• Workers must be told when and where to get their wages on payday.women facing the future image by feisty from Fotolia.com
  
  Under California law, workers must be paid at least twice a month. Only salaried workers, such as executive, administrative and other professional employees, can be paid once a month. An employer needs to clearly indicate the day, time and location of wage payments. In the event of a termination, the money owed in unpaid wages must be paid within the prescribed time period.
  
  

Dates

• By the 26th day of the month, an employer must pay all wages earned between the 1st and 15th days, according to the Labor Code section 207 of the state of California. Only earned overtime wages can be delayed until the next payday. Salaried executives and other professionals paid once a month must be paid by the 26th day of the month. The salary should also cover the unearned part of the month. This means a salaried employee has to be paid for the full month even when he has only worked for 26 days. Farm workers must be paid on a weekly basis. An employee who is given accommodations by his employer, such as a domestic servant or an agricultural worker, must be paid at least once a month.
  
  

Termination

• A terminated employee is entitled to all his wages, including accrued vacation, at the time of termination. In most cases, an employee must be paid what he is owed at the time of termination. However, for seasonal employees, such as a group of farm workers, payment must be made within 72 hours after termination. In a job without a written contract, an employee should give his employer a 72-hour notice if he intends to quit. He must be paid his wages at the end of the notice period.
  
  

Computation

• An employee in a field such as the film industry and with no clear terms of employment might have to wait until the employer has had time to accurately assess the amount due. But the waiting period can only be up to the next payday. If, for instance, he gets paid on the 15th day of every month and he is laid off at the beginning of July, he must receive his pay by the 15th day of that month.
  
  

Penalty

• An employer who does not pay a terminated employee within the prescribed period is liable for daily penalties which could equal the employee’s daily earnings for a period of up to 30 days. However, if the delay is a result of either an employee’s refusal to get his money or there is a legitimate dispute regarding the amount due, no waiting charges will be levied.