Michigan requires final pay by the next regular payday — or as soon as the amount due can be determined, if that is earlier.
Law: Mich. Comp. Laws §§408.474, 408.475 · Rules checked October 2026
The same next-payday rule applies when you quit. The free wage claim for either path goes to the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity — the walkthrough in the kit lists its window and what to attach.
Michigan sets no automatic waiting-time penalty; unpaid wages are recovered through the Wage & Hour Division or court, where added damages are possible for willful failures.
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 Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity. 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 Michigan 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.