Are you owed pay from a Reno job?
Unpaid overtime, missed meal or rest breaks, off-the-clock work and unreimbursed expenses may be unlawful. Retaliation after you asked about pay may be unlawful too.
If your workplace rights were violated, you may be able to pursue the wages you earned and, where the law provides, penalties and interest.
Not sure the math is off? You can request a review even without your pay records in hand.
What wage theft can look like, and what the law calls it.
Wage violations are usually quiet and routine, a timekeeping habit, a job title, a 'that's just how we do it.' What matters is whether you were paid what the law requires for the hours you actually worked.
I clock out when the schedule says, then keep working, because the work isn't done.
The law calls it → possible off-the-clock work
- I regularly work through breaks because there's no coverage. The law calls it → possible missed-break violation
- I'm salaried with a manager title, but I do the same work as the hourly crew. The law calls it → possible misclassification
- My hours changed after I asked about my pay. The law calls it → possible retaliation
- The badge-in reads eight hours, but the security screening, the equipment check, and the shift handoff all happen before and after the time the system records. The law calls it → possible off-the-clock work and unpaid overtime
These cover unpaid overtime, off-the-clock work, missed meal and rest breaks, misclassification (exempt or contractor), unpaid final wages, retaliation for raising pay issues, in any industry. If something here is familiar, you don't have to be sure before you ask.
Illustrative situations, not client accounts.
If you work in Reno's warehouses, casinos, or factories, Nevada law entitles most nonexempt employees to pay for all hours worked. Overtime is owed after forty hours in a week, and, for workers earning below the statutory pay threshold, after eight hours in a single day. Meal and rest breaks, and prompt final pay, are also required.
What could taking action help you recover?
Depending on the facts, legal action may help recover unpaid wages, address missed breaks and off-the-clock work, and correct the practice going forward. Available remedies depend on the facts and applicable law; no outcome is guaranteed.
Unpaid wages or overtime
Hours worked but never paid, including overtime premiums, may be recoverable for the statutory period.
Missed-break and off-the-clock pay
Compensation may be available for missed meal or rest periods and for work performed before or after the clock.
Expense reimbursement and related pay
Necessary work expenses, and wages tied to them, may be reimbursable depending on the state and the facts.
Statutory relief where applicable
Some claims carry interest, statutory amounts, or fee-shifting; which apply depends on the claim and jurisdiction.
You do not need complete pay records, or certainty that your paycheck was wrong, before asking what your options are.
Common concerns we hear from workers about pay
I do not have complete time records.
Employers generally must keep time and pay records. Missing records are common in these cases, and schedules, messages, badge data, and coworker accounts can help reconstruct hours.
I was paid a salary.
A salary or job title does not by itself make you exempt from overtime. Exemption generally depends on your actual duties and pay, not the label.
I signed an arbitration agreement.
An arbitration agreement can change where a claim is heard, not necessarily whether you have one. It is worth reviewing before assuming it closes the door.
I still work there.
You can ask questions while still employed. Retaliating against a worker for asserting wage rights may itself be unlawful.
Some of the work happened before or after my shift.
Time an employer knows or should know is being worked, including pre-shift and post-shift tasks, may be compensable.
Erika Smolyar
Associate · Admitted in Nevada
Erika Smolyar leads the firm's Nevada cases and represents employees in workplace harassment, discrimination, and retaliation matters. She is licensed in Nevada and California.
Read Erika's full bio →Selected wage-and-hour class and representative action results.
$17M
Health-care workforce · approximately 30,000 workers · Meal and rest break class action
Proposed settlement · preliminary approval granted
$16M
Health-care workforce · approximately 23,900 workers · Meal and rest break class action
Final approval
$14M
Grocery workforce · California · Rest break PAGA settlement
Final · co-lead counsel
$10.94M
Health-care workforce · approximately 11,600 workers · Meal break class action
Final approval
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case is different; the value and outcome of your matter will depend on its specific facts.
What happens after you reach out?
You don't need documents, a lawyer-ready story, or even certainty that what happened was illegal.
- 01
Talk with us
A short initial conversation about what happened and when.
- 02
We assess the record
We identify possible claims, deadlines and evidence that may matter.
- 03
If we take the case
We handle the filing strategy, negotiations and litigation.
Deadlines can depend on where and how you file
Nevada and federal claims may follow different filing routes. These are general time limits, not sequential steps.
Generally, for common private Nevada wage actions.
Other claims and exceptions may have different or shorter deadlines. Contact counsel promptly so the applicable dates can be reviewed.
Full Nevada wage and hour law: deadlines, damages & agencies → Nevada law: deadlines & agencies →Share what happened in about two minutes. The firm will review your submission and contact you about possible options and next steps. There is no cost or obligation to request a review.
Deadlines and filing issues for workers in Reno.
- In Nevada, each underpaid paycheck can begin its own limitations clock. Delay does not merely postpone a case; it can push the earliest weeks of unpaid work outside the recoverable window.
- Common Nevada private wage actions generally allow two years, and the federal FLSA likewise runs two years, or three when the violation is willful. The longer period is not guaranteed.
- Filing with the Labor Commissioner follows its own intake window, which is separate from the court deadline. Do not assume that using one route keeps the other alive.
- A salary, a supervisor title, or a signed contractor agreement does not answer whether you were correctly classified; the duties you actually perform and the applicable legal test decide it.
- Nevada final-pay rules move fast: if you are fired, your wages are due immediately; if you quit, they are due by your next payday or within seven days, whichever comes first.
Where do you file a wage and hour claim in Reno?
Nevada Office of the Labor Commissioner
Carson City Office1818 College Parkway, Suite 102
Carson City, NV 89706
(775) 684-1890
The Nevada Labor Commissioner investigates nonpayment of wages, minimum-wage, overtime, and prevailing-wage complaints. Wage claims and complaints may be submitted through the agency's online portal.
State wage-claim filing →U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, Las Vegas District Office
There is no Wage and Hour Division office in Reno. The Las Vegas District Office covers the entire state of Nevada, including Washoe County and northern Nevada; federal wage complaints are filed online, by phone, or through that office.
333 Las Vegas Blvd South, Suite 5520Las Vegas, NV 89101
(702) 388-6001 WHD complaint / inquiry form →
Second Judicial District Court (Washoe County)
Washoe County Courthouse75 Court Street
Reno, NV 89501
The filing path, step by step
- 1Save your schedules, time punches, pay stubs, tip records, written pay policies, and any messages about work done before clocking in or after clocking out, then write down your own honest estimate of the hours you actually worked.
- 2For a Nevada wage claim, file with the Office of the Labor Commissioner at labor.nv.gov; the northern-Nevada office nearest Reno is in Carson City at 1818 College Parkway, Suite 102. NRS Chapter 608 covers unpaid wages, overtime, meal and rest periods, and final pay.
- 3For a federal minimum-wage or overtime concern, contact the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division through its online complaint form or by phone; there is no Reno WHD office, so northern Nevada is served by the Las Vegas District Office at 333 Las Vegas Blvd South, Suite 5520.
- 4Nevada and federal wage routes carry different coverage rules, remedies, and clocks. A lawyer can tell whether an agency claim, an individual lawsuit, or a collective or class action best fits the pay practice affecting you and your coworkers.
Wage-and-hour information in other Nevada cities
View all Nevada wage and hour locations →Asked by Reno workers.
I sometimes work more than eight hours a day at my Reno warehouse. When does Nevada overtime kick in?
It turns on your pay rate. Nevada applies a two-tier rule: overtime is due after forty hours in a workweek for most employees, and additionally after eight hours in one workday for employees paid below the statutory pay threshold. Whether the daily rule reaches you depends on that rate.
Do I get a meal break and rest breaks on a full shift at a Reno casino?
Generally yes for covered nonexempt workers. Nevada provides a thirty-minute meal period for a continuous eight-hour shift and a paid ten-minute rest period for every four hours worked, subject to the governing rules and exceptions. Note any shift where a break was skipped or cut short.
I resigned from a Reno hotel job, when is my last paycheck due?
When you quit, Nevada requires final wages by your next regular payday or within seven days, whichever is earlier. If you had been fired instead, the wages would be due immediately. A late final check can carry added penalties.
Should I go to the Nevada Labor Commissioner or the U.S. Department of Labor?
The Nevada Office of the Labor Commissioner enforces state wage law under NRS Chapter 608; the nearest office to Reno is in Carson City. The U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division enforces the federal FLSA. Some facts fit both, but their coverage, remedies, and deadlines differ.
I'm salaried at a Reno company but do the same tasks as the hourly crew. Could I still be owed overtime?
Possibly. A salary and a title do not by themselves create an overtime exemption. Your actual duties, pay level, and the governing Nevada and federal tests decide it. Keep your schedules and a description of what you really do in a typical week.
Can one Reno worker bring a wage case for the whole crew?
Sometimes. When a single timekeeping, break, or classification practice hits workers the same way, a claim can proceed as an FLSA collective action or on behalf of a class, subject to the requirements for that procedure.