Texas gives an employer until the sixth calendar day after a fired or laid-off employee's last day to pay in full (§61.014).
Law: Tex. Lab. Code §§61.014, 61.053 · Rules checked October 2026
If you quit, Texas sets the deadline at the next regular payday. The free wage claim for either path goes to the Texas Workforce Commission — the walkthrough in the kit lists its window and what to attach.
Texas has no automatic waiting-time penalty an employee can simply add up. What Texas has instead is a fast, free Texas Workforce Commission claim — and the Commission may assess a bad-faith penalty of up to 100% of the wages against the employer (§61.053). The claim, filed on time, is the leverage.
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 Texas Workforce Commission. 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: 180 days from the date the wages were due. The Texas Payday Law claim must be filed within 180 days of the date the wages were due. Miss that window and the free state route closes — this is the one deadline in this dataset that cannot be undone.
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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.