Are you owed pay from a Fort Worth 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 day rate is supposed to cover however long the job runs, so the ninety-hour weeks out at the well site never show up as overtime on any check. The law calls it → possible misclassification 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.
Texas has no state overtime or break law, so most Fort Worth wage claims run on the federal FLSA, which requires overtime after forty hours in a workweek and the federal minimum wage. The Texas Payday Law governs when wages and final pay are owed, with a 180-day Texas Workforce Commission claim window.
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 Fort Worth.
- A Texas Payday Law wage claim must reach the Texas Workforce Commission within 180 days of the date each payment was due, the agency measures from when the wages were owed, and it dismisses claims that arrive late.
- The federal FLSA runs on a separate clock: generally two years to recover unpaid overtime or minimum wages, and three years when the violation was willful. Each underpaid paycheck can start its own period, so the oldest weeks drop off first.
- A salary, a manager title, a day rate, or an independent-contractor agreement does not by itself decide whether you were owed overtime; the work performed and the governing FLSA test control.
- The Texas Payday Law and the FLSA do not share a deadline or a filing path. Identify every route that may apply before relying on the longest period.
Where do you file a wage and hour claim in Fort Worth?
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, Dallas District Office
The Dallas District Office is physically located in Arlington and serves the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, including Fort Worth and Tarrant County.
1701 E. Lamar Blvd., Suite 270, Box 22Arlington, TX 76006
(817) 861-2150 WHD complaint / inquiry form →
Tarrant County Civil District Courts
Tom Vandergriff Civil Courts Building100 N. Calhoun Street
Fort Worth, TX 76196
The filing path, step by step
- 1Preserve schedules, time records, pay stubs, written pay policies, messages about work before or after a shift, and your own best estimate of the hours you actually worked.
- 2For unpaid or late wages and final pay, file a wage claim with the Texas Workforce Commission under the Texas Payday Law within 180 days of the date the wages were due (https://www.twc.texas.gov/programs/wage-and-hour). The TWC measures the 180 days from when each payment was owed.
- 3For a federal minimum-wage or overtime concern, contact the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division through its complaint and inquiry form or by phone, or through the Dallas District Office, which sits in Arlington at 1701 E. Lamar Blvd., Suite 270, and serves the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex.
- 4The Texas Payday Law and the federal FLSA cover different problems and run on different clocks. A lawyer can determine whether a TWC claim, a federal complaint, an individual court case, or a collective action fits the pay practice affecting you and your coworkers.
Asked by Fort Worth workers.
I'm salaried at a Fort Worth company but do the same work as the hourly crew. Can I still be owed overtime?
Possibly. A salary and a title do not by themselves make you exempt under the FLSA. Actual duties, salary level, and the applicable federal test decide it. Texas has no separate state overtime law, so the FLSA's forty-hour-per-week standard is what usually governs. Keep your schedules and a description of a typical week.
Does Texas require paid meal or rest breaks at my Fort Worth job?
No. Texas has no state law requiring meal or rest breaks for most adult workers, and neither does federal law. But if your employer automatically deducts a meal break you actually worked through, that worked time can still be compensable under the FLSA, save the records showing you kept working.
My Fort Worth employer hasn't paid my final paycheck, what can I do?
The Texas Payday Law sets when final wages are due: within six calendar days of discharge, or by the next regular payday if you resigned. If the employer misses that, you can file a wage claim with the Texas Workforce Commission within 180 days of the date the pay was due.
Should I file with the Texas Workforce Commission or the U.S. Department of Labor?
They cover different problems. The TWC enforces the Texas Payday Law for unpaid or late wages and final pay; the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division enforces the federal FLSA, including overtime and the minimum wage. Some facts support both routes, but their coverage, remedies, and deadlines are not identical.