent to California's prohibition on PTO forfeiture.

When must a Missouri employer issue a final paycheck?

It depends on whether the separation is voluntary or involuntary. Under RSMo § 290.110, employees who are fired or laid off must be paid all wages owed on the day of discharge — including any promised vacation payout. Employees who voluntarily resign are paid on the next regular payday following their last day of work. If an employer fails to pay a discharged employee on time, the employee can make written demand for the unpaid wages; if payment does not reach the place the employee named within seven days of that written request, the employee's wages continue at the same rate from the date of discharge until paid, capped at sixty days under RSMo § 290.110.

Can Missouri cities require paid sick leave?

No. Missouri's preemption statute prevents cities and counties from enacting employment regulations that exceed state law. Kansas City and St. Louis both enacted local minimum-wage ordinances and both were nullified by the 2017 preemption statutes; § 290.528 applies the same bar to employment benefits such as sick leave. Workers in Missouri cities have the same sick leave rights as workers statewide — which means none, beyond what employers voluntarily provide.

I have a Missouri PTO dispute. Where do I file a claim?

File a wage claim with the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations — Labor Standards Division — online at labor.mo.gov. The Division handles claims for unpaid wages, including promised vacation pay. For disputes over $100, you can also file in Missouri small claims court (up to $5,000) or hire a private employment attorney for larger amounts.

Sources

• Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations — Minimum wage and Proposition A implementation
• Missouri Revised Statutes § 290.110 — Final wages due on the day of discharge (seven days from the written request; continuing wages capped at sixty days; commission carve-out)
• Missouri Revised Statutes § 290.528 — Minimum wage and employment benefits: limitations on political subdivisions (preempts local sick-leave mandates)