Wage Claim Filing by Situation
The state guides answer wage claims by state. These pages answer them by situation, because the situation decides the route: an unpaid-wages claim, an overtime claim, a final-pay claim, a claim in a state with no agency, and a claim where the employer is already in court are different filings that happen to share the words 'wage claim.'
The situations
- Unpaid wages. Arizona ($12,000 cap, one year) · Michigan (12 months) · Pennsylvania (Wage Payment and Collection Law) · Minnesota (phone intake) · California, Texas, Illinois, Washington, Oregon, Colorado (state guides).
- Minimum wage and overtime. Michigan (three years) · New York (six years, LS223) · Ohio (Commerce Bureau) · Nevada (two-year court limit).
- Final pay. Final Paycheck Laws by State — fired and quit deadlines in eleven states. Arizona (seven working days) · Minnesota (24-hour demand rule) · Michigan (next payday).
- No state agency. Georgia (federal route only) · Florida (pre-suit notice, then suit) · Ohio (no Department of Labor; Commerce Bureau instead).
- Federal complaint. How to File a Department of Labor Complaint Against an Employer — the federal-or-state fork, what to include, and what happens after filing.
- Illegal deductions. Arizona (unauthorized deductions covered) · Minnesota (written authorization required) · Pennsylvania (illegal deductions under the WPCL) · New York (LS223 covers illegal deductions).
- Retaliation. New Jersey (retaliation illegal, including immigration threats) · Georgia (FLSA anti-retaliation) · Federal complaint guide (retaliation and confidentiality).
- Already sued, or employer bankrupt. Arizona states both dismissal triggers expressly — a filed civil lawsuit or an employer bankruptcy dismisses the agency claim. Michigan will not take a complaint where the worker has already sued or obtained a judgment.
Timing questions
- Wage Claim Filing Deadlines by State — filing deadlines, kept apart from processing times.
- Wage Claim Deadline Checker — pick a state, see the deadline, agency, form, and first step.
- How Long Does a Wage Claim Take? — processing expectations, separate from filing clocks.
- Wage Claim Agency Finder — pick a state, find the agency, form, deadline, and first step for the original eight states.
The state guides behind the answers
- Wage Claim Filing by State. The agency, form, deadline, and process for each state with a guide, including the eight new states in this batch: Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Ohio, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Georgia.
Source
Sources: the state wage-claim guides on this site, verified on the dates stated in their own Source sections; the federal complaint guide and the new state guides in this batch, verified 2026-11-01. Facts verified 2026-11-01. Open flags: the situation groupings are editorial — the underlying deadlines, forms, and offices are stated in the linked state guides, and any conflict between a grouping line and a state guide resolves in favor of the state guide.
This page explains how the process works and what the official rules say. It is general information, not legal advice. For a dispute about your specific situation, talk to your state labor agency or a lawyer.
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