Getting Paid Correctly
Most pay problems are not disputes about what you are worth — they are arithmetic, deductions, deadlines and classification. Federal law sets very little here: no pay frequency requirement, no final paycheck deadline beyond the ordinary payday, and no rule requiring a pay stub at all. Almost everything specific comes from your state, and almost every claim has a limitation period already running.
This is the least glamorous part of pay and the part that costs people the most money, because the errors are small, routine and rarely challenged.
How little federal law says
There is no federal rule about how often you must be paid, no federal deadline for a final paycheck beyond the next regular payday, and no federal requirement to give you a pay stub. States fill all three gaps, differently, which is why a colleague in another state can have entirely different rights on identical facts.
Deductions are where employers get it wrong
Taxes and court-ordered garnishments are required. Benefits you elected are fine with authorisation. But deductions for cash shortages, breakages, uniforms and tools are for the employer's benefit, and federal law does not allow them to push you below the minimum wage or eat into overtime. Many states go further and require written consent for any deduction at all.
Classification changes everything, and the test is in flux
Whether you are an employee or a contractor decides overtime, minimum wage, payroll taxes and unemployment cover. Which test answers that question currently depends on who is asking: the Department of Labor's investigators, a private lawsuit, and your state can each apply a different standard to the same working relationship.
The recurring theme is documentation
Pay stubs, schedules, messages about shifts, and your own record of hours. Employers are required to keep accurate records, and where they have not, a reasonable estimate by the employee can carry a claim. That protection only helps someone who has kept something.
And deadlines
Two years federally for unpaid wages, three for a wilful violation, running backwards from the day you file. Several states allow longer. Waiting does not preserve old weeks; it deletes them one at a time.
Articles in this section
- How to Read Your Pay Stub 1 min read
- Lawful and Unlawful Paycheck Deductions 1 min read
- Pay Frequency Rules by State 1 min read
- When Your Final Paycheck Is Due After You Leave 1 min read
- Unpaid Wages: The Steps to Recover Them 1 min read
- Employee or Contractor: Why the Classification Changes Your Pay 1 min read
- Unpaid Internships and When They Are Lawful 1 min read
- Wage Garnishment: What Can and Cannot Be Taken 1 min read
- Getting Paid When Your Employer Shuts Down 1 min read
- Payroll Errors That Are More Common Than You Think 1 min read
Common questions
Does federal law say how often I must be paid?
No. There is no federal pay frequency requirement. States set their own minimums, commonly semi-monthly or biweekly.
Am I entitled to a pay stub?
Not under federal law. Most states require one, and the required contents differ between them.
Can my employer deduct for a till shortage?
Not if it takes you below the minimum wage or cuts into overtime, and many states prohibit it outright or require written consent.
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.
Why does employee or contractor status matter so much?
It decides overtime, minimum wage, payroll taxes and unemployment cover. Misclassification removes all of them at once.
How long do I have to claim unpaid wages?
Two years federally, three for a wilful violation, counted backwards from when you file. Several states allow longer.
Where the Jobs Are Going
That covers what you are owed. The last hub is about where the work itself is heading.
Read it →