When is my final paycheck due after leaving a job in California?

Immediately, if you were fired or laid off: Labor Code section 201 requires all earned, unpaid wages — including accrued vacation — to be paid at the time of termination. If you quit with at least 72 hours' notice, final wages are due on your last day; if you quit without notice, within 72 hours (Labor Code section 202). The enforcement teeth are the waiting-time penalties of Labor Code section 203: an employer that willfully fails to pay on time owes a full day of wages for every day of delay, up to 30 days — often more than the wages themselves. "Wages" includes commissions that can be calculated, and unused vacation or PTO is treated as earned wages under Labor Code section 227.3, so "use it or lose it" forfeitures at termination are unlawful. Claims can be filed with the Labor Commissioner or in court; the penalty runs even for small underpayments.

Authority: Cal. Lab. Code §§ 201–203