Are you owed pay from an Austin 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 festival week ran past seventy hours, but my check stopped at forty and the setup before doors was never logged. The law calls it → unpaid FLSA overtime and off-the-clock work
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.
Austin workers who are not exempt earn overtime under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act once they pass forty hours in a workweek, plus the federal minimum wage, Texas adds no overtime or break law of its own. The Texas Payday Law separately sets when wages are due and allows a Workforce Commission claim within 180 days.
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.
Craig J. Ackermann
Shareholder · Admitted in Texas
Craig Ackermann represents Texas employees in harassment, discrimination, retaliation, and wage matters. He is licensed in California, Washington, and Texas.
Read Craig'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
Texas and federal claims may follow different filing routes. These are general time limits, not sequential steps.
Generally, to file a Texas Payday Law wage claim with the Texas Workforce Commission.
Generally, for a federal FLSA claim.
Generally, for a federal FLSA claim based on a willful violation.
Other claims and exceptions may have different or shorter deadlines. Contact counsel promptly so the applicable dates can be reviewed.
Fair Labor Standards Act and Texas Payday Law
29 U.S.C. §§ 201–219; Tex. Lab. Code ch. 61
Primary source, 29 U.S.C. §§ 201–219; Tex. Lab. Code ch. 61 ↗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 Austin.
- The Texas Payday Law claim must reach the Texas Workforce Commission within 180 days of the date each unpaid amount became due, measured from when the wages were due, not from when you left the job.
- The federal FLSA runs on a separate clock: two years to recover back overtime or minimum wage, three years if the violation was willful, independent of the 180-day Payday Law window.
- Every underpaid paycheck can start its own clock, so delay can push the earliest weeks of unpaid work outside whichever deadline applies.
- Texas has no state overtime law and no required meal or rest breaks, so an unpaid-overtime case usually stands or falls on the federal FLSA, let its two- or three-year window lapse and the claim can be gone.
- A salary, a supervisor title, or a 1099 agreement does not decide whether overtime was owed; the real duties and the governing federal test do.
Where do you file a wage and hour claim in Austin?
Texas Workforce Commission Wage and Hour Department
Wage and Hour Department101 East 15th Street, Room 514
Austin, TX 78778
1-800-832-9243
A Texas Payday Law claim may be filed online or submitted on the official wage-claim form. TWC wage claims generally must be filed within 180 days after the wages were due.
State wage-claim filing →U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, Austin District Office
Housed in the J.J. Pickle Federal Building downtown, the Austin District Office covers enforcement across the greater Central Texas area, including Travis, Williamson, and Hays counties.
300 East 8th Street, Suite 865Austin, TX 78701
(512) 916-5638 WHD complaint / inquiry form →
Travis County Civil District Courts
Travis County Civil & Family Courts Facility1700 Guadalupe Street
Austin, TX 78701
Federal (FLSA): U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas, Austin Division
The filing path, step by step
- 1Save your schedules, time punches, pay stubs, your offer letter or written pay agreement, and any texts about work before or after a shift, plus your own honest estimate of the hours you actually worked.
- 2For wages you were promised but not paid, including a missing final check, file a Texas Payday Law wage claim with the Texas Workforce Commission within 180 days of the date the wages were due, online or by mail to the TWC Labor Law Section, 101 E. 15th St., Room 514, Austin, TX 78778.
- 3For federal minimum-wage or overtime problems, contact the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division through its online complaint form, by phone, or at the Austin District Office, 300 East 8th Street, Suite 865 (J.J. Pickle Federal Building), Austin, TX 78701.
- 4The Payday Law and the FLSA cover different things on different clocks. A lawyer can weigh whether a TWC claim, a federal wage claim, an individual lawsuit, or an FLSA collective action best fits the pay practice affecting you and your coworkers.
Asked by Austin workers.
I'm salaried at an Austin startup but do the same work as the hourly team. Can I still be owed overtime?
Possibly. Under the federal FLSA, a salary and a title do not by themselves make you exempt, the actual duties, the salary level, and the governing federal test decide it. Texas has no separate overtime law, so the FLSA is usually the route. Keep your schedules and a description of a typical week.
Should I file with the Texas Workforce Commission or the U.S. Department of Labor?
It depends on the problem. The Texas Payday Law, enforced by the Workforce Commission, covers wages you were promised but not paid, including unpaid final pay, with a strict 180-day window measured from when the wages were due. The federal FLSA, enforced by the U.S. Department of Labor, covers minimum wage and overtime. Some situations support both.
My Austin employer still hasn't paid my last check, how long do they have?
Under the Texas Payday Law, a worker who is fired or laid off must be paid within six calendar days of discharge, and a worker who quits must be paid by the next regular payday. If that passes, you can file a wage claim with the Texas Workforce Commission within 180 days of the date the wages were due.
Do I get paid meal and rest breaks at my Austin job?
Texas does not require employers to give meal or rest breaks at all. But under the federal FLSA, short breaks you are allowed are generally paid, and if you work through an unpaid meal period the time is usually compensable. Note any breaks you were told to log but did not actually take.