Wage theft: how unpaid-wage law works.
Wage theft is the umbrella term for an employer not paying what you actually earned, whether that is unpaid regular wages, unpaid overtime, work done off the clock, improper deductions, or being misclassified so you miss out on protections you should have. Both state law and federal law put rules around what you are owed and how to get it back, but the exact deadlines, dollar limits, and filing paths depend on where you work. This page explains the general concepts so you can recognize a wage problem and start building a case; for the specifics, check the page for your state.
What counts as wage theft
Wage theft is broader than most people expect. It is not just an employer refusing to hand over a paycheck; it covers a whole family of ways a worker can end up paid less than the law says they earned.
Unpaid regular wages
This is the most direct form: your employer did not pay you at all, paid you late, or paid you less than your agreed rate for hours you actually worked. Money you earned and were not paid is the simplest kind of wage claim.
Unpaid overtime
When you work long enough hours in a week, the law generally requires a higher rate of pay for the extra time. An employer who pays straight time for hours that should carry an overtime premium is underpaying you.
Off-the-clock work
Time you spend working that never gets recorded, such as setup, cleanup, or required tasks done before or after your shift, is generally still work you should be paid for if the employer required it or knew about it.
Improper deductions
Employers can only take certain things out of your pay. Charging you for shortages, breakage, or other business costs by docking your wages is, in many situations, not allowed.
Misclassification
Being labeled an independent contractor when you really function as an employee can strip away protections you should have, including overtime and minimum-wage coverage. That misclassification can itself be a wage problem.
The main categories explained
Three of these categories cause the most confusion, so it helps to understand the general idea behind each before you look at the specific rules where you work.
Overtime, in concept
The basic principle is that once your hours in a workweek pass a certain point, the law treats the extra hours as worth more per hour than your normal rate. Federal law sets a national floor for this, and many states add their own rules on top. The exact threshold and premium that apply to you depend on your job and your state, but the concept is constant: long weeks are supposed to cost the employer more.
Off-the-clock work, in concept
The general standard is that work your employer required or knew you were doing is compensable, even if it happened outside your scheduled hours and never landed on your timecard. Pre-shift setup, post-shift cleanup, mandatory training, and work taken home can all count. The key question is whether the employer required the work or was aware of it.
Misclassification, in concept
Calling someone a contractor does not make them one. Courts and agencies look at the real conditions of the work, such as how much control the employer has, who provides the tools, and how integrated the worker is into the business. If the reality looks like employment, the worker is usually entitled to employee protections regardless of the label. The precise tests vary, which is why the outcome depends on the facts and the state.
What you may be able to recover, in general
One reason wage law has teeth is that it usually aims to do more than just hand back the missing money. The exact remedy depends heavily on where you work and the facts of your case.
The unpaid amount
The starting point is always the wages you earned and were not paid: missing regular pay, unpaid overtime premiums, off-the-clock hours, and amounts improperly deducted.
Additional damages, in many places
Many wage laws let a worker recover an extra amount on top of the unpaid wages, designed so that pursuing a claim is worth the time and trouble. Whether such additional damages are available, and how they are calculated, is set by each state and by federal law, so this is one of the areas where checking your state's rules matters most.
Why the details depend on your state
Because the size of any add-on, the time limits for filing, and the available paths all vary, a general page can only tell you that recovery is often more than the bare unpaid amount. The specific numbers live on the page for your state.
How to prepare a wage claim
Wage cases are won on records. The more you can document now, the stronger your position later, and almost all of this is information you already have access to.
Gather your pay records
Collect your pay stubs, any direct-deposit records, and anything showing your agreed rate of pay. These establish what you were promised and what you were actually paid.
Reconstruct your hours
Pull together schedules, timesheets, clock-in records, and your own notes or calendar entries for hours you worked. For off-the-clock time, texts, emails, or messages showing the employer asked for or knew about the work are especially valuable.
Write down what you were told
Note what you were promised about pay, hours, and your role, and when. A clear, dated account written while the details are fresh is far more persuasive than a memory recalled months later.
Save communications and keep coworkers in mind
Keep any written communication with your employer about pay or hours. Coworkers who experienced the same treatment can sometimes corroborate your account, which helps when records are incomplete.
Where claims go and how to choose a path
There is usually more than one way to pursue unpaid wages. Understanding the general shape of the options helps you pick the one that fits before you dig into your state's specifics.
Administrative paths
Many places have a government labor agency that accepts wage complaints, investigates, and can pursue the employer on a worker's behalf. These paths often have no filing fee and do not require a lawyer, but they can take longer than going to court.
Court paths, including small claims
You can also take a wage claim to court. For smaller amounts, small claims court is built for people to file on their own, with simplified procedures and a modest fee. For larger or more complicated claims, other court tracks may fit better.
Choosing what fits
Which path is right depends on the amount you are owed, how complex the facts are, how quickly you need a resolution, and the rules in your state. Some people start with an administrative complaint and move to court later, or the other way around. Hello Court lays out the options so you can choose with eyes open, not so you feel pushed into any one route.
Yourself or with a lawyer
Plenty of smaller, clear-cut wage claims are pursued without a lawyer. For larger amounts, employer counterclaims, or claims that cross into other courts, many people choose to consult a licensed attorney. The point of mapping the paths is to help you decide, not to pressure you toward counsel you may not need.
Wage theft guides by state
Hello Court publishes a detailed, state-specific wage-theft guide as each state goes live. New York is available now. The rest are on the way; join the waitlist on any state page to hear first.
Frequently asked questions
What is wage theft?
Wage theft is the umbrella term for an employer failing to pay what you actually earned. It covers unpaid regular wages, unpaid overtime, work you did off the clock, improper deductions from your pay, and being misclassified so you miss out on protections you should have. The specific rules and remedies depend on where you work, so check the page for your state.
What is off-the-clock work?
Off-the-clock work is time you spend working that your employer did not record or pay for, such as setup before a shift, cleanup after, mandatory training, or tasks taken home. In general, if your employer required the work or knew you were doing it, that time is usually compensable even if it never made it onto your timecard. Records like texts, schedules, or coworker accounts can support this kind of claim.
What is employee misclassification?
Misclassification happens when you are labeled an independent contractor but the real conditions of your work look like employment, such as set hours, employer-provided tools, close supervision, and being integrated into the business. Because employees get protections that contractors often do not, misclassification can mean missing overtime, minimum wage, and other entitlements. The legal tests for who counts as an employee vary, so the details depend on your situation and your state.
Do I need a lawyer to bring a wage claim?
Not always. Many smaller, straightforward wage claims are pursued without a lawyer, and small claims court in particular is built for people filing on their own. For larger amounts, complicated facts, employer counterclaims, or claims that cross into other courts, many people choose to consult a licensed attorney. Laying out the options is meant to help you pick the path that fits, not to push you toward hiring counsel you do not need.
What is small claims court and can I use it for unpaid wages?
Small claims court is a simplified court track designed for ordinary people to bring smaller money disputes without a lawyer. Unpaid-wage claims under the court's dollar limit are a common fit. The filing process, the dollar limit, and the deadlines are set by each state and local court, and there are often administrative paths too, so check the rules for where you work.
Get the wage-theft toolkit
Hello Court is building file-it-yourself templates for the administrative and small-claims paths, deadline calculators, and matching with licensed attorneys for cases that need one, state by state. Join the waitlist and we'll email you when your state goes live.
Join the waitlist