What we do · 02
Wage claims
When you worked the hours and weren't paid for them.
You've done the math, and it keeps coming out short.
Fifty-hour weeks on a salary that was supposed to cover “everything.” A 1099 for a job where someone else set your schedule. Tips that went somewhere else. A last paycheck that never came. Wage problems are easy to put off because each one feels small. Over months, they usually aren't.
What counts as unpaid wages.
Federal law, and Missouri and Kansas law, set rules about how work gets paid. Common problems we see:
- Unpaid overtime. Hours over forty in a week, for workers who aren't exempt. A salary doesn't make someone exempt on its own; the duties matter.
- Misclassification. Being paid as an independent contractor when the work looks like a job.
- Off-the-clock work. Time before a shift, after it, or through a lunch you didn't actually get.
- Tips and deductions. Tips kept by the employer, or deductions taken from pay that shouldn't have been.
- Final pay. Wages or commissions withheld after you leave.
What we do about it.
- We work out the number. From pay stubs, schedules, texts, and your own memory, we reconstruct what you worked and what you were paid.
- We tell you whether it's worth pursuing, and how. Some wage claims are best handled with a letter. Some involve other workers in the same position.
- We go after it. By demand, by negotiation, through the agency, or in court.
- We watch for retaliation. It's against the law to punish someone for asking to be paid properly. If that happens, we deal with it too.
When to call us.
- When you've noticed the pattern, even if you're still working there.
- When a final paycheck or commission is late.
- Before the trail goes cold. Wage claims have time limits, and older weeks can fall outside them.
Helpful to keep: pay stubs, your own notes of hours worked, schedules, and any message about how you're classified or paid. Don't take documents you aren't allowed to have; we'll talk about what's appropriate.