Kits for That

Wage Claim Letters, a $19 kit

Ask your employer for unpaid wages in writing

Use it for unpaid hours, missing overtime or a final paycheck that never came. Answer eight questions and you get a clear wage demand, a follow-up that cites federal and state wage law, and a final demand that names the free government complaint you can file next.

For employees owed pay

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  • First letter free to read
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Covered by a 30-day money-back guarantee, for any reason.

Self-help templates and general information, not legal advice.

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Your letters

You supply the facts and these templates put them in order. Read every line before you send or sign anything, and check that the deadlines and rules still match your state’s current law. These documents are not a substitute for the advice of an attorney.

Tip: Save or print each document as a PDF before you start another. You can change the details and generate the kit again as often as you need.

Letter 1: wage demand

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Letter 1 is often enough when the problem is a payroll mistake. If it isn’t, Letters 2 and 3 cite the law and name the complaint you can file.

  • Letter 2: a firm follow-up that cites federal and state wage law and the ban on retaliation
  • Letter 3: a final demand that names the free government complaint as your next step
  • How to file a DOL Wage and Hour complaint, which is free, confidential and protected from retaliation
  • What you can recover: back pay, double damages in court, and the deadlines that apply
  • A log for recording your hours and pay as evidence
  • Final-paycheck rules and when to go to your state labor agency
  • Print or save as PDF, edit as often as you like, and use it on any of your own devices

Written by John Detty, 22 years a U.S. Navy Legalman. About the site

$19

One-time payment for Letters 2 and 3 and the guide.

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Self-help templates and general information. Not legal advice, and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Terms

Letter 2: firm follow-up

Send about 10 days after Letter 1
Unlock to see the full follow-up letter.

Letter 3: final demand

Send about 21 days after Letter 1, by certified mail
Unlock to see the final demand letter.

Your guide: the DOL complaint, damages and evidence

Read before sending Letter 2
Included in the $19 kit.

About these documents

Made with Kits For That self-help templates (IdaMil LLC, kitsforthat.com) from the details you entered. Kits For That is not a law firm. These documents are not legal advice and are not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Laws change, so confirm the current rules for your state before you rely on them. Keep this page for your records. It is not part of what you send.

How to collect unpaid wages from an employer

Unpaid hours, missing overtime and final paychecks that never arrive happen more often than they should, and many workers never put a request in writing. Four things are on your side: federal law, state law, a free government agency that enforces them, and a ban on retaliation for using any of them.

  1. The written demand (day 1). List the specific hours, dates and amounts. Honest payroll errors often get fixed at this stage, and if yours isn’t, you have started a paper record.
  2. The firm follow-up (about day 10). This letter cites the Fair Labor Standards Act and your state’s wage payment law, notes that retaliation for asserting wage rights is illegal, and sets a deadline.
  3. The final demand (about day 21). Send it by certified mail with a 10-business-day deadline, and say plainly what comes next: a free, confidential complaint to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division or your state labor agency, and possibly court, where wage laws provide for back pay, up to double damages, and attorney fees.

Can they fire me for asking?

Retaliating against you for asserting wage rights or filing a wage complaint is illegal under federal law, and complaints to the DOL are confidential, so your name is not disclosed. That does not make retaliation impossible, but it does make it costly for the employer, and the letters put the protection on the record.

If you were a contractor, not an employee

True independent contractors are not covered by federal wage law, so an unpaid invoice is a contract matter (our Get Paid Letters kit is built for that). If you were a contractor in name only, though, and they set your hours, supplied the tools and controlled the work, you may have been misclassified. You can still file with the DOL, which looks at how the relationship worked in practice rather than at the label.

Watch the deadline. The federal statute of limitations for wage claims is generally 2 years (3 for willful violations), and it runs paycheck by paycheck. Each month you wait, the oldest unpaid week can fall outside it, so start soon.

Wage Claim Letters provides self-help document templates and general information. It is not legal advice, and it is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Kits For That is not a law firm. Wage laws, final-paycheck deadlines and damages vary by state and situation and change over time, so check the current rules with the U.S. Department of Labor (dol.gov) and your state labor agency.

Who writes these. Kits For That is run by John R. Detty, who served 22 years as a U.S. Navy Legalman, the Navy’s paralegal rating, before retiring. He is not a lawyer, and nothing on this site is legal advice. About the site