Missouri requires a discharged employee's wages on the day of discharge, when the employee demands them at separation (§290.110).
Law: Mo. Rev. Stat. §290.110 · Rules checked October 2026
Missouri's discharge rule does not cover quitting; a voluntary quit falls under the regular payday standard.
Missouri's continuation rule: a discharged employee who asks in writing and is still unpaid seven days later keeps earning — wages continue at the daily rate from the date of discharge, for up to 60 days, until paid (§290.110). The written request is the trigger.
Your state lets the employer's own policy decide. If the handbook or your offer letter promises payout of accrued vacation — or the company has a practice of paying it — that promise is enforceable. If the policy says unused vacation is forfeited at separation, the state will generally hold you to it.
The free claim goes to Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. It costs nothing and you do not need a lawyer; what you need is the amount computed, the demand already sent where your state rewards one, and the file assembled.
Filing window: set by state law and shorter than people expect — file within weeks, not months.
Compute your Missouri verdict — free
General information from the published statute — not legal advice. Penalty figures elsewhere on this site are statutory maximums, with willfulness conditions named where the statute names them.