Pay concern

Add the situation pack — about $19.99

Pay Situation Pack

A clear picture of the money in dispute, how pay concerns are usually resolved, and where people take them if they aren't.

• The amounts and pay periods in dispute, listed clearly
• Pay records to gather and keep
• How employers usually respond, and typical timescales
• General information about the agencies that handle wage complaints

Which state do you work in?

We ask this in the builder before using any state-specific information. Where we don't hold reviewed content for your state, we say so rather than guessing.

General information sources we draw on

• The Wage and Hour Division explains how to file a complaint about federal wage rules such as minimum wage and overtime, what information to gather first (pay stubs, hours worked, employer details), and that complaints are treated confidentially. Many states also have their own labor agency, and state rules can differ from the federal position.

  U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division

• Federal law sets a general two-year limit for bringing a Fair Labor Standards Act claim, extended to three years where the violation is willful. State time limits can be different. Whether a limit applies to your situation, and when it started running, is not something RightWords determines.

  29 U.S. Code § 255 (Fair Labor Standards Act statute of limitations)

• EEOC guidance explains that retaliation for raising a discrimination concern is treated as a separate issue from the concern itself, and that protection can apply even where the original complaint is not upheld, provided it was raised in good faith. Keeping a dated record of what you raised and what happened afterwards is generally useful.

  U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission