How to File a Wage Claim in Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania claim in one table

The complaint, step by step

1. Choose the right form. The Wage Payment and Collection Law complaint (LLC-9) covers unpaid wages and final pay. A minimum-wage or overtime complaint uses the LLC-22 form; a prevailing-wage complaint uses LLC-15. Filing the wrong form costs the 20-minute online session, not the claim — but file the right one first.
2. Have the answers ready before starting online. The online form times out after 20 minutes, and dollar-amount fields accept numbers and periods only — no commas or dollar signs. Prepare the employer details, the pay record, and the claimed amounts before opening the form.
3. File and attach. Submit online, or fax, email, or mail the completed PDF form with attachments to the investigator assigned to the complaint. The form assigns the wages and penalty wages to the Secretary of Labor and Industry for collection under the Wage Payment and Collection Law and the Minimum Wage Act.
4. Expect investigation, then pre-litigation resolution. An investigator is assigned to each complaint, requests records of hours worked or wages paid, and the Bureau generally attempts to resolve violations with the employer before litigation. If resolution fails, the Bureau may file a legal claim, and any wages recovered go to the worker. The Bureau cannot provide a lawyer.
5. Mind the 60-day and 25% figures with care. Secondary guidance states the employer must pay within 60 days of filing, with a 25% additional penalty on the wages owed if it does not. Both figures are secondary-sourced and flagged below; the Bureau's own guidance page states the investigation steps without stating them.

What is not protected

Paid sick leave, holiday pay, or other hours not actually worked are not protected under the Wage Payment and Collection Act unless expressly promised in official business documents such as an employee handbook or memo. A claim for promised-but-unworked time needs the promise document attached, not just the hours claim.

For other states, see the Wage Claim Filing by State directory.

Source

Sources: Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, File a Wage Payment and Collection Complaint (online and manual filing instructions, 20-minute timeout, dollar-field rules, fax, email, and mail addresses, Spanish form availability, violation examples, unworked-time limitation), read 2026-11-01; Wage Complaint Form LLC-9, Rev. 09-24 (Bureau address, phones, confidentiality, no immigration inquiry, wage assignment language), read 2026-11-01; Bureau complaint-process guidance (investigation steps, pre-litigation resolution, litigation, no lawyer provided), read 2026-11-01. Facts verified 2026-11-01. Open flags: the three-year filing limit, the 60-day payment figure, and the 25% penalty figure are secondary-sourced (employment-law summaries) and are flagged for primary re-verification against the Wage Payment and Collection Law text; the LLC-9 form was read via a search-result summary of the pa.gov PDF.

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.