Pay Rules and Your Rights
What the law requires of an employer, and how it varies by jurisdiction.
Most of what governs your pay is not federal. Federal law sets a wage floor of $7.25, requires overtime above 40 hours in a workweek, and prohibits pay discrimination — and then stops. It says nothing about how often you are paid, when a final paycheck is due, whether you get a pay stub, whether ranges appear in job postings, or whether you get a break. Your state fills all of that in, differently.
People assume there is a national rulebook for pay. There is a thin one, and almost every question that actually comes up is answered somewhere else.
What federal law does cover
A minimum wage of $7.25, unchanged since July 2009. Time-and-a-half above 40 hours in a workweek unless a genuine exemption applies. Equal pay for equal work, and a prohibition on compensation discrimination. Child labor limits. That is close to the whole of it.
What it does not
No federal rule requires a pay stub, sets how often you must be paid, sets a deadline for a final paycheck beyond the next regular payday, requires meal or rest breaks, requires severance, or requires a salary range in a job posting. Every one of those is a state question, and the answers differ enough that two people doing identical work in different states have materially different rights.
Where the law has moved most recently
Three things changed in ways that make older guidance actively wrong. The 2024 overtime rule was vacated and then formally rescinded in May 2026, so the salary threshold is back to $684 a week. The executive order governing federal contractor pay and affirmative action was revoked in January 2025. And the test for whether you are an employee or a contractor now depends on who is asking, because the Department of Labor, private litigation and state law each apply a different standard.
What to do when you think something is wrong
Start by writing down what actually happened, with dates and figures, while you still have access to the systems that hold them. Most pay disputes are decided on documentation rather than argument, and the person who kept a record wins more often than the person who was right.
Then check your state before you check federal law. On almost every question here — breaks, final paychecks, deductions, notice — your state is the more generous of the two, and it is the one that will actually resolve your problem.
This is not legal advice
It is written to help you understand your position and ask better questions. Where money, a deadline or a signature is involved — a severance agreement especially — your state labor agency and an employment lawyer are the right next step, and most employment lawyers assess a case at no cost.
In this guide
Getting Paid Correctly
10 articles →Minimum Wage
10 articles →Overtime and Hours
10 articles →Pay Equity
10 articles →Pay Transparency Laws
10 articles →Common questions
What does federal law actually guarantee about pay?
A $7.25 minimum wage, overtime above 40 hours a week unless exempt, equal pay for equal work, and child labor limits. Very little beyond that.
Is my employer required to give me a pay stub?
Not under federal law. Most states require one, and what it must contain varies between them.
Am I entitled to a break?
Federal law requires no meal or rest break at all. It only governs how breaks you do get are paid. Many states do require them.
When is my final paycheck due?
Federally, the next regular payday. Many states set a specific deadline, and several distinguish between being fired and resigning.
What is the overtime salary threshold now?
$684 a week. The 2024 rule that would have raised it was vacated and formally rescinded in May 2026, so figures like $58,656 are out of date.
Is this legal advice?
No. It is written to help you understand your position and ask better questions, and it points to your state labor agency and to employment lawyers where that is the right step.
Where the Jobs Are Going
That covers your rights in the job you have. The last guide is about where the work itself is heading.
Read it →