Recover unpaid overtime, final wages, and stolen tips
Hours and pay reconstructed from your own records, the misclassification or off-the-clock theory identified, a written demand sent, and a claim filed with the state labor agency or the federal Wage and Hour Division inside the statute — with liquidated damages and the state penalty asked for by name.
Free preview: 4 of 22 steps
Work through them in the real run view, exactly as a buyer does. No account, no payment, nothing saved.
3 free unlocks per month — yours to keep forever
No account needed — nothing is saved.
Included with every copy
- Your own copy — keep it forever
- Gets better over time — free updates included
- Run it on web and mobile
- Invite a partner to go through it with you — you share the same progress
- Make it your own — a private copy you can edit to fit your situation
- The playbook's community — ask questions, get additions, and see how other buyers improve it, right on the step
Who it's for
Hourly workers with a short or missing final check, salaried employees who were really doing nonexempt work, tipped staff whose tips were pooled, skimmed, or kept by the employer, and 1099 contractors who were really employees. It fits claims a private attorney would screen out — typically under roughly $25,000 — and readers willing to do the paperwork themselves.
About this playbook
A short final check, a “salaried” title that was really hourly work, tips that never reached your pocket — most of these claims can be filed without a lawyer, and the filing itself costs nothing. This guide walks a determined beginner from a single pay stub to a filed claim: it tests whether you were misclassified as exempt, reconstructs hours and pay when the employer’s records are missing, totals the wages plus liquidated damages and state penalties, sends a written demand, and files with the agency that gives you the longest lookback and the best chance of collecting. The path is templated and state-aware — you choose the state labor agency or the federal Wage and Hour Division, because that venue choice decides your deadline, your damages caps, and your penalties. It does not cover court lawsuits, union grievances, or claims already in litigation, and it does not promise the agency will be fast or fair — it makes sure the claim is filed correctly and inside the statute, so the decision is the agency’s to make, not yours to lose.
What you'll do, step by stepFree preview
Only a sample is open: 4 of 22 steps can be read in full. The rest unlock when you buy.
Phase 1: Establish coverage, status, and your deadline
5 stepsPhase 2: Reconstruct the hours and the arithmetic
5 stepsPhase 3: Put the claim in writing
4 stepsPhase 4: File the claim
4 stepsPhase 5: See the claim through to resolution
4 steps
Details
What you need first
Your own pay stubs, time records or schedules, and any messages about hours and pay; the employer’s legal name and address; and the state where you worked. You should be able to estimate how many weeks you worked — the guide rebuilds the rest from your own records.
