An employee not eligible for direct deposit receives pay by mailed checks. When is the employee constructively paid?

• A. When the checks were delivered
• B. On the check date
• C. When the checks were postmarked
• D. When the checks were cashed

Answer: (A)

Constructive payment happens when the funds are available to the employee, i.e., when the employee can access them. For mailed payroll checks, that means the moment the check is delivered to the employee (or placed in the employee’s possession). Once the check is delivered, the employer has met the obligation and the employee can cash or deposit it, so the payment is considered made.

Merely posting or mailing the check doesn’t give the employee access yet (postmark timing isn’t the trigger), and the pay date or the point at which the check is cashed happens later. The key is the point at which the funds are at the employee’s disposal, which is delivery.