Wage and hour rules for employees in Pennsylvania — overtime, minimum wage, meal and rest breaks and the final paycheck — compared with federal law, with links to the official sources.
Pennsylvania final paycheck
Fired or laid off: No later than the next regular payday on which the wages would otherwise be due. The same rule applies to discharge and layoff. Quit: No later than the next regular payday. The law does not treat quitting with or without notice differently.
Citation: 43 P.S. § 260.5(a) (Wage Payment and Collection Law, Act of July 14, 1961, P.L. 637, No. 329, § 5)
Federal law Federal law does not require immediate payment of final wages; they are due by the next regular payday.
Same as federal law
- Minimum wage
- State rate $7.25 per hour; the federal $7.25 applies to jobs covered by the FLSA.
- Overtime
- State law also requires overtime at 1.5× the regular rate after 40 hours in a workweek. Coverage and exemptions can differ from federal law.
- Meal breaks
- The U.S. Department of Labor’s state table lists no meal-period requirement for adult employees in the private sector in this state, so the federal rule applies: meal breaks are not required.
- Rest breaks
- No state requirement for paid rest breaks for adult employees in the private sector (“States not listed do not require paid rest periods” — U.S. Department of Labor). Federal law does not require breaks either; short breaks that are given must be paid.
Find your state labor department (U.S. Department of Labor directory). Data last reviewed September 28, 2026.