Louisiana Employee Handbook Requirements (2026)

Under RS 23:631, when an employer discharges an employee, all amounts due must be paid by the next regular payday or within 15 days of discharge, whichever comes first. The same timeline applies when an employee resigns. Sounds reasonable. The penalty for missing it is not.

An employer who fails to pay on time is liable for up to 90 days of wages at the employee's daily rate of pay, or full wages from the date the employee demands payment until the employer actually pays, whichever is less. For a worker earning $50,000/year, that 90-day penalty cap works out to roughly $12,329 on top of the wages owed.

The penalty applies automatically once the employee makes a demand for payment and the employer fails to deliver within the statutory window. Courts have consistently held that good-faith disputes over the amount owed do not excuse the employer from the timing requirement. You can dispute the total while still paying the undisputed portion on time.

Accrued vacation pay adds another layer. Louisiana courts treat vacation pay earned under a written or oral employer policy as a wage. If your company policy provides paid vacation, that accrued balance must be included in the final payment. Forfeiture clauses do not override this.

The fix: Pre-calculate final pay before any planned termination. Include accrued vacation if your policy provides it. Have off-cycle payroll capability ready. Do not wait for the next regular pay cycle when a departing employee demands immediate payment.

Sources: La. RS 23:631; RS 23:631 (Justia).

RS 23:635 contains a simple rule that Louisiana employers violate with surprising frequency: you cannot assess fines against employees or deduct fines from their wages.

The most common violations happen in restaurant and retail settings. Deducting from a server's pay for a walkout tab, docking a cashier for a register shortage, or withholding wages because an employee damaged merchandise without a conviction or guilty plea for theft are all potential violations of this statute.

The exceptions are narrow. Employers can recover deductions for willful or negligent damage to employer property, and for cases where the employee has been convicted of or pled guilty to theft of employer funds. But the amount deducted cannot exceed the actual damage done. Rounding up or adding a "processing fee" to a damage deduction violates the statute.

There is also a deposit provision: employers may require a cash deposit to guarantee return of equipment, but they must pay the employee at least 4% annual interest on that deposit. Most employers who collect equipment deposits do not pay interest, putting them in technical violation.

The fix: Audit your payroll deduction practices. If you deduct for damages, make sure there is written documentation and the amount matches the actual loss. Do not deduct for register shortages unless you can tie it to willful or negligent conduct. If you collect equipment deposits, set up an interest calculation.

Sources: La. RS 23:635; RS 23:635 (FindLaw).

The Louisiana Smoke-Free Air Act (RS 40:1291.11 et seq.) prohibits smoking in all enclosed areas of workplaces, regardless of how many employees you have. Even a business with a single employee must ban indoor smoking.

Where employers get into trouble:

• Missing the signage requirement. Employers must post conspicuous "No Smoking" signs at every entrance. The signs must be clearly visible. Failing to post signs is a separate violation from allowing smoking.
• Assuming exemptions that do not apply. While bars and gaming facilities had historical exemptions, the law has been tightened over time. Verify your specific exemption status rather than assuming it.
• Retaliating against complainants. The Act explicitly prohibits employers from discriminating against or retaliating against employees who file complaints about workplace smoking violations or report violations to an enforcement authority.

Penalties range from $100 for a first offense to $500 for subsequent violations. Individual employees who smoke in prohibited areas also face fines. But the retaliation provision is where the real risk lies: firing or disciplining an employee for reporting a smoking violation opens the door to a wrongful termination claim.

Sources: La. RS 40:1291.11 (Smoke-Free Air Act); RS 40:1291.11 (Louisiana Legislature).

Louisiana is one of five states with no state minimum wage law. The federal FLSA minimum of $7.25/hour applies by default, and Louisiana state law (RS 23:642) actually preempts local governments from setting their own minimum wage. New Orleans attempted to pass a local minimum wage in 2002, and the state legislature responded by passing the preemption statute.

This creates a compliance issue that is easy to overlook: because there is no state minimum wage statute, there is no state enforcement mechanism for minimum wage violations. All enforcement happens through the federal Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division. For employers, this means that a wage complaint goes directly to the federal level, where penalties and back pay calculations follow federal procedures.

The practical impact for your handbook: do not reference a "Louisiana minimum wage" because there is not one. Reference the federal minimum wage and note that it applies to covered employees under the FLSA. If you have tipped employees, the federal tip credit rules apply (allowing a cash wage of $2.13/hour if tips bring total compensation to at least $7.25/hour).

For employers who want to stay ahead of this: several federal minimum wage proposals are active, and any increase at the federal level would apply to Louisiana immediately. Build your compensation structure with flexibility to accommodate a potential federal increase.

Sources: La. RS Title 23 (Labor and Worker's Compensation); 29 U.S.C. Sec. 206 (FLSA Minimum Wage); La. RS 23:642 (local minimum wage preemption).