Termination Pay - A Summary of State and Federal Guidelines for Calculation and Compliance

Paying your employees' final paycheck is more confusing than it seems. Although Federal law has broad regulations you have to comply with, States have the most rules, and they differ widely. Failure to accurately and completely pay what your worker is due can be tricky. Further, you may have to pay them the minute you terminate them.

It is not just as simple as paying final wages. Employees who earn PTO, such as vacation, sick leave, and other payments, need to have those calculated and taxed properly. When it is due is dependent on whether they reigned or were terminated. State law determines when all those payments are due and how they are taxed. We will go over these rules for each state. We will also review tax guidelines for each.
You also have to consider what to do with other benefits your employee was receiving when they worked for you. Health insurance is subject to COBRA rules upon dismissal. Retirement and workers' compensation must be paid or forwarded to new accounts. Learn about the requirements for these and others.

Finally, we will go over the penalties you face for non-compliance. Terminating employees is an anxious time for workers and employers alike. We will discuss the penalties state by state for not paying your ex-workers when due. These workers can easily access the Dept of Labor in your state. The DOL will certainly contact you if you are out of compliance. The fines aren’t just monetary – there are criminal penalties as well.

So join Mark Schwartz for this informative webinar on termination pay.

Learning Objectives:-

In this webinar, we will discuss:

• FLSA guidelines for termination pay
• Termination pay basics  - federal regulations that limit letting go of people.
• State-by-state rules (2026 updates) and regulations on:
  • who does and doesn’t regulate termination pay
  • who wants payment by the next regular payday
  • who wants prompt payment, including same-day
  • Other rules
• Rules for deceased workers
• Vacation pay and pto rules, state by state
• Taxes on pto
• Penalties
• Other rules for benefits, etc

Why Should You Attend:-

• Learning benefits for the attendees.
• Real-time application of the webinar.
• Know the state and federal regulations on termination pay for all states you operate in
• Calculate and pay accurate amounts to workers who quit or are fired.
• Know the proper taxes to withhold
• How to either pay out or forward fringe benefit accounts and balances
• Comply with other regulations, such as COBRA

Who Will Benefit:-

• Payroll and HR managers and staff
• Hiring personnel
• Internal and External Audit personnel
• A/P managers and staff
• Personnel executives.