Wage Theft Calculator

Reviewed by Nola Stetson (NS), Editor-in-Chief — Wage Theft Practice. Updated May 2026.

Wage theft is among the most common labor violations in the United States, affecting an estimated millions of workers annually across industries from restaurant service to retail management to construction. It encompasses any practice where an employer fails to pay wages legally owed: unpaid overtime, minimum wage violations, illegal deductions, tip theft, off-the-clock work demands, and misclassification of employees as independent contractors or exempt workers to avoid overtime and benefit obligations. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) provides a federal framework for recovery, and most states provide additional, often stronger, remedies.

This calculator estimates your potential recovery under the FLSA and, optionally, under state law multipliers that increase damages beyond the federal baseline. Results are educational — consult an employment attorney for your specific case.

Run the estimate

Select your violation type, enter your hourly rate and unpaid hours, and choose your lookback period. The FLSA allows recovery for two years of violations (three years for willful violations). Many states allow three to six years. Use the state law enhancement to see how your jurisdiction’s multiplier affects the total.

Type of Wage Violation Unpaid Overtime (time-and-a-half not paid) Minimum Wage Violation Off-the-Clock Work Tip Theft / Tip Pool Violation Misclassification (IC or exempt when non-exempt) Regular Hourly Rate ($) Weekly Unpaid Hours (overtime hours or off-clock hours) Number of Weeks (lookback period)

FLSA: 2-year lookback (3 years if willful). Many states allow longer.

Apply State Law Enhancement? No — use federal FLSA only Double damages (e.g., CA, NY, IL) Triple damages (e.g., MA) Calculate Damages

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How wage theft damages are calculated

Recovery under the FLSA has two components. Back wages are the actual unpaid amounts — overtime premiums not paid, minimum wage shortfalls, off-the-clock hours at the applicable rate. Liquidated damages are an additional penalty equal to the back wages owed, effectively doubling your recovery, unless the employer can demonstrate both good faith and a reasonable belief their pay practices were lawful. State law multipliers in some jurisdictions go further: California, New York, and Illinois typically provide 2× unpaid wages; Massachusetts mandates treble damages (3×) with no good-faith defense available to employers.

Attorney fees are separately recoverable under FLSA §16(b), which means employment attorneys commonly take wage theft cases on contingency even when individual damages are modest. If your per-person amount is small but the violation affected many coworkers, a collective action can aggregate claims to make the case economically viable.

Learn more

• How wage theft claims work — DOL, private suit, and state agency options
• FLSA overtime rules explained
• What to do after wage theft
• Common misconceptions about wage theft
• Calculator methodology
• Frequently asked questions