You worked the hours. The pay came up short. Three lawyers are ready to listen.

Yes. The law puts the duty to keep accurate time and pay records on the employer. When the employer did not keep them, or kept false ones, a worker can prove hours and pay through their own credible testimony and reasonable estimates. Cash pay is still pay, and off-the-books work is still work.

Retaliating against a worker for complaining about pay, even informally and even only to the boss, is illegal under federal, New York, New Jersey and Florida law. It can add a separate claim with its own remedies. If you still work there, tell us before you raise the issue at work, so the timing and the record can be planned.

Sending a message costs nothing. If the firm can take your case, we explain the terms and put them in writing before you sign anything. When a worker wins, the wage laws make the employer pay the worker’s reasonable attorney’s fees.

Not to whether you are owed wages. Federal wage law applies no matter your status, in every state, and the New York and New Jersey labor departments enforce their wage laws for every worker regardless of status. In New York, an employer who threatens to report a worker for complaining about pay commits a separate violation. Tell the lawyer about any concern so the case can be planned with it in mind.

Possibly. A salary or a title does not by itself remove the right to overtime. The employer has to prove that your actual duties fit an exemption and that you were paid a true salary above the legal threshold. In New York that threshold is well above the federal one. Many “assistant managers” who spend their day doing the crew’s work are owed overtime.

It depends on the law. The federal Fair Labor Standards Act generally reaches back two years, or three if the violation was willful. New York Labor Law and New Jersey’s wage laws reach back six years, and Florida’s minimum-wage law four, or five if willful. Each paycheck is its own claim, so the oldest weeks fall out of reach as time passes. Talking to a lawyer sooner protects more of the claim. The time-limit clock on our resources page shows the dates.

It depends on the facts and the laws that apply. In general the wage laws allow recovery of the unpaid wages themselves. Federal and New York law also allow a second, equal amount, called liquidated damages, unless the employer proves it acted in good faith. New Jersey allows up to twice the unpaid amount on top of the wages. New York adds interest and fixed statutory damages when required pay notices and pay statements were never given. If the case succeeds, the law requires the employer to pay the worker’s reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.

Which of these applies, and in what amount, is decided case by case. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.