Federal floor

Federal Floor — FLSA

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) sets the federal floor for minimum wage, overtime, and wage-claim filing. Most US workers are covered by FLSA in addition to any state-law overlay. State law typically supplements FLSA with stricter rules — find your state on /states.

Statute-verifiedLast verified May 8, 2026

Federal minimum wage

$7.25/hr

The federal minimum wage has been $7.25/hour since 2009. Many states impose higher minimums. The federal tipped-employee minimum wage is $2.13/hr (cash wage); the employer must make up the difference if tips don't bring total compensation to $7.25/hr.

29 U.S.C. §206(a)(1)

Federal overtime

40-hour workweek @ 1.5×

FLSA requires 1.5× regular rate for hours worked over 40 per workweek. State law may add daily overtime (CA over 8/day, CO over 12/day, AK over 8/day for weekly OT, NV special rule). Exempt vs. non-exempt classification is fact-specific — salary alone does not determine exemption.

29 U.S.C. §207(a)(1)

Federal final paycheck

No federal deadline; defers to state

FLSA imposes NO federal final-paycheck deadline. The Act does not require immediate payment upon termination; defers to state law. DOL guidance: contact state labor department or DOL WHD if regular payday for last pay period passes without payment.

Source-verification note: the DOL last-paycheck guidance page returned HTTP 403 to our automated fetch on 2026-05-08 — the rule text above was confirmed via DOL search snippet matching the same page; the link below is the canonical DOL URL.

DOL Wage & Hour Division — last paycheck

Statute of limitations

2 years (or 3 years if willful)

FLSA back-wage claims must be filed within 2 years of the violation, or 3years if the employer's violation was willful. State-law wage suits often have longer SOLs (CA 3-4 years, IL up to 10 years for written-contract). File the earlier one to preserve both.

29 U.S.C. §255(a)

File a federal wage claim

The DOL Wage & Hour Division (WHD) accepts complaints from any worker — including undocumented workers — about unpaid wages, unpaid overtime, and FLSA violations. Filing is free, no attorney needed. You can file online or by phone (1-866-487-9243). WHD does not charge fees and does not deduct from any back wages recovered.

If your wages are unpaid past the deadline

File a wage claim — start here

Federal: DOL Wage & Hour Division (1-866-487-9243). Free, no attorney needed.
State: Find your state's labor agency claim form. Often faster than federal for in-state employers.
Larger or willful claims: consult a licensed employment-law attorney. State-bar lawyer-referral services are the standard starting point. How to choose.

Some links above are referral-partner affiliate links once vetted; the federal and state government links are not. Lawyer referrals are subject to state-bar advertising rules in your jurisdiction.

Disclaimer: This page is informational and is not legal advice. Federal wage-and-hour rules are enforced by the DOL Wage & Hour Division; state wage laws are enforced by state labor agencies. Specific applications depend on facts your employer may dispute. WageTheftMap is a Desymphony portfolio property.