As an hourly employee in Texas, you have a right to minimum wage compensation at $7.25 per hour, the same amount as the federal minimum wage. The state does not, however, have its own overtime laws, which means that your employer must also adhere to overtime guidelines set at the federal level.
Sometimes, you may not receive the amount to which you are entitled. If this happens to you, you may be able to launch an investigation by filing what is known as a wage claim with the Texas Employment Commission. You may, too, be able to take your case to court if you are unable to achieve a satisfactory result following the initial investigation.
Deadlines for filing Texas wage claims
If you believe you are wrongfully owed wages, act promptly, because you have limited time to file your complaint with the Texas Employment Commission. As a Texas employee, you have exactly 180 days from the date your wages were originally due to file a claim against your employer. Other time limitations may also exist depending on the specifics of your situation, so make sure to act promptly if you believe your employer still owes you compensation for work you performed.
Deadlines for taking a wage case to court
If you are unable to resolve your wage claim through other methods, you may decide to take your case to court. Should you do so, know that you must file your lawsuit within two years of the date your employer should have paid you the wages in question. If you are successful in taking your case to court, your employer may have to pay you twice the amount of money he or she originally owed you. This may be in addition to any attorney fees, court costs or related expenditures the court may assess.
Texas wage and hour law issues can prove to be complicated, but if you are not receiving proper compensation for the work you perform, you may have legal recourse.
