Are you owed pay from a Houston 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
- On the plant turnaround my hitch runs well past forty hours, but the day rate never changes no matter how long the shift goes. The law calls it → possible unpaid overtime under the FLSA
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.
Nonexempt Houston workers are owed federal overtime after forty hours in a workweek and the federal minimum wage, enforced by the U.S. Department of Labor. Texas has no overtime or break law of its own; the Texas Payday Law lets you file a Workforce Commission wage claim within 180 days of a missed payday.
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 Houston.
- A Texas Payday Law wage claim must reach the Texas Workforce Commission within 180 days of the date each payment came due; the agency uses the date it receives the claim, so older unpaid weeks can fall outside that window while you wait.
- The federal FLSA runs on a different clock: generally two years to recover unpaid overtime or minimum wage, and three years if the violation was willful. Each missed paycheck can start its own period.
- A salary, a manager title, or an independent-contractor agreement does not decide whether you were exempt from overtime; the actual duties and the governing federal test control.
- Texas has no state overtime law and no state meal-or-rest-break law, so an overtime claim generally runs through the federal FLSA. Identify every route before assuming the Payday Law's wages-due window is your only clock.
Where do you file a wage and hour claim in Houston?
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, Houston District Office
Located in southwest Houston, the district office serves Houston, Harris County, and a wide area of Southeast Texas.
8701 S. Gessner Drive, Suite 1164Houston, TX 77074-2944
(713) 339-5500 WHD complaint / inquiry form →
Harris County Civil District Courts
Harris County Civil Courthouse201 Caroline Street
Houston, TX 77002
The filing path, step by step
- 1Preserve pay stubs, time records, schedules, your offer letter or pay agreement, texts about hours worked, and your own best estimate of the hours you actually worked each week.
- 2For a state claim, the Texas Payday Law lets you file with the Texas Workforce Commission within 180 days after the wages were due. The TWC route can recover wages an employer agreed to pay, including a late or withheld final paycheck.
- 3For a federal minimum-wage or overtime problem, contact the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division through its online complaint form, by phone, or through the Houston District Office at 8701 S. Gessner Drive, Suite 1164.
- 4The state Payday Law route and the federal FLSA route have different coverage, remedies, and deadlines. A lawyer can weigh a TWC claim, a DOL complaint, an individual FLSA lawsuit, or a collective action covering coworkers paid the same way.
Asked by Houston workers.
Does Texas have its own overtime or daily-overtime law?
No. Texas has no state overtime law and no daily-overtime rule. Covered nonexempt employees rely on the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, which requires overtime at one and one-half times the regular rate after forty hours in a workweek. The U.S. Department of Labor enforces it.
I'm salaried at a Houston energy company but do the same work as the hourly crew. Am I still owed overtime?
Possibly. A salary and a job title do not by themselves make you exempt under the FLSA. The actual duties, the salary level, and the applicable federal exemption test decide it. Keep your schedules and a description of what you do in a typical week.
Is my Houston employer required to give me meal or rest breaks?
Generally no. Neither Texas law nor federal law requires most private employers to provide meal or rest breaks. But if you are made to work through an unpaid meal period, or work off the clock, that time is generally compensable under the FLSA, and short breaks that are offered are usually paid.
My Houston job hasn't paid my final paycheck. What does Texas law say?
The Texas Payday Law sets the timing. After a discharge, final wages are generally due within six days; after you resign, they are due by the next regular payday. If the employer misses that, you can file a wage claim with the Texas Workforce Commission within 180 days of the date those wages were due.
Should I file with the Texas Workforce Commission or the U.S. Department of Labor?
It depends on the claim. The TWC enforces the Texas Payday Law, which is mainly about wages an employer agreed to pay and when they must be paid. The U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division enforces the federal FLSA, including overtime and minimum wage. Some facts support both, but their coverage, remedies, and deadlines are not the same.
Can one Houston worker bring a wage case that also covers coworkers paid the same way?
Sometimes. When one pay practice, timekeeping method, or misclassification affects a group the same way, the FLSA allows a collective action that similarly situated workers can join. Whether it fits depends on the facts and the requirements for that procedure.