Pay Frequency and Wage-Payment Lag Requirements in Connecticut

At a glance

Requirements one by one

The ordinary schedule is weekly or biweekly

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-71b(a) requires payment weekly or once every two weeks on a regular payday designated in advance. The rule covers wages, salary, and other compensation due, while § 31-71a's wage definition includes time, task, piece, and commission calculations.

The pay period may end no more than eight days before payday

Frequency is only one test. Section 31-71b(b) separately requires the pay period to end no more than eight days before the regular payday. If that payday falls on a nonwork day, payment moves to the preceding workday.

For example, a biweekly period ending July 12 must have its regular payday no later than July 20. A payday that falls on a Sunday must be moved to the preceding workday rather than the following Monday.

A less frequent schedule requires approval

The Labor Commissioner may waive the ordinary rule for particular weeks or approve regular pay periods less frequent than once every two weeks. Even then, § 31-71i requires each affected employee to be paid in full at least once in each calendar month on a regularly established schedule.

The schedule must be disclosed

Section 31-71f requires written hire-time notice of the wage-payment schedule. Wage practices, policies, and changes must also be made available in writing or through a posted notice accessible to employees. The text does not add a fixed number of advance days for a schedule change.

What trips people up

The Commissioner-approved monthly route is not an automatic employer option. Without approval or a specific statutory school arrangement, the ordinary weekly-or-biweekly and eight-day rules apply.

The statute also uses "once every two weeks," not "twice per month." A semimonthly schedule can create intervals longer than 14 days, so it should not be treated as interchangeable with the ordinary biweekly permission.

Common questions

May a Connecticut employer pay semimonthly?

Not under the ordinary rule merely because it produces two paydays in a month. The statute requires weekly or once every two weeks unless an approved or specified alternative applies.

How long may payroll lag after the period closes?

No more than eight days under § 31-71b(b).

What may an employee recover for unpaid wages?

Section 31-72 generally provides twice the unpaid wages plus costs and reasonable attorney fees. If the employer proves a good-faith belief that the underpayment complied with law, recovery is the unpaid amount plus costs and fees instead.

Statutes and sources

• Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 31-71a and 31-71b. Definitions, frequency, payday designation, eight-day lag, and school alternatives. Archived official chapter (accessed July 12, 2026).
• Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 31-71f and 31-71i. Schedule disclosure, policy-change notice, waiver, and approved monthly alternative. Archived official chapter (accessed July 12, 2026).
• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-72. Employee and Commissioner remedies. Archived official chapter (accessed July 12, 2026).