• Pennsylvania law sets down the procedures for survivors to claim any unpaid wages due to a deceased person.check in macro image by Alexey Klementiev from Fotolia.com
  
  Pennsylvania law describes the processes for survivors to claim any unpaid wages owed to a deceased employee.. If you are the survivor of a person who dies while employed in the state, you may be able to get a payout under this law, Pa. C.S. Section 3101(a). If the wages due are more than $5,000, the survivors must petition the courts for the money; if the wages are less than $5,000, the survivors need only file forms with the state.
  
  

Payment of Wages

• Under Pennsylvania law, Pa. C.S. Section 3101(a), if an employee dies while working, his employer may pay to his survivors any wages or other benefits that are due. Eligible survivors include the deceased's spouse, child, parents, or siblings.
  
  

Employer Release

• The employer may make such a limited payment to an employee's survivors whether or not the deceased employee had appointed a personal representative. Once the employer makes a payment to survivors, Pennsylvania law releases her from further liability. If anyone claims that the distribution was improperly made, the person receiving the payment is answerable.
  
  

Surviving Spouse

• In the case of a surviving spouse, Pennsylvania does not consider an "Affidavit of Surviving Spouse" issued by another state to be sufficient to claim the deceased's wages.
  
  

Wages More than $5,000

• If wages due are less than $5,000, the survivors must file the necessary Pennsylvania state forms. If the wages due are more than $5,000, a survivor has to file a petition with the Pennsylvania courts to get paid.