Washington requires final wages on or before the end of the pay period in which the employment ended — in practice, your next regular payday.
Law: RCW 49.48.010, 49.52.070 · Rules checked October 2026
The same end-of-pay-period deadline applies when you quit. The free wage claim for either path goes to the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries — the walkthrough in the kit lists its window and what to attach.
Washington has no automatic per-day waiting penalty — a distinction some calculator sites get wrong. What exists: interest on the unpaid wages, and if the withholding was willful, a court can award double damages (RCW 49.52.070). The L&I claim is free and taken seriously.
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 Washington State Department of Labor and Industries. 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 Washington 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.