Unpaid Wages & Tips

Common Wage Disputes

• Final paycheck never arrived — you quit or were let go, and the last check (or several) never came.
• Unpaid overtime — hours over 40 in a week paid at the regular rate, or not at all.
• Stolen or skimmed tips — managers taking a cut of the tip pool, or tips that never made it to you.
• Off-the-clock work — setup, cleanup, or"training" time you were required to work but never paid for.
• Unpaid freelance invoices — you did the work as an independent contractor and the client won't pay.

Your Rights as a Worker

Employees: wage law often doubles your money

Federal wage-and-hour law — and the state laws that build on it — lets employees sue for unpaid wages and tips, and for unpaid minimum wage or overtime. If you win, you're typically entitled to:

• The unpaid wages themselves, often plus the same amount again as liquidated damages — effectively double.
• Reasonable attorney fees (if you hire a lawyer).
• Overtime at 1.5× your regular rate for hours over 40 per week, for overtime-eligible jobs.

These protections apply regardless of immigration status or work authorization. Deadlines vary — federal claims generally reach back 2 – 3 years, and many states allow longer.

Freelancers

An unpaid invoice is a breach of contract you can sue over, even with no written agreement. A growing number of states and cities go further with freelancer-protection laws — requiring written contracts and timely payment, and awarding double damages plus attorney fees when a client doesn't pay.

One caveat

Government employers often aren't covered by the same wage statutes — claims against a government agency follow different rules.

How to Recover Your Wages

Option 1: File a complaint with the labor department

Both the U.S. Department of Labor and your state labor department take wage complaints — free, no lawyer needed, and they investigate for you. The tradeoff is time — investigations can take a year or more.

Option 2: Demand letter, then small claims court

Send your employer a written demand for the exact amount owed, with a deadline. If it passes, sue in small claims court — up to your state's limit (commonly $5,000 – $10,000), modest filing fee, no lawyer required. For many wage claims this is the fastest path to actually getting paid.

For large claims (years of unpaid overtime, many coworkers in the same situation), talk to an employment lawyer — many take wage cases on contingency, and attorney fees are recoverable.

Don't fear retaliation — it's illegal

Firing, demoting, or threatening a worker for claiming unpaid wages is itself a wage-law violation with its own penalties. Document any retaliation immediately.

Evidence to Gather

Employers are required to keep payroll records — workers aren't. Courts know this, so your own records and reasonable estimates carry real weight. Bring what you have:

• Pay stubs and bank records — showing what you were actually paid (and when payments stopped).
• Your own time log — schedules, shift apps, calendar entries, clock-in screenshots, or a written log of hours worked.
• Messages about pay — texts or emails where hours, rates, or the missing pay were discussed.
• The agreement — offer letter, contract, or for freelancers, the invoice and any written scope of work.
• Witnesses — coworkers who saw your hours or experienced the same practices.

Tips for a Stronger Case

• Reconstruct your hours now — write down your schedule week by week while you still remember it. Contemporaneous-looking estimates beat vague recollection.
• Compute the claim precisely — hours × rate, minus what was paid. Factor in liquidated damages where the law allows them when stating your demand.
• Sue the right employer — the entity on your pay stub or W-2/1099, not the manager personally (with narrow exceptions).
• Don't double-track — if a labor department is actively investigating the same wages, suing for them too can complicate both. Pick a lane per pay period.
• Save evidence before you leave — export schedules and punch records while you still have access to work systems.