Texas HR Laws for Small Employers (2026)

Texas at a glance

Pay range in job posts: No Texas law requires pay ranges in job posts.
New-hire reporting: Report new hires and rehires to the Attorney General's Child Support Division within 20 calendar days of the day they start earning wages. Texas law also makes independent contractors reportable.
Paid sick leave: No Texas law requires paid or unpaid sick leave. If your written policy promises it, the Texas Payday Law enforces that promise.
Paid family and medical leave: Texas has no state paid family or medical leave program. Leave rights come from federal law, such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), if you are covered.
Final pay when you end employment: Pay in full no later than the sixth calendar day after the discharge.
Final pay when they quit: Pay in full no later than the next regularly scheduled payday.
Unused vacation at exit: Owed only if your written policy or agreement promises it. No Texas law requires paying out unused vacation.

Hiring in Texas

Texas has no pay transparency law, so pay ranges in job posts are your choice. If you hire remote employees in other states, their state's posting rules can still apply; see hiring employees in another state.

New-hire reporting. Report every new hire and rehire within 20 calendar days from the date they start earning wages. The Child Support Division of the Office of the Attorney General runs the program and takes reports through its online employer portal. A good rule of thumb from the Attorney General: if the person fills out a Form W-4, report them. Texas goes further than most states, because the Family Code's definition of a reportable employee includes independent contractors as defined by the IRS. The civil penalty is up to $25 for each employee not reported, or up to $500 when the employer and employee agree not to report. More in new-hire reporting.

Texas onboarding checklist
Requirement	Source	When
New-hire report, including independent contractors	Texas Family Code chapter 234	Within 20 calendar days of starting work
Tell the new employee whether you carry workers' comp insurance	Texas Labor Code 406.005	At the time of hire
Post notices showing your paydays	Texas Labor Code 61.012	Keep posted in the workplace
Form I-9; E-Verify is optional for private employers	Federal law; Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) guidance	At hire

E-Verify. The Texas Workforce Commission describes E-Verify as an optional program for private employers. Form I-9 is still required for every hire; see Form I-9 and E-Verify. Background checks follow the federal rules in employee background checks.

Pay and paydays

The Texas Minimum Wage Act adopts the federal minimum wage by reference, so the rate is $7.25 an hour. Overtime follows the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA); see overtime rules.

The Texas Payday Law sets how often you pay. Employees who are exempt from FLSA overtime must be paid at least once a month. Everyone else must be paid at least twice a month, with pay periods as equal in length as possible. If you never designate paydays, the law treats the 1st and the 15th of each month as your paydays. You must post notices of your paydays in a place employees can see them. If an employee misses a payday, for example because they were out, pay them on another regular business day when they ask.

Direct deposit and pay cards. If you switch to direct deposit, the Payday Law requires written notice to each affected employee at least 60 days before the first deposit. If you pay through payroll cards, you must give notice, a list of all card fees and a form to opt out, either 60 days before the first transfer or, for later hires, by their first day of work. An employee who opts out must get another form of payment no later than the first payday after the 30th day following the request.

Leave in Texas

No Texas or federal law requires a private employer to provide paid vacation or paid sick leave. Unpaid leave can still be required in some cases, for example as a reasonable accommodation for a disability or pregnancy, and federal FMLA applies if you are covered. See how to handle an FMLA request.

What Texas does enforce is your own written policy. Vacation, holiday, sick, parental and severance pay owed under a written agreement or policy count as wages under the Payday Law. So write down how leave accrues, whether there is a cap, and what happens to unused leave at exit. If the policy is silent about payout, TWC will not enforce a payout.

Final pay in Texas

Texas final pay deadlines (Texas Labor Code 61.014)
Situation	Deadline
Discharge, including a layoff	No later than the sixth calendar day after the discharge
Employee quits or retires	No later than the next regularly scheduled payday
Commissions and bonuses	As set by the written agreement, paid in a timely manner
Unused vacation or PTO	Only if your written policy or agreement promises it

Severance is owed only if a written policy or agreement promises it. An employee who is not paid can file a wage claim with TWC within 180 days of the date the wages were due. If TWC finds the employer acted in bad faith, it can add a penalty of up to the amount of the wages or $1,000, whichever is less.

Texas does not require a termination letter, though a short written notice of the separation date helps avoid later disputes. You must give every departing employee notice of their right to file an unemployment claim; TWC's required unemployment poster includes a sample. See firing an employee in Texas and final paycheck laws.

Other things to know

Workers' compensation is optional for most private employers. If you choose not to carry it (a "nonsubscriber"), you must tell the Texas Division of Workers' Compensation in writing, tell each new employee at hire, post a notice at work, and report injuries with more than one day of lost time, work-related illnesses and deaths. If you start or cancel coverage, tell employees within 15 days. See workers' compensation requirements.
Discrimination: Texas Labor Code chapter 21 covers employers with 15 or more employees. Its sexual harassment rules apply to employers with 1 or more employee.
Layoffs: Texas law does not require written notice of a termination or layoff. The federal WARN Act can apply to employers with 100 or more employees, and TWC is the state agency that receives WARN notices. See WARN Act layoffs.
Health coverage: on insured group plans, Texas continuation law lets an employee who is not eligible for federal COBRA keep coverage for up to 9 months, and an employee who used federal COBRA continue for 6 more months. The employee must have been covered for 3 consecutive months and must ask in writing within 60 days.
Unemployment tax: a for-profit employer becomes liable once it pays $1,500 in wages in a calendar quarter or has an employee in 20 different weeks of a year.

Common questions

How long do I have to give a fired employee their final paycheck in Texas?

Until the sixth calendar day after the discharge. An employee who quits must be paid by the next regularly scheduled payday.

Do Texas employers have to pay out unused vacation?

Only if your written policy or agreement says so. Texas law does not require a payout, but it enforces whatever your written policy promises.

Is workers' comp required in Texas?

Not for most private employers. If you opt out, you must notify the state and your employees, post a notice, and report serious injuries.

Do I report independent contractors as new hires in Texas?

Yes. The Texas Family Code includes independent contractors as defined by the IRS in its definition of reportable employees, alongside regular new hires and rehires.

How MambaHR handles this

MambaHR keeps your Texas employee records and hiring pipeline and does the admin itself: new-hire paperwork is sent and followed up, time off is approved within your written policy, and final pay is worked out under the Payday Law deadlines for a person to approve. Every hire, raise, leave and exit becomes a payroll change for your current provider or for Deel-managed payroll (Powered by Deel). Terminations always go to a person, and every change is logged.

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Sources

Last reviewed October 2, 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice. Laws change and exceptions apply, so check the sources above or an employment lawyer before you act on a specific case.