What to Do If Your Employer Doesn’t Pay You

Last updated: September 15, 2026

You worked the hours. The money never came, or came short. Maybe the boss says the client hasn’t paid yet, maybe the last check for the week you quit simply never arrived, maybe you are being paid a flat daily rate for twelve-hour days and nobody has ever mentioned overtime.

This is the most common financial harm done to immigrant workers in the United States, and it has a name: wage theft. It is also one of the few problems in this guide where the federal government will investigate on your behalf, for free, without asking about your immigration status.

That last part is not an opinion. The U.S. Department of Labor states plainly that its Wage and Hour Division “enforces the law without regard to an employee’s immigration status.” This guide explains what counts as wage theft, how to document it so you actually win, and exactly where to file.

What actually counts as wage theft

Most people picture an employer refusing to pay at all. That is only one version, and not the most common. All of these are violations:

• Not paying the minimum wage. The federal minimum applies everywhere, and many states and cities set a higher one — you are owed whichever is higher.
• No overtime. If you are covered by federal wage law, hours over 40 in a week generally must be paid at one and a half times your regular rate. A flat “day rate” does not cancel that.
• Off-the-clock work. Setting up before the shift, cleaning after closing, waiting at the shop for the crew, driving between job sites during the day.
• Illegal deductions. Charging you for tools, uniforms, breakage or cash-register shortages when it pushes your pay below the minimum wage.
• Taking tips. Tips belong to the worker; a manager or owner keeping a share is generally unlawful.
• The last paycheck. Quitting or being fired does not cancel wages already earned.
• Being called a “contractor” when you are an employee. Giving you a 1099 instead of a W-2 does not by itself make you a contractor. What matters is how much control the employer has over your work — and misclassification is often how overtime gets erased.
• Paying in cash with no record. Cash pay is not illegal by itself, but when there are no pay stubs it is usually designed to make the hours unprovable.

Your status does not change your right to be paid

This is the part that keeps people silent, so it is worth being precise. Federal wage law protects employees who did the work. The Wage and Hour Division investigates and recovers unpaid wages without regard to immigration status, complaints are confidential — the agency does not disclose the name of the person who filed or the nature of the complaint — and there is no charge to file or to be investigated.

Retaliation is also illegal. Under federal wage law, a worker cannot be fired or discriminated against for filing a complaint or giving information in an investigation. If it happens, that is a second violation you can report.

Step 1 — Build your record before anything else

Wage cases are won on documentation, and the employer controls the official records. Your own record is evidence too, and a consistent, detailed one carries real weight.

Collect this	Why it matters
A daily log of hours	Date, start time, end time, breaks, where you worked. Write it the same day. A note on your phone is fine.
Pay stubs and deposits	Photos of every stub, or bank deposits showing what actually arrived versus what was promised.
Messages	Texts and WhatsApp about schedules, pay, or promises. Screenshot them — do not rely on the chat still existing later.
Employer details	Full business name, address of the worksite, the boss’s name and phone, and the company name on any check.
Witnesses	Names and numbers of coworkers in the same situation. Group claims are stronger than single ones.

If you never kept a log, reconstruct it from memory now, with whatever anchors you have: photos with timestamps, bus passes, deliveries, messages. An honest reconstruction is far better than nothing.

Step 2 — Ask once, in writing

Many cases end here, because an employer who intended to stall realizes there is now a record. Send a short, calm message — text or email, so it is dated:

Specific numbers, no accusation, no threats. Keep the reply, whatever it is — a refusal in writing is useful evidence, and so is silence.

Step 3 — File with the Wage and Hour Division

This is the federal route, and it costs nothing. The Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor takes complaints by phone or in person through its local offices. Bring or have ready:

• Your name and a phone number where they can reach you
• The name and address of the business, and the manager or owner’s name
• What kind of work you did and how you were paid
• Your record of the hours worked and the amounts received

You do not need a lawyer, and you do not need to have your case perfectly organized before you call. Start at dol.gov/agencies/whd, and note that the division also answers questions by phone in Spanish.

Step 4 — Your state labor office is a second door

Every state has its own labor department or wage-claim process, and in many states it is faster than the federal route for smaller amounts, with its own minimum wage and its own rules on final paychecks. Using your state’s process does not prevent you from having talked to the federal one. Search for your state’s name plus “labor department wage claim” to find the official page.

The deadline is real

Federal wage claims carry a two-year limit, extended to three years when the violation was willful. Every month you wait is a month of wages falling off the back end of the claim. If it has been over a year, that is a reason to move now, not a reason to give up.

Check whether money is already waiting for you

When the Department of Labor recovers wages and cannot locate the worker, it holds the money. There is a public search tool — Workers Owed Wages — where you can enter an employer’s name and see whether there are unclaimed wages in your name from a past investigation. It takes two minutes and it is worth checking for every company you have worked for.

Four things not to do

• Do not sign anything you cannot read. Especially a document presented as a “settlement” or a receipt — it may be a release giving up your claim.
• Do not accept a partial cash payment as final before you have calculated what you are actually owed, including overtime.
• Do not walk away without your record. Before you leave a job, screenshot your schedules and messages and photograph your stubs.
• Do not let the employer’s threats set the agenda. Threatening to report a worker’s immigration status in order to avoid paying wages is itself retaliation, and several states treat it as an additional violation.

Frequently asked questions

Can I claim wages if I was paid in cash?

Yes. Cash pay makes documentation harder, not the claim invalid. Your own hour log, deposits, messages and coworker testimony are what carry it.

Can I claim if I no longer work there?

Yes. Wages you already earned are owed whether you quit, were fired, or the business closed. The time limit runs from when the wages should have been paid.

Will my employer find out it was me?

The Wage and Hour Division states that complaints are confidential and that it does not disclose the complainant’s name or the nature of the complaint. In a small workplace an employer may still guess — which is exactly why retaliation is separately illegal and worth reporting if it happens.

What if I signed a paper saying I am a contractor?

A signature does not decide it. Whether you are an employee depends on the real working relationship and how much control the employer has over your work. Misclassified workers recover unpaid overtime regularly.

Do I need a lawyer?

No, and you do not need to pay one to start. The federal complaint is free. Legal aid organizations and worker centers also handle wage claims at no cost, and private employment lawyers often take these cases on contingency.

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