Filing is free, needs no lawyer, and often reaches more than federal law does. But an order isn’t money — and in the most thorough study of this, only 17% of workers who won a judgment collected anything.
Filing with the Department of Labor is free and requires no lawyer. It can also quietly end your right to sue for anything more — and in a lot of cases, “anything more” is most of the money.
Filing takes twenty minutes and your employer never learns your name. What takes care is the form at the end — signing the receipt that comes with your check waives your right to sue for anything more.
Most people add up the hours they weren’t paid for and assume that’s the claim. In most cases the wages are about half of what’s recoverable — and in some states, a third.
You can pursue unpaid wages four different ways without a lawyer. But federal law makes your employer pay your attorney’s fees if you win — which means the reason to go alone usually isn’t cost.
The check bounced, the bank took $35, and payroll isn’t answering. You haven’t been paid late — you haven’t been paid at all, and in most states your employer now owes you more than the face amount of that check
Part-time work counts toward FMLA — there’s no full-time requirement. What matters is 1,250 hours in the preceding year, which averages about 24 hours a week. The catch: paid vacation, sick days and holidays don’t count toward it, and neither does last year’s FMLA leave.
Why did you leave your last job? Learn how to answer the interview question honestly — whether you were laid off, quit, or fired — with sample answers for every situation and the phrasings that cost people offers.
What is constructive dismissal? Learn when quitting your job can legally count as being fired, common examples, the test courts use, and what to do if your employer is pushing you out.
What should you do if your employer doesn’t pay you? Learn how to document unpaid wages, request payment, understand your rights, and escalate the problem if your employer refuses to pay.
