Section 2 Prompt Payment of Wage Statute

• Library: Employer-Employee Law 2008

Section 290.110, RSMo 2000, requires prompt payment of wages owed to discharged employees. An employer is required to pay a discharged employee all wages earned on the day of the discharge. Id. If the employer fails to pay, the employee may request the payment in writing. Id. If the money is not paid within 7 days of the request, as a penalty for nonpayment, the wages due are deemed to continue to accrue at the same wage rate until paid, up to a maximum of 60 days. Id. This law does not apply to “an employee whose remuneration for work is based primarily on commissions and whose duties include collection of accounts” or “where an audit is necessary or customary” to determine the net amount due the employee. Id.

The written demand for payment needs to be made soon after the termination and failure to pay on the termination date. Monterosso v. St. Louis Globe-Democrat Publishing Co., 368 S.W.2d 481, 489
(Mo. 1963), cert. denied, 375 U.S. 908 (1963), indicates that a demand made 90 days after termination was not timely. Monterosso also clarifies that vacation pay is...