Many in Kansas City likely cannot fathom losing their jobs. If they do, however, they may take some solace in the fact that their employers cannot simply cut off relations with them without providing them with their due compensation. At the very least, a person that loses his or her job is entitled to collect any wages still owed to him or her by his or her former company.
An employer may choose to pay an employee being let go at the time of his or her dismissal, or at the end of the current pay period. If either of those dates passes without the employee being paid, the Missouri Department of Labor instructs that he or she contact the company informing it of the wages still due. The company then has seven days to pay those wages. If it does not, then it becomes liable for additional wages until the employee gets paid up until 60 days.
Should employees who have been fired from their jobs expect severance pay? Typically, employers are only required to give severance pay in two scenarios. The first is when state law mandates it. Missouri, however, is an “at will” employment state, meaning that absent a written contract of employment stating otherwise, an employer can fire an employee without cause at any time. Indeed, the state’s Division of Labor Standards confirms that employers are not required to offer severance pay.
The second scenario where one may be entitled to severance pay is where he or she has a written agreement with his or employment that establishes that. In this case, he or she is considered to be a contracted employee rather than at will, which offers him or her certain protections not afforded to others.
