Are you owed pay from a San Antonio 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
- My manager clocks me out at close, then has me restock and mop the River Walk patio after I'm off the clock. The law calls it → possible off-the-clock work and 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.
Texas has no state overtime or break law, so San Antonio pay claims run on two tracks: the federal FLSA covers overtime after 40 hours in a workweek and the federal minimum wage through the U.S. Department of Labor, while the Texas Payday Law governs pay timing and unpaid wages through the Texas Workforce Commission.
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 San Antonio.
- 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 each payment was owed, not from when you left the job.
- The FLSA runs on a different calendar: generally two years to recover unpaid overtime or minimum wages, and three years if the violation was willful. Each underpaid payday can push the oldest weeks out of reach.
- A salary, a manager title, or an independent-contractor label does not settle whether you were owed overtime; the FLSA duties tests and the economic-reality test do.
- Because Texas has no state overtime or break statute, there is no daily-overtime or mandatory-meal-break claim here. The recoverable theories come from the FLSA and the Texas Payday Law, and each has its own deadline and filing path.
Local filing and enforcement information for San Antonio workers.
The sources below are public agency actions and filing information, not this firm's cases. They illustrate how claims have been handled and do not predict the outcome of another matter.
- Energy-sector water services, San Antonio U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division investigation of Water Energy Services LLC (San Antonio): recovered more than $1.1 million in back wages for 238 employees after the company missed payroll on December 26, 2022 and January 8, 2023, causing federal minimum-wage and overtime violations under the FLSA (announced September 20, 2023). official source ↗
These are public government enforcement actions by the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division or the state labor agency, not this firm's cases. Agency and state filing routes for San Antonio follow below.
Where do you file a wage and hour claim in San Antonio?
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, San Antonio District Office
Serves San Antonio and the surrounding South-Central Texas region from its Northchase 1 office building.
10127 Morocco, Suite 140San Antonio, TX 78216
(210) 308-4515 WHD complaint / inquiry form →
Bexar County Civil District Courts
Bexar County Courthouse100 Dolorosa
San Antonio, TX 78205
The filing path, step by step
- 1Preserve schedules, time records, pay stubs, written pay policies, texts about work before or after a shift, and your own best estimate of the hours you actually worked.
- 2For unpaid wages or a late final paycheck, the Texas Payday Law (Tex. Lab. Code ch. 61) lets you file a wage claim with the Texas Workforce Commission, but only within 180 days of the date the wages were due, and the date the claim is received controls.
- 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, by phone, or through the San Antonio District Office at 10127 Morocco, Suite 140.
- 4Texas has no state overtime or daily-break law, so overtime and minimum-wage questions run through the FLSA while pay-timing questions run through the Payday Law. A lawyer can decide whether an agency claim, an individual FLSA suit, or a collective action fits the pay practice affecting you and your coworkers.
Asked by San Antonio workers.
I'm salaried and manage a River Walk restaurant, but I mostly cook and bus tables. Am I owed overtime?
Possibly. Under the FLSA, a salary and a manager title do not create an overtime exemption by themselves; the actual duties, salary level, and discretion you exercise control. Texas adds no separate overtime law, so the federal test governs. Save your schedules and a description of a typical week.
My San Antonio employer paid my final check three weeks after firing me. Is that allowed?
The Texas Payday Law requires final wages within six calendar days of a discharge, and by the next regular payday when you resign. A late final paycheck can support a wage claim with the Texas Workforce Commission, filed within 180 days of when the wages were due.
Does Texas require paid meal or rest breaks like some states?
No. Texas has no state law mandating meal or rest breaks for most adult workers. If you are not fully relieved of duties during a break, though, that time is generally hours worked under the FLSA and must be paid. Keep records of any breaks you worked through.
Should I go to the Texas Workforce Commission or the U.S. Department of Labor?
It depends on the problem. Unpaid wages and late final pay fit the Texas Payday Law through the Texas Workforce Commission; unpaid overtime and sub-minimum-wage pay fit the FLSA through the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division. Some facts support both routes, but their deadlines and remedies are not identical.
I'm a contractor's employee at JBSA-Lackland working unpaid overtime. Am I covered?
If you work for a private contractor, the FLSA still requires overtime after 40 hours in a workweek regardless of the base setting, and Service Contract Act rules may set wage rates on federal contracts. Uniformed service members and federal civilian employees follow separate processes.