West Virginia requires a discharged employee's wages within four business days of discharge, or by the next regular payday, whichever is sooner.
Law: W. Va. Code §21-5-4 · Rules checked October 2026
If you quit, West Virginia sets the deadline at the next regular payday. The free wage claim for either path goes to the West Virginia Division of Labor — the walkthrough in the kit lists its window and what to attach.
West Virginia sets no automatic waiting-time penalty; unpaid wages are recovered through the Division of Labor or court.
Your state treats earned vacation as wages: if you had accrued, unused vacation when you left, it must be paid in your final check. Forfeiture clauses ("use it or lose it" at separation) are void here.
The free claim goes to West Virginia Division of Labor. 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 West Virginia 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.