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Unpaid Wages

If your employer has not paid you for hours you worked, missed a pay period, or given you a paycheck that is short, you may feel frustrated, anxious, and unsure of what to do. This situation is stressful, especially when you rely on that income. There is a real, ordered set of options you can follow to try to get the money you are owed, and those options are laid out below.

The honest reality

Not every missed payment or short paycheck is automatically a legal violation. A genuine wage claim usually involves work you actually performed that was not compensated, or a deduction that was not allowed under state or federal law. If the issue is a simple mistake, a disagreement over hours, or a policy you did not understand, it may not qualify as a legal claim, but you still have steps you can take to resolve it.

This area is governed at the federal level by a law commonly called the FLSA. That is a name, not a citation; no section number is quoted here or anywhere else on this page, and state law can add more, check your state's page.

Your real options, cheapest first

  1. 1. Free: complain to the U.S. DOL Wage and Hour Division. Wage complaints are one of the more mechanical employment claims, hours worked and amounts owed are usually provable with pay stubs, schedules, and timekeeping records, which is why the free agency route tends to work well here. Start here.
  2. 2. A written request or demand first. A written request to payroll or HR stating the exact pay period, hours, and amount you believe you're owed is a reasonable first step before filing anything.
  3. 3. Small claims court, where the amount is calculable. If the amount owed is calculable and fits your state's small claims limit, small claims court can recover it without a lawyer.
  4. 4. A lawsuit or full agency case. A pattern of unpaid wages affecting more than just you is often pursued as a group claim, which needs an employment lawyer.

A warning on deadlines: every agency in the options above runs on its own filing deadline, and those deadlines are short and vary by agency, by claim, and by state. Do not estimate one from anything you read here, go to the agency's own page linked above and check its current deadline immediately, before you do anything else.

You don't need a lawyer to start

You are allowed to do this yourself

A regulator complaint, and for pay disputes small claims court, are both built for people without lawyers. Read our pro se guide for how self-representation actually works, our what happened at work triage tool if you are not even sure what category this falls into, and if a lawyer's cost is the blocker at any stage, our can't-afford-a-lawyer triage covers every free and low-cost path, including legal aid.

Questions

What is the first thing I should do if my employer hasn't paid me?

Start by gathering all records of your work and pay: time sheets, pay stubs, emails, texts, or any notes about hours and wages. Then, in writing, ask your employer for the missing pay and give them a reasonable chance to correct the error. If they do not respond or refuse, your next step is to file a complaint with your state's labor agency, which handles wage claims.

Can I take legal action if my employer says they cannot afford to pay me right now?

An employer's cash flow problems do not excuse them from paying wages you have already earned. If they admit they owe you money but say they cannot pay, that still counts as unpaid wages. You can still file a wage claim or consult with a private attorney who handles employment cases, but the process may take time and the outcome depends on the employer's actual financial situation.

Will I be protected if I complain about not being paid?

Many states and federal law protect employees from retaliation for asserting their right to be paid. This means your employer cannot legally fire you, demote you, or punish you just because you asked for your wages or filed a complaint. However, protection is not automatic in every situation, and if you are retaliated against, you may have an additional legal claim.

Not legal advice and not a law firm. We don't predict outcomes, and deadlines and dollar thresholds vary by state and by claim, check your state's page before you rely on any number. If you can get a lawyer or free legal aid, do: start at lsc.gov.