Can my employer hold my last paycheck until I return company equipment?

The general rule: your wages and the company's laptop are two different legal problems. Most state final-pay statutes set a hard deadline with no equipment exception — and deducting the equipment's value from earned wages typically requires your written authorization (and in some states isn't allowed below minimum wage even then).

The verified exceptions: South Dakota writes the condition into SDCL 60-11-10 — wages are due the next payday or as soon thereafter as the employee returns all employer property. Tennessee permits holding a check for unreturned property only where the employee signed a written policy allowing it. Wyoming allows offsetting documented amounts the employee owes. Montana permits withholding only the value tied to a theft allegation reported to law enforcement.

Everywhere else in our verified set — including the same-day states like California and Massachusetts — the deadline stands regardless of what's still in your backpack, and the employer's remedy for the equipment is a deduction you agreed to in writing or a separate claim.