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Wage theft covers far more than a missed paycheque. Recoverable amounts typically include regular wages, overtime premiums, statutory vacation pay (a minimum of 4% of wages in most Canadian provinces), earned commissions and bonuses, withheld tips, and the final paycheque after employment ends. In Ontario, all outstanding wages must be paid within 7 days of termination or on the next regular pay day; several US states require final pay even faster — California requires it on the last day for a fired employee and adds waiting-time penalties of up to 30 days' wages when it is late.
Overtime is the most commonly underpaid category. The threshold is 44 hours per week in Ontario and 40 hours under the US federal FLSA and in most provinces; Alberta and British Columbia also require daily overtime after 8 hours. Being paid a salary does not remove overtime rights — exemptions depend on actual duties. True managerial and licensed professional roles are exempt, and US 'white collar' exemptions require both a duties test and a minimum salary level, which is why many salaried employees are owed overtime they never claimed.
Wage claims have some of the shortest limitation windows in employment law. Ontario Ministry of Labour complaints generally recover wages going back only 2 years; the federal FLSA in the United States allows 2 years, extended to 3 for willful violations; provincial and state windows vary from 6 months to 3 years. Because the deadline runs from each unpaid pay period, waiting quietly erases the oldest — and often largest — portions of a claim month by month.
Filing stops the clock. An employment standards complaint is free and requires no lawyer; small claims court handles amounts up to jurisdiction-specific caps (e.g., $35,000 in Ontario, $10,000–$25,000 in most US states); larger or group claims proceed as civil actions or class/collective actions. In the US, successful FLSA plaintiffs typically recover liquidated (double) damages plus attorney's fees, which changes the economics of even mid-sized claims.
Being labelled an 'independent contractor' does not make you one. Canadian courts and tribunals look at who controls the work, who owns the tools, and who bears the chance of profit or risk of loss; US regulators apply the FLSA economic realities test, and states like California use the stricter ABC test, which presumes employee status unless the hirer proves otherwise. A misclassified worker can recover minimum wage, overtime, vacation pay, and statutory contributions for the entire claim window — often multiplying the value of the claim.
Missing records are not fatal, because the record-keeping duty belongs to the employer. When an employer kept no hours records, adjudicators on both sides of the border accept reasonable employee reconstructions — personal calendars, commute and phone-location data, badge swipes, texts about shifts, and co-worker testimony. The US Supreme Court's Anderson v. Mt. Clemens Pottery rule shifts the burden to the employer to disprove a reasonable estimate, and Canadian employment standards officers apply a similar practical approach.
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This assessment provides general legal information only — not legal advice. Wage and overtime rules, exemptions, and limitation periods differ significantly between provinces, states, and industries, and the results cannot account for every fact. Speak with an employment lawyer or your local employment standards office before acting.
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