How to file an unpaid overtime claim, step by step
Key points
- Filing with the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division is free: call 1-866-487-9243.
- Many states have their own wage claim process, sometimes with stronger remedies.
- You can also hire an employment lawyer and file a private lawsuit. Many work on contingency.
Option 1: The Wage and Hour Division (federal, free)
- Get your information together.Employer name and address, your manager's name, your job, how you're paid, your schedule and hours, and pay stubs if you have them. You don't need perfect records. Investigators can request the employer's.
- Contact WHD.Call 1-866-487-9243 (1-866-4US-WAGE), or use the complaint information at dol.gov/agencies/whd. There's no charge, and your complaint is kept confidential.
- Investigation.If WHD takes the case, it may review payroll records, interview workers and determine back wages owed.
- Resolution.WHD can supervise payment of back wages. The Secretary of Labor can also sue for back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages.
Important: if you accept back wages paid under WHD supervision, you generally give up the right to sue privately under the FLSA for those same wages. Read what you sign, and consider talking to a lawyer first if large amounts are involved.
Option 2: Your state labor agency
Many states run their own wage claim programs and may have longer deadlines, higher damages or daily overtime rules. Search for "[your state] department of labor wage claim." If your state has no overtime law of its own, federal law still applies.
Option 3: A private lawsuit
Under the FLSA, you can sue for unpaid overtime, an equal amount in liquidated damages, and reasonable attorney's fees and court costs. Because the employer can be ordered to pay attorney's fees, many employment lawyers take wage cases on contingency. Workers in the same situation can join a "collective action." See working with an employment lawyer.
Don't wait
The federal deadline is generally 2 years from each violation, or 3 years if it was willful, and the clock keeps running on older paychecks until a lawsuit is filed. More in deadlines.
See what you could be owed
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