Deceased Employee Wages by State

Author: Brightmine Editorial Team

If an employee dies, their employer is required to follow specific procedures to properly pay any compensation owed to the deceased's survivors or estate. These procedures are usually contained in the state wage payment and/or estate laws.

As shown on the following chart, many states have laws that specify:

• A limit on the amount of a deceased employee's wages that an employer may pay;
• The claimants to whom the wages may be paid, and the order of priority in which those claimants may be paid (e.g., surviving spouse, other next of kin, legal representative);
• The conditions that must be met before a payment may be made; and
• How to ensure the employer is relieved of further liability.

Due to the complexity of estates law, this chart covers only laws that specifically refer to an employer's obligations regarding compensation owed to a deceased employee. However, there may be other laws that affect or compete with those obligations.

For example, the law in some states does not include provisions that specifically refer to the obligations of "employers" and, instead, only generally refers to the obligations of "debtors" who are in possession of a decedent's "property." Under the states' legal definitions of those terms, an employer that is holding wages earned by a deceased employee may be subject to that law.

States with such laws are noted on the chart; employers with a deceased employee in those states are encouraged to seek legal counsel specializing in estates law to ensure compliance.

Chart cells for which there are no requirements are marked N/A.

For information on the income and employment tax withholding and reporting rules regarding payments of deceased employee wages, see Payment of Wages: Federal.