Wage & Hour Guides

Step-by-step overtime math under the FLSA: the regular rate, which hours count toward 40, time and a half with real paychecks, salaried non-exempt pay, holidays, and daily-overtime states.

Every state's 2026 minimum wage, from the $7.25 federal floor up to $17.95 in Washington, D.C., plus which states raised pay in January and which raise it mid-year.

Whether you get overtime depends on exempt status, not salary. The 2026 federal threshold and how it got here, the duties tests, salaried non-exempt overtime math, and common misclassification.

When your last paycheck is due if you quit or were fired, what it must include, what an employer can deduct, California's waiting-time penalty with a worked example, and how severance fits in.

How the tip credit works, the $2.13 federal tipped wage, the seven states that ban tip credits, and how to check whether your tips are actually making up the difference.

California counts overtime by the day as well as the week: time and a half after 8 hours, double time after 12, and special seventh-day pay. Worked examples with real numbers, and the federal double-time myth.

Which states require employers to pay out accrued vacation when you leave, where use-it-or-lose-it policies are legal, and how to value the PTO in your final paycheck.

A line-by-line guide to your pay stub: earnings, hours, tax withholding, deduction codes, and the four checks that reveal whether your employer is shorting you.

The IRS common-law test, the FLSA economic-reality test, and the real cost of being called a 1099 contractor when you're legally an employee owed overtime and minimum wage.

Federal law doesn't require breaks, but many states do. Here's which states mandate paid rest breaks and unpaid meal breaks, when short breaks must be paid, and the penalties for missed breaks.

Federal CCPA limits cap most garnishments at 25% of disposable income or 30 times the minimum wage. Here's how the rules work for ordinary debts, child support, taxes, and how state law can protect more.

The FLSA rules on travel time pay in 2026: why your commute isn't paid, when day trips and overnight travel are, and how unpaid travel can hide thousands in back pay.

The FLSA test for on-call pay in 2026: engaged-to-wait vs waiting-to-be-engaged, when standby time is paid, and how restrictive on-call policies can owe you wages.

Federal tip pooling rules for 2026: how the tip credit changes who can join the pool, why managers and owners are banned, and when back-of-house can share tips.

Your overtime isn't always 1.5x your base wage. Learn what the regular rate of pay includes in 2026, bonuses, shift differentials, commissions, and what it excludes.

Biweekly (26 checks) vs semimonthly (24 checks): how each works, why semimonthly can hide overtime, and how to convert a salary to an hourly rate with the 2,080-hour method.

Wage theft is any time an employer pays less than the law requires. The common forms, a worked off-the-clock example, how much you can recover, and where to report it.

Filing a wage claim with the DOL or your state agency is free and does not need a lawyer. What to gather, a worked claim amount, how to file in five steps, and what happens after.

How to file a Department of Labor wage complaint: what the form asks, an example narrative, how the investigation works, FY2025 recovery figures, and state agencies to file with too.

Back pay is wages you were legally owed but never received. Under the FLSA you can recover up to three years of it, plus liquidated damages that often double your total. Here is how it works.

The FLSA gives you two years to recover unpaid wages, three if the violation was willful. Many states allow four to six. Every week you wait quietly narrows your recovery.

How to write a demand letter for unpaid wages, with a fill-in template and a worked calculation. What to include, how to send it, and what to do if your employer ignores it.

Do you need an attorney for unpaid wages? Wage lawyers usually work on contingency (typically 25% to 40%) and the FLSA can make the employer pay your fees. A labor board comparison and a worked example.

Most states follow the federal 40-hour rule, but California, Alaska, Nevada, and Colorado add daily overtime, and several states set much higher exempt salary thresholds. Know your state, or you undercount your pay.

Private-sector employers cannot legally swap comp time for cash overtime, even if you agree to it. Only public-sector employers can, under strict FLSA limits. Here is how to tell the difference.

How unpaid overtime hides on a pay stub, a worked back-pay example with real numbers, and the realistic routes for recovering up to three years of wages plus liquidated damages.

A late or bounced paycheck is a wage violation in most states, often with penalties on top of the wages owed. Here's what to do in the first 24 hours, and how the penalties work.

Working from home doesn't change your overtime rights, but it does change how hours get tracked and missed. Here's what remote and hybrid non-exempt workers need to watch for.

Yes, in most jobs employers can require overtime and fire you for refusing. See the real exceptions, then check your pay with our free calculator.