State Pay Days

State pay days in many states are actually regulated by state statute, which require public and private employers to not only establish regular pay rates but also regular pay dates. Virginia is no different with specific time spans and pay period times frames encoded in statute and enforced as state pay days.

State ‘Pay Day Laws’ and Variations

All states have statutes specifying the pay structure for most state employees, identifying the frequency of pay days and their exact dates. Generally, these dates are updated annually, but they follow the same pattern from year-to-year.

Most state pay days are semimonthly, similar to the federal pay structure. There are some, however, that pay biweekly and others that pay state workers every week or just once a month.

The Commonwealth of Virginia state laws provide a provision that public and private employees paid weekly wages that are more than 150 percent of Virginia’s average weekly wage may be paid monthly with affected employees’ consent. Here are some specific laws in various states that not only address how public employees are to be paid but, in some instances, how certain private entities engaged in various industries, are to pay their workers:

  • California and Illinois pay state workers semimonthly.
  • Arizona pays its state employees “two or more days” a month and never “more than 16 days apart.”
  • Michigan state employee pay days can vary by agency and occupation.
  • Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, Nebraska and Pennsylvania do not have state statutes specifically addressing how public and private employees are to be paid.
  • Illinois, Nevada, New Mexico and Virginia pay state employees defined as executive, administrative and professional staff once a month.
  • Hawaii state employees can choose their pay schedule, either on a monthly or bimonthly basis.
  • Iowa state law stipulates that state workers must be paid on a “predictable and reliable pay schedule” no later than 12 days (excluding Sundays and legal holidays) apart.
  • Louisiana state law outlines pay day schedules for “public service corporations” as well as “entities engaged in manufacturing, mining or boring for oil that employ 10 or more workers are required once every two weeks or twice during each calendar month.
  • Maine state law stipulates that state workers must be paid “at regular intervals not to exceed 16 days.”
  • Montana state law states that paydays must be 10 days apart.
  • Mississippi state law mandates that state workers are to be paid once every two weeks or twice during each calendar month. There are also Mississippi state laws that address pay days for manufacturing entities of 50 workers must also be paid once every two weeks or twice during each calendar month.
  • New York state law requires weekly paydays for manual workers although employers can be granted exemptions to pay manual, clerical and other workers on a semimonthly basis.
  • North Carolina state law specifies that pay periods for public and private workers can be on a daily, weekly, biweekly, semimonthly or monthly schedule.
  • Rhode Island state statutes offer child care providers the option to be paid every two weeks. Employers that meet conditions described in regulations can petition the state’s Department of Labor and Training to pay workers less often than weekly, but all private and public entities must pay wages at least twice a month.
  • The Texas Fair Labor Standards Act mandates that employees who are exempt from the law’s overtime provisions must be paid at least on a monthly basis.
  • Utah state law requires public,and private employees are “to be paid at regular intervals” and at least twice a month.
  • Vermont state law mandates public, and private employees be paid weekly or semimonthly although employers can file a written notice for exemptions.
  • New Jersey state law allows public and private employers to pay executive, supervisory and other “special” employee classifications once a month.

Virginia State Employee Pay Period Structure

According to the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Department of Finance, state officers and salaried employees will be on the basis of 12, almost equal, pay periods annually. The pay periods span either 21 or 22 workdays. Under normal circumstances, normal workdays are Monday through Friday, including holidays, during the week.

There are exceptions to this general breakdown, such as when there are more than 22, or fewer than 21, normal workdays in a calendar month. Under these circumstances, pay periods will end one day before, or after, the end of the calendar month. In this scenario, the pay period will end two days before the end of the calendar month. The same pay schedule for monthly salaried employees applies to hourly rate employees. Below is the number of workdays for each month in the last four months of 2017 and all of 2018:

2017

  • September: 21 workdays
  • October: 22 workdays
  • November: 22 workdays
  • December: 21 workdays

2018

  • January: 21 workdays
  • February: 19 workdays
  • March: 22 workdays
  • April: 21 workdays
  • May: 22 workdays
  • June: 21 workdays
  • July: 21 workdays
  • August: 23 workdays
  • September: 19 workdays
  • October: 22 workdays
  • November: 20 workdays
  • December: 20 workdays

Virginia Pay Period Calendar for Last Four Months of 2017 And 2018

According to the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Department of Finance, these are the dates that state employees are paid for the last four months of 2017 and all of 2018:

  • September: Sept. 1, Sept. 15 and Sept. 29. The last day of the pay periods in September are Sept. 7 and Sept. 21.
  • October: Oct. 13 and Oct. 27. The last day of the pay periods in October are Oct. 5 and Oct. 19.
  • November: Nov. 9 and Nov. 22. The last day of the pay periods in November are Nov. 8 and Nov. 30.
  • December: Dec. 1, Dec. 15 and Dec. 29. The last day of the pay periods in December are Dec. 14 and Dec. 28.
  • January: Jan. 16. The last day of the pay periods in January are Jan. 15 and Jan. 31.
  • February: Feb. 1 and Feb. 16. The last day of the pay periods in February are Feb. 15 and Feb. 28.
  • March: March 1, March 16 and March 30. The last day of the pay periods in March are March 15 and March 29.
  • April: April 16. The last day of the pay periods in April are April 15 and April 30.
  • May: May 1 and May 16. The last day of the pay periods in May are May 15 and May 31.
  • June: June 1 and June 15. The last day of the pay periods in June are June 14 and June 30.
  • July: July 2 and July 16. The last day of the pay periods in July are July 15 and July 31.
  • August: Aug. 1, Aug. 16 and Aug. 31. The last day of the pay periods in August are Aug. 15 and Aug. 30.
  • September: Sept. 14 and Sept. 28. The last day of the pay periods in September are Sept.13 and Sept. 27.
  • October: Oct. 16. The last day of the pay periods in October are Oct. 15 and Oct. 31.
  • November: Nov. 1, Nov. 16 and Nov. 30. The last day of the pay periods in November are Nov. 15 and Nov. 29.
  • December: Dec. 14 and Dec. 31. The last day of the pay periods in December are Dec. 14 and Dec. 30.

Federal and State Holidays in Virginia The Last Four Months of 2017 and 2018

According to the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Department of Finance, these are the dates that state employees and federal employees will recognize as holidays the last four months of 2017 and all of 2018:

  • September: Sept. 4, Labor Day, is observed as a holiday in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
  • October: Oct. 9, Columbus Day, is observed as a holiday in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
  • November: Nov. 10, Veterans’ Day, Nov. 23, Thanksgiving, and Nov. 24, the Day After Thanksgiving, are observed as holidays in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
  • December: Dec. 25, Christmas, is observed as a holiday in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
  • January: Jan. 1 and Jan. 2, New Year’s Day and day after, and Jan. 15, Lee-Jackson-King Day, are observed as holidays in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
  • February: Feb. 19, George Washington Day, is observed as a holiday in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
  • May: May 28, Memorial Day, is observed as a holiday in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
  • July: July 4, Independence Day, is observed as a holiday in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
  • September: Sept. 3, Labor Day, is observed as a holiday in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
  • October: Oct. 8, Columbus Day, is observed as a holiday in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
  • November: Nov. 12, Veterans’ Day, Nov. 22, Thanksgiving, and Nov. 23, the Day After Thanksgiving, are observed as holidays in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
  • December: Dec. 24, Christmas Eve, Dec. 25, Christmas, and Dec. 31 are observed as holidays in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

State University Holiday/Administrative Closure Calendar

According to State University Policy and Procedures manual, the Vice President for Finance and Planning is responsible for preparing the University Holiday/Administrative Closure Calendars in accordance with University Policy 3.1.5 and University Policy 3.1.6. In turn, the Office of the Provost is responsible for preparing Academic Calendars in accordance with University Policy 1-11.

Understanding How to Comply with State Pay Day Regulations

To ensure you avoid potential issues related to state pay day policies in Virginia, ensure your employee policies and practices have been reviewed by attorneys who specialize in these type of laws -- employment attorneys. Upcounsel.com provides a comprehensive directory of attorneys who are practitioners in distinct fields of business law, including such specialties as small business law in specific states and in putting together an employee handbook that covers all the bases, including cultural awareness. If you are an entrepreneur or startup business in Virginia, feel free to contact these UpCounsel-endorsed attorneys.

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