Wage Theft: Your Rights and How to Recover Unpaid Wages

Wage theft — employers failing to pay earned wages — is the most common employment law violation.

Forms include: unpaid overtime (misclassifying employees as exempt), minimum wage violations, tip theft, illegal deductions, off-the-clock work, and misclassification as independent contractors.

To recover unpaid wages: file a complaint with your state labor department (free, no attorney needed for smaller amounts), file with the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division, or hire an employment attorney (many take wage cases on contingency). You may recover up to 2–3 years of back wages plus equal amount in liquidated damages..