How often do Texas employers have to pay employees?
At least monthly for exempt employees, at least twice a month for everyone else — and if you never designate paydays, Texas designates them for you.
Last updated: August 02, 2026
Direct Answer
Under the Texas Payday Law, employees who are exempt from federal overtime rules must be paid at least once per month. All other employees must be paid at least twice per month, on semi-monthly paydays that divide the month as evenly as practicable. Employers must designate paydays, post notice of them, and pay on time using the designated schedule.
Controlling authority: the Texas Payday Law (Tex. Labor Code ch. 61) and the FLSA, with DOL recordkeeping requirements and EEOC recordkeeping rules setting the retention periods.
Two frequencies, set by exemption status
The default rules apply when an employer fails to designate paydays: the first and fifteenth of each month become the paydays by law. Designating your schedule, posting it, and following it is the entire compliance burden, and it also starts the deadlines that matter for wage claims.
Weekly and biweekly schedules are fine, since they exceed the semi-monthly minimum. The common trap is paying everyone monthly for administrative convenience: that schedule is lawful only for employees who genuinely meet a federal overtime exemption. Monthly-paid nonexempt staff are a standing Payday Law violation.
| Requirement | The rule | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Pay frequency — FLSA-exempt employees | At least once a month | Tex. Labor Code ch. 61. |
| Pay frequency — everyone else | At least twice a month | Semi-monthly periods must contain as nearly as possible an equal number of days. |
| No designated paydays | Defaults to the 1st and the 15th | The employer loses the choice by failing to make one. |
| Posting | Payday notices must be posted where easily seen | A cheap, commonly missed requirement. |
| Final pay — discharged, laid off, or fired | Within six calendar days | Calendar days, not business days. |
| Final pay — quit, resigned, or retired | Next regularly scheduled payday | The separation type changes the deadline. |
| Unused PTO, vacation, or severance | Owed only if a written policy or agreement provides it | Texas creates no standalone entitlement. |
| Wage claim deadline | 180 days from the date wages were due | TWC uses the date the claim is received. |
No designated paydays means the 1st and the 15th, by default
Schedule changes need handling, and shrinking pay frequency mid-stream invites claims. When cash flow pressure tempts an employer to slide paydays or skip one, each missed designated payday is an independent violation the Texas Workforce Commission can act on, and personal exposure for decision makers can follow in some circumstances.
Final pay runs on its own clock. Discharged employees are owed final wages within six calendar days regardless of the normal schedule, which this library covers on its own page.
| Threshold | Amount now in force | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Standard salary level (executive, administrative, professional) | $684 per week ($35,568 a year) | The 2019 level. The higher 2024 figures were vacated nationwide in November 2024. |
| Highly compensated employee | $107,432 a year | Must include at least $684 a week paid on a salary or fee basis. |
| Computer employees paid hourly | $27.63 per hour | Alternative to the salary basis. |
| Motion picture industry base rate | $1,043 per week | Or a proportionate amount by days worked. |
| Doctors, lawyers, teachers, outside sales | No salary threshold applies | Duties tests still govern. |
Where pay frequency rules are breached
Payday Law problems escalate quickly because every affected employee has the same claim. Watch for these.
- Nonexempt employees paid only once per month
- No posted payday notice
- Paydays that drift when cash is tight
- Commissions and bonuses paid on no defined schedule
- Final paychecks processed on the regular cycle after a discharge
Check your posted paydays against practice
Confirm every monthly-paid employee actually meets an overtime exemption, and post your designated paydays where employees can see them. Those two steps close most of the gap.
Put commission and bonus timing in writing. The Payday Law enforces the agreement that exists, so an undefined agreement guarantees a dispute.
Texas Wage Claim Exposure Checker
Tests your practices against the Texas Payday Law before a claim tests them for you.
When pay periods are irregular
Get help if paydays have already slipped, because a proactive correction plan reads very differently to the TWC than a string of late payrolls with no explanation.
If your pay schedule was inherited rather than designed, a short payroll compliance review can align frequency, classifications, and final pay in one pass.
Get a Straight Answer for Your Situation
General rules only go so far. If this question is live in your organization right now, talk it through with a senior HR consultant before you act. One conversation now costs less than one claim later.
Contact UsThis page provides general HR information for employers and is not legal advice. For legal interpretation or representation, consult qualified employment counsel.