Fired for Complaining About Unpaid Wages? FLSA Retaliation Rights

What the Federal Law Says

The Fair Labor Standards Act sets minimum wage and overtime rules. Under 29 U.S.C. 215(a)(3), an employer may not discharge or discriminate against an employee because the employee filed a complaint or took part in a proceeding under the law. The Department of Labor fact sheet on FLSA retaliation explains that the protection applies even when the underlying pay claim turns out to be wrong, as long as the complaint was made in good faith.

What Counts as a Protected Complaint

• Complaints to the employer

  Telling a manager or payroll that you were not paid for all hours or overtime can be protected.

• Complaints to the government

  Contacting the Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division, or taking part in its investigation, is protected.

• Spoken complaints

  A complaint does not have to be written, but it must be clear enough that the employer understands you are asserting rights under the law.

• Lawsuits and testimony

  Filing a wage suit, or testifying in one, is protected, as is helping a coworker who did.

Actions That Can Count as Retaliation

Termination is the clearest case, but the law also reaches other steps that would discourage a reasonable worker: cutting hours, moving you to a worse shift, a sudden discipline record, threats to report immigration status or blacklisting. Our guide to workplace retaliation explains how timing and a change in treatment are used to show the link.

Remedies Available

Under 29 U.S.C. 216(b), a worker who was retaliated against can seek legal or equitable relief, including employment, reinstatement, promotion, payment of wages lost and an additional equal amount as liquidated damages. The same section lets a court award attorney fees and costs to a worker who wins. If the original pay problem is also unresolved, you can pursue it together with the retaliation claim, as described in our guide on how to recover unpaid wages.

What to Do If You Were Punished

• Record the complaint

  Write down who you told, the date, the words used and how they responded. Save any message you sent.

• Keep the pay records

  Save pay stubs, schedules, time records and your own notes of hours, including any <a href="/blogs/off-the-clock-work-unpaid-pre-shift-post-shift-and-break-time" class="text-primary underline">off-the-clock work</a>.

• Save the change in treatment

  Keep warnings, new schedules, the termination notice and any message that gives a reason.

• Note witnesses

  List coworkers who heard the complaint or saw the change in your treatment.

• Watch the deadline

  The usual federal limit is two years, or three years for a willful violation, and some states allow longer.

What Employers Can Still Do

An employer may still discipline or end employment for a real, unrelated reason, such as a documented policy breach that predates your complaint. The question is whether the stated reason is the true one. Shifting explanations, a firing soon after the complaint and similar conduct by others who were not disciplined all weigh in a worker's favor.

Where to Find Official Guidance

The Department of Labor describes what the law protects in its Department of Labor fact sheet on FLSA retaliation. For the wider set of federal wage rules, see our overview of Fair Labor Standards Act. State laws often add their own protections and longer deadlines.

Frequently Asked Questions