How do I file a complaint with the Department of Labor against my employer?

Decide federal or state first. File with the U.S. Wage and Hour Division for federal minimum-wage, overtime, and FLSA claims, or with the state labor agency where one exists — California, New York, Texas, Illinois, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Ohio, Nevada, and Pennsylvania all have state routes described on this site. Georgia and Florida do not.

What do I need to file a labor complaint?

The employer's legal name and address, the dates and hours worked, the pay rate and pay schedule, the amount claimed with a per-pay-period breakdown, and copies — never originals — of pay stubs, time records, and written communications about pay.

Is filing a labor complaint confidential?

Not always. Arizona states its unpaid-wage claim and evidence are sent to the employer and are not confidential. New Jersey allows anonymous filing by mail only, with no tracking or status updates. Confirm the confidentiality rule for the route you file before assuming the employer will not see the complaint.

How to File a Department of Labor Complaint Against an Employer

Federal or state: the fork that decides everything

The United States has no single "Department of Labor complaint." There are fifty-plus labor agencies, and the phrase covers two systems:

The federal system — the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) — enforces the Fair Labor Standards Act: the federal minimum wage ($7.25), overtime at time and a half over 40 hours, and related protections. A WHD complaint is available in every state, including the states with no state route. The FLSA limitations period is two years, three if the violation was willful. The Division may investigate, supervise payment, settle, or sue — rarely the last.

The state systems — each state's labor agency enforces that state's wage laws, which are often stronger, longer, or broader than federal law. New York allows six years. Texas allows 180 days for a Workforce Commission claim. Illinois allows one year. California runs one to four years by violation type. These clocks and routes are state-specific, and the state guides on this site state each one.

File state where a state route exists and its clock and remedies fit the claim; file federal where no state route exists (Georgia, Florida), where the claim is federal in nature, or where the state clock has run. Filing both is sometimes possible and sometimes not — the state guides state the interaction where the agency states one. Do not assume a federal filing pauses a state clock, or vice versa.

What to include, whichever route

Every agency asks for the same core record. Assemble it before filing, because a complaint filed without it waits while the agency asks for it:

The employer's legal name — from a pay stub or tax form, not the storefront name — plus address, phone, and the names of managers, supervisors, owners, or officers.
The dates of employment, the pay rate, and the pay schedule.
The hours worked and the wages claimed, broken down by pay period with the amount for each. "About two weeks' pay" is not a claim; a per-period figure is.
Copies of pay stubs, time records, schedules, contracts or offer letters, and written communications about pay. Never send originals — Arizona states this directly, and every agency works from copies.
Whether the claim involves minimum wage, overtime, unpaid wages, illegal deductions, or final pay, and whether a lawsuit has already been filed: Arizona dismisses a claim where a civil lawsuit has been filed or the employer is in bankruptcy, and Michigan will not take a complaint where the worker has already sued or obtained a judgment.

What happens after filing

The agency reviews the complaint, decides whether to take jurisdiction, notifies the employer, and investigates. New York notifies the accepted claimant by mail with an LS case number and assigns an investigator who may hold a Compliance Conference. Nevada's Labor Commissioner sends a notice of claim to the employer and can issue a binding determination. Minnesota's Labor Standards investigator reaches out within two business days of intake. Timelines vary by agency and caseload; the deadlines guide states filing clocks, and the how-long guide states processing expectations. Filing early protects the claim; it does not promise a fast decision.

Retaliation, and the confidentiality warning

Retaliation for filing a wage complaint is illegal under federal law and under the state laws of the states with agency routes — New Jersey states it expressly, including retaliation by immigration threats or false reports. Keep a dated record of the filing and of any change in treatment afterward.

Confidentiality varies and must be checked per route. Arizona sends the claim and evidence to the employer and states the claim is not confidential. New Jersey's anonymous route is mail-only, untrackable, with no status updates. Do not file on an assumption of anonymity the route does not offer.

For the state routes, see the Wage Claim Filing by State directory. For filing deadlines, see Wage Claim Filing Deadlines by State.

Source

Sources: U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division complaint process and FLSA limits as summarized in the state wage-claim sources read 2026-11-01; state agency routes, deadlines, and confidentiality rules as stated in the on-site state wage-claim guides and the primary agency pages read for this batch (New York DOL labor-standards process page; Arizona Industrial Commission labor-claims page; Minnesota DLI wage-claim page; New Jersey DOL worker-rights page; Ohio Attorney General labor-relations FAQs), verified 2026-10-31–2026-11-01. Facts verified 2026-11-01. Open flags: the WHD complaint mechanics are stated from agency guidance as summarized in the sources read, not from a dol.gov page opened in this run, and are flagged for primary re-verification; state-by-state filing interactions (whether a federal filing pauses a state clock) are not stated generally and must be checked per state.

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.