Written by NotALawyer Legal AI · Reviewed by External Legal AI · Published April 7, 2026 · Last reviewed June 26, 2026
If your employer isn't paying what you're owed — unpaid wages, missing overtime, unauthorized deductions, or a withheld final paycheck — federal and state law give you ways to fight back. Wage theft is one of the most common workplace violations, and there are clear, often free, paths to recover the money.
Keep your own log of hours worked, plus pay stubs, time sheets, and any texts or emails about pay. If hours are disputed, your personal records — even handwritten notes — count as evidence. Build the file before you complain, not after.
The Fair Labor Standards Act sets a federal minimum wage of $7.25/hour (many states require more) and overtime at 1.5x your regular rate for hours over 40 in a week. Being labeled "exempt" from overtime doesn't always make it true — many who are told they're exempt actually aren't.
Every state has a labor department that investigates wage complaints, usually for free. You can also file with the federal Department of Labor. These agencies can order an employer to pay owed wages plus penalties.
The law bars an employer from firing, demoting, or punishing you for filing a wage complaint or cooperating with an investigation. Retaliation is its own separate claim, with its own damages.
Under federal law, a successful claim can recover "liquidated damages" — an equal amount on top, doubling the unpaid wages — plus reasonable attorney's fees and costs. Many states add more for willful violations. The fee-shifting makes it easier to find a lawyer to take the case.
More on this topic: the Work hub
The minimum hourly wage a standard (non-tipped) employee must be paid, in every state. Where a state sets none, the federal floor of $7.25 applies. Each figure is cited to the state labor agency or its statute.
General information, not legal advice. Tipped, youth, small-employer, and city minimum wages can differ, and rates change — confirm the current figure with the cited source for your state.
NotALawyer.com provides general legal information, not legal advice.