Knowledge is power.

For most employees, mandatory overtime is legal; and, no notice is required for mandatory overtime. However, some workers—such as pilots and nurses—are protected under industry-specific regulations that ensure they get rest breaks.  If you have concerns about how your employer is handling overtime, an employment lawyer can help you understand your rights and how to enforce them.

For most employees in Texas, overtime pay (OT) is time and a half, which means that it is equal to 1.5 times your regular pay rate. If you are a non-exempt employee, you employer has to pay you you overtime pay for every hour you worked over 40 hours per workweek. To calculate overtime, take your regular hourly wage and multiply it by 1.5. For example, if you earn $20 per hour, your OT rate would be $30 per hour ($20 × 1.5). If you worked 45 hours in a week, you’d be owed five overtime hours at $30 per hour, for a total of $150 in overtime pay. While some employers may offer double time or even triple time for certain holidays or extra shifts, the Fair Labor Standards Act only requires them to pay time and a half for overtime hours. If you’re not being paid correctly, an employment lawyer can help you recover what you’re owed.

Yes, in Texas, most employers are required to provide overtime pay to eligible employees who work more than 40 hours in a workweek. Under the overtime pay law, non-exempt employees must be paid at a rate of “time and a half” their regular pay for all overtime hours worked. This applies even if the extra time was not pre-approved by a supervisor or manager. Additionally, overtime wages must be included in the paycheck for the pay period in which they were earned. It is illegal to not pay overtime, and if your employer has failed to compensate you properly, you may have legal options to recover what you’re owed.

Calculating overtime pay is fairly simple for hourly workers. Just take your regular rate of pay and multiply it by 1.5. For example, if you make $20 per hour, your overtime pay rate would be $30 per hour ($20 × 1.5). If you worked 45 hours in a week, you’d be entitled to five overtime hours at $30 per hour, totaling $150 in overtime pay. However, things get trickier if you work two jobs for the same employer at different pay rates, earn bonuses in addition to your regular wages, or are paid a day rate instead of an hourly wage. In those cases, overtime must still be calculated correctly, but the formula is more complex. If you’re unsure whether your overtime has been properly calculated, it’s best to call in the experts—an employment lawyer can help ensure you’re getting the full pay you’re owed.

Most employees in the U.S. are entitled to overtime pay if they work more than 40 hours in a workweek. However, not all workers qualify. The FLSA divides employees into two main categories: non-exempt and exempt. Non-exempt employees, who are typically paid by the hour, must receive overtime pay when they work more than 40 hours in a week. Exempt employees—who are usually salaried and perform executive, administrative, or professional duties—do not qualify for overtime pay no matter how many extra hours they work. Importantly, your job title alone does not determine your exemption status—your actual job duties and how you’re paid do. Use our Exemption Status Quiz to find out if your job is classified exempt or non-exempt and if you’re entitled to overtime pay.

If your boss or HR rep has told you that you can’t get overtime pay just because you’re a salaried employee, they either don’t know the law or aren’t being honest. It’s a common misconception that the state and federal overtime pay laws only apply to hourly workers. In reality, salaried employees can also be eligible for overtime unless they hold true executive, administrative, professional, or outside sales positions. If you do not hold one of these positions and your job requires you to stay late, work weekends, skip lunch, travel outside working hours, answer emails before or after work, or volunteer for events beyond your normal workweek, you might be entitled to overtime. It is illegal to not pay overtime when it’s owed, so if you suspect you’re missing out on wages, speak with the wage and hour lawyer at Davis Employment Law to understand your rights.

You can report a company to the labor board, which for most employees means filing a complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor. However, this process is slow, and the agency may only recover a portion of what you’re owed. If you want to maximize your chances of recovering unpaid overtime, you may also file a private lawsuit with the help of an employment lawyer to protect your overtime rights. Most employees who successfully recover their full wages do so through legal action rather than relying solely on government enforcement.

No, your employer does not have to pay you overtime just because you work on a holiday. Under labor law in Texas, if you’re a non-exempt employee, you are only owed overtime pay when you work more than 40 hours in a workweek. Some employers may voluntarily offer holiday pay as an incentive or a perk, but there is no state or federal law that requires them to pay you extra just for working on a holiday.

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, your employer does not have to pay you time and a half just for working on the weekend. Overtime pay is only required if you work more than 40 hours in a workweek and are in a non-exempt job. Some companies choose to offer premium pay for weekend shifts as part of their internal policies, but that’s entirely up to them. If your employer refuses to pay overtime when you’ve worked over 40 hours, that’s a different story—and you may have a case for unpaid wages.

Yes, you are still owed overtime pay even if your job has a no overtime policy. Overtime pay is a federal right that cannot be given up or waived by a company policy or work rule. If your employer requires or allows you to work more than 40 hours in a workweek—whether or not you got preapproval or permission—they must pay you overtime pay for those extra hours. However, a no overtime policy can still be enforced in other ways. Your employer can discipline or even fire you for working unauthorized overtime, but they still have to pay you for the extra time you worked. To learn more about your overtime rights, visit our Overtime page.

No. If you signed a severance package but later realized there were issues with your pay, you may still have options. While severance agreements can require you to waive certain claims, some rights—like those under the FLSA for minimum wage and overtime pay—cannot be waived. This means your employer cannot legally force you to waive overtime pay or give up your right to unpaid wages. Additionally, severance agreements cannot take away your right to unemployment benefits. If you believe you were underpaid, you can still report your employer to the labor board or hire a wage and hour lawyer to help you recover the money owed. To learn more, visit our Severance Agreements page.

If your employer isn’t paying you overtime, the first step is to notify them in writing that you believe you are owed overtime pay for the extra work you’ve performed. Be sure to include the exact dates and times you worked overtime and the number of overtime hours you are owed. Putting it in writing serves two purposes: it formally requests your unpaid wages and helps protect you from retaliation if your employer tries to punish you for speaking up. Check out our free resources page for a sample letter you can use when notifying your employer or Human Resources (HR) about missing overtime pay. If they still refuse to pay, you may need to file a wage claim to recover what you’re owed, and our unpaid wages lawyer can help. To get started, book a free consultation.

Minimum wage laws protect employees by ensuring that employers pay at least a minimum hourly rate for all hours worked. In Texas, the minimum wage for most employees is $7.25 per hour, which is the same as the federal minimum wage under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). However, certain workers, such as those with disabilities and employees under 18, may be paid less. While employers can choose to pay more—sometimes referred to as a living wage—they can never pay less than the minimum wage. If your employer has paid you less than the minimum wage, the employment lawyers at Davis Employment Law help you recover what you’re owed.

Yes, restaurants can pay tipped employees like servers, bartenders, delivery drivers, and other front-of-the-house staff a sub-minimum wage but they have to follow very strict rules to do so. Under federal labor law, a restaurant is only required to  $2.13 per hour in direct wages to tipped employees as long as their tips bring their total earnings up to at least $7.25 per hour, which has been the federal minimum wage since 2009. If your tips combined with your employer’s direct wages don’t equal $7.25 per hour, your employer must make up the difference.

It is illegal for restaurants to pay back of the house employees, like line cooks and dishwashers, less than minimum wage.

No, immigrants do NOT get paid less than minimum wage—period. Under U.S. law, all workers, including immigrants—even those who are undocumented—have the same right to be paid at least minimum wage as citizens and lawful permanent residents. If an employer tells you otherwise, they are lying and may be cheating you out of your pay. Don’t let them get away with it—if you’ve been paid less than you’re owed, you have legal options to fight back. The employment lawyers at Davis Employment Law can help at no upfront costs to you. See if you qualify here.

If your employer is paying you less than minimum wage, they are probably breaking state and federal wage laws. Employers who do not pay at least $7.25 per hour can end up owing you lots of money and face serious penalties. To recover the full amount you’re owed, you have options. You can file a wage claim with the labor board, which in Texas is called the Texas Workforce Commission, or you can hire a minimum wage lawyer to sue your employer and help you recover the wages you should have been paid.

Off-the-clock work is one of the most common types of wage theft. It happens when your employer encourages, demands, or allows you to work without clocking in or recording your time. They think that if there’s no record of your work, they don’t have to pay you for it—cheating you out of wages you rightfully earned.

The classic example of working off the clock is when you are expected to set up before your shift starts or stay at work after clocking out. But it can take other forms too, including responding to work emails or messages after hours without pay, working through your lunch breaks, waiting for a new job assignment, or having wages automatically deducted for lunch breaks you did not take.

Yes, it’s illegal for your employer to encourage you to work off the clock, or to know that you’re working off the clock and not pay you. Even if you’re asked to work off the clock, you’re entitled to pay for that time.

No, you can’t volunteer to work off the clock. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, employers are required to track and pay for all hours worked, even if you say you’re willing to work under the table. Whether you’re answering emails after hours, staying late to finish a task, or coming in early to set up, if you’re doing any work at all, it must be recorded and you must be paid. If your employer tells you otherwise, they’re breaking the law.

Generally, no. If your employer requires you to complete training, whether in person or online, that time is compensable time and must be paid. This includes time spent shadowing other employees or doing any other training shifts related to your job. Your employer cannot make you complete training on your own time without pay unless all of the following are true: (1) it happens outside your normal work hours, (2) it’s completely voluntary, (3) it’s not related to your job, and (4) you’re not doing any other work at the same time. If you’re being forced to train off the clock, your employer is violating the law.

If you’re an at-will employee, you can be fired for any reason at any time, as long as the reason is not an illegal one.

It’s not illegal for your employer to fire you for working before you’ve clocked in or after you’ve clocked out, especially if doing so violates their policies. The result may seem harsh, but it’s designed to make sure you’re paid for all the time that you work.

No, not in Texas. The Texas Workforce Commission doesn’t accept anonymous wage claims where the goal is to recover your unpaid wages. However, you can contact the U.S. Department of Labor to anonymously ask questions about any of the laws the agency enforces. If you want to tip them off about your employer breaking the law, they will ask you to identify yourself and your employer.

That said, there are ways to keep your complaint confidential and ensure you do not experience retaliation for speaking out about wage theft. To figure out the best way for your situation, it’s best to contact an unpaid wages lawyer near you.

No. It’s against the law for your employer to fire you, cut your hours, or retaliate against you for voicing concerns about your pay.

No, your employer cannot cut your hours or take any other adverse action against you just because you filed a wage claim or lawsuit for unpaid wages. That’s retaliation, and it’s illegal under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Texas law. These laws exist to protect your right to speak up and collect the back wages you’re owed—without fear of punishment.

Retaliation can take many forms, including:

1. Cutting your hours or changing your schedule to reduce your pay,

2. Firing or laying you off after you file a claim,

3. Demoting you or changing your job duties in a negative way,

4. Harassing or intimidating you to make you quit,

5. Cutting your pay rate without a legitimate reason,

6. Giving you unfair write-ups, PIPs or poor performance reviews as an excuse to discipline you,

7. Blocking promotions or opportunities for advancement, or

8. Reporting you to ICE, DHS, or other immigration authorities.

By taking a stand, you not only collect what you’re owed but also help stop unfair wage practices for your coworkers and others. If you believe your employer has retaliated against you, contact a retaliation lawyer at the firm to discuss your legal options.

Absolutely not. It’s illegal for your employer to threaten to report you, or actually report you, to ICE just because you spoke up about wage theft. Even if you’re undocumented, you still have the right to speak up about wage theft and get paid in full for you work.

You may also qualify for special immigration visas, if your employer has exploited you or forced you to work without pay. It’s best to talk with an overtime lawyer to understand your rights and protections.

A tip pool is when an employer collects all the tips earned in a given period and then divides them up among employees. This is legal under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)—but only if tipped employees are the ones who share in the pool’s payout. It becomes illegal when managers, owners, or back-of-the-house employees like dishwashers and line cooks are included. If your employer is making you share tips with anyone who isn’t a tipped employee, they may be violating federal law.

Generally, no. If you work as a tipped employee in a restaurant, strip club, coffee shop, or other service industry job then your employer cannot force you to share tips with anyone in management or the owner of the company for which you work. Your employer may, however, pool tips and distribute your share of the tip pool with your coworkers who directly interact with customers. If your job pools tips, it generally cannot include in the tip pool any manager, supervisor, owner, or non-tipped employee.

Te Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) makes it is illegal for a restaurant owner or manager to take tips or keep any portion of employees’ tips for any reason. Employers cannot require a tipped employee to hand over their tips—even if that employee is already paid at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. The only exception is when a manager or supervisor personally serves a table—in that case, they may keep the tips from customers they directly and solely served. However, they cannot keep tips by participating in a tip pool or directly taking tips earned by other employees. To learn more about the rights of restaurant workers, visit our Tipped Employees page.

Some employers try to shift their business expenses onto tipped employees by making you cover credit card processing fees when customers tip using a credit or debit card. But let’s be clear: it’s illegal for an employer to deduct these fees from cash tips. If a customer leaves a cash tip, the employer must pay it out in full—no exceptions.

When a tip is paid by credit or debit card, though, an employer can deduct only the exact processing fee charged by the credit card company—nothing more. For example, if the processing fee is 3%, the employer can only withhold that 3% from credit card tips and must pass along the remaining 97% of the tip to you. Any credit card fee or other fee beyond that is wage theft.

No, a service charge is not a tip under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). A service charge is a mandatory fee added to customers’ bills to cover operational costs, such as employee benefits, rent, food and supply chain expenses. Many restaurant owners have started using service charges to offset inflation or simply to boost profits. Unlike tips, which are voluntary, determined by the customer, and belong to the employee, service charges are predetermined and belong to the restaurant. The employer can use them however they see fit.

For restaurant workers who receive tip credits, this kind of deduction is a classic wage theft scheme. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), deductions for walkouts, breakage, or cash register shortages are illegal if they bring your wages below minimum wage. Employers who rely on tip credits to meet minimum wage requirements are already paying a reduced hourly wage. Any further deductions—like forcing you to cover a customer’s unpaid tab—would mean your employer is stealing your wages. If this has happened to you, you may have a legal claim for unpaid wages.

It depends. If buying the uniform means you end up earning less than minimum wage for that week, your employer has to cover the cost instead.

There’s also a difference between a uniform and a dress code. A dress code might say you have to wear black pants and a white shirt—clothes you might already own. But if the dress code is really specific (like requiring a certain branded shirt or unique style), it may count as a uniform. If that’s the case, and buying the outfit would push your pay below minimum wage, your employer must pay the difference.

Yes, your employer can lower your pay, but there are some important rules they must follow.

• They can’t cut your pay for hours you’ve already worked. For example, if you worked all week thinking you were making $15 an hour, your employer can’t decide on payday to only pay you $12 an hour instead. That’s called a retroactive pay cut, and it’s not allowed.
• Your employer should tell you before the new, lower pay rate starts.
• Even with pay cuts, your employer still has to pay you at least $7.25 an hour, which is the minimum wage in Texas.

If you have a contract that promises a certain pay rate, different rules may apply.

No, your employer can’t just decide to hold back your paycheck. In Texas, they can only take money out of your pay if one of these things is true:

• You gave written permission for the deduction before the deduction is made,

• The law requires it, like for income or Social Security taxes, or

• A court ordered it, like for child support.

Your boss can’t keep your paycheck to punish you or because they’re upset. Even if you’re quitting or got fired, you’re still owed the money you earned.

If you’re thinking about taking legal action for unpaid wages, timing matters. You usually have 2 years from the day the wages went unpaid to file a lawsuit in federal court. If your employer willfully broke the law, you may have up to 3 years.

Keep in mind: if you already filed a complaint with the labor board and got paid, you can’t file a private lawsuit for the same wages.

To prove an unpaid wages claim, documentation is key. That means holding on to anything that shows when you worked, how much you were paid, and what you were promised—like paystubs, timecards, schedules, or screenshots of texts or apps your job uses.

But don’t panic if you don’t have everything. Your employer is legally required to keep records of your hours and pay. If we take your case, we can demand those records on your behalf. The more details you can share, the better. But missing paperwork won’t stop us from building and winning your case.

If you haven’t been paid what you’re owed, you have 3 main options in Texas:

1. Texas Workforce Commission (TWC)

2. Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)

3. State or Federal court

Each option has its own pros and cons, like how quickly your case moves, how much money you might recover, and who investigates your complaint. An overtime lawyer can help you figure out the right path for your situation to maximize your recovery and get the best possible result.