Filing a Wage Claim in Texas
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An employee in Texas who has not been paid can file a wage claim with the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC), and TWC loses the power to hear it once 180 days have passed since the pay became due. The deadline comes from Texas Labor Code section 61.051, part of the chapter TWC calls the Texas Payday Law. TWC counts the date it receives the claim, not the date you sent it. This guide covers when wages are due, what counts as wages, who can file, what to include, and what happens after the claim is in.
When Texas law says wages are due
Chapter 61 sets the schedule employers must follow. A "day" in the chapter means a calendar day (61.001(2)).
| Situation | When pay is due | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Employee exempt from federal overtime rules | At least once a month | 61.011(a) |
| Any other employee | At least twice a month, with pay periods as nearly equal as possible | 61.011(b), (c) |
| Employer never designated paydays | The first and 15th day of each month | 61.012(b) |
| Employee missed payday, such as by being absent | On another regular business day, on the employee's request | 61.013 |
| Employee was discharged | In full, not later than the sixth day after discharge | 61.014(a) |
| Employee quit or left other than by discharge | In full, not later than the next regularly scheduled payday | 61.014(b) |
| Commissions and bonuses | As the employment agreement or collective bargaining agreement provides, paid as timely as other wages | 61.015 |
Employers must post notices of their paydays in conspicuous places at work (61.012(c)). Pay may come in cash, by a check negotiable on demand at full face value, or by electronic transfer to a bank account or a payroll card account (61.016(a)), and you may agree in writing to receive part or all of your wages in kind or in another form (61.016(b)). A check that cannot be cashed for a reason attributable to the employer does not count as payment (61.016(c)). An employer may withhold part of your wages only under a court order, when state or federal law authorizes it, or with your written authorization for a lawful purpose (61.018).
What counts as wages
Section 61.001(7) defines wages as compensation an employer owes for two things:
- labor or services, "whether computed on a time, task, piece, commission, or other basis"; and
- vacation pay, holiday pay, sick leave pay, parental leave pay, or severance pay owed under a written agreement with the employer or under the employer's written policy.
TWC's wage claim page also lists commissions and bonuses under an agreement and certain fringe benefits required by the employer's policy or an agreement.
Who can file, and when TWC cannot help
A wage claim belongs to an "employee," which chapter 61 defines as an individual employed for compensation. The definition leaves out independent contractors and people related to the employer or the employer's spouse within the first or second degree (61.001(3)). Work is not "employment" under the chapter if the worker is free from control or direction in performing it, both under the contract and in fact (61.001(5)).
The chapter does not apply to the United States, the State of Texas, or a political subdivision of the state (61.003). TWC's wage claim page lists the situations in which a claim could be delayed or denied:
- you were not an "employee" of the business;
- you were employed by a close relative;
- the employer filed for bankruptcy, in which case TWC says it cannot investigate and you can file a claim in bankruptcy court;
- you worked for a federal, state or local government agency, such as a school district;
- the claim is filed later than 180 days after the wages were due; or
- one claim names more than one employer.
For the government employer and late-filing situations, TWC points to the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, which it says can assist with minimum wage and overtime claims for workers covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act.
What to gather and how to file
The claim must be on a TWC form and verified by the employee (61.051(b)). TWC accepts claims through its online application, which it says redirects to an approved third-party website, or on a paper form in English or Spanish returned by fax to 512-322-2885 or by mail to Texas Workforce Commission, Wage and Hour Department, 101 E 15th St, Rm 514, Austin, TX 78778-0001.
According to TWC, a complete claim includes:
- enough information to identify and contact the employer, such as the business name and address, phone number, and the address where you worked;
- each type of unpaid wages and how you calculated the amount due;
- the dates you worked and were not paid;
- a signature and a completed declaration that the information is true and correct; and
- for paper claims, a copy of your most recent payroll check or stub, with copies rather than originals of any supporting documents.
If part of the unpaid pay was due more than 180 days ago and part within 180 days, TWC says to file only for the part within the deadline. Each employer needs its own claim. TWC also suggests raising the problem with the employer first, and a written request is one way to do that; the demand letter guide explains how those letters work in Texas disputes.
What happens after you file
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TWC checks the deadline
The 180-day filing deadline "is a matter of jurisdiction" (61.051(c)). If a claim arrives late, the examiner must dismiss it for lack of jurisdiction (61.052(b-1)).
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An examiner investigates and issues a preliminary order
A TWC examiner analyzes the claim and, if it alleges facts covered by the chapter, investigates and issues a preliminary wage determination order that either dismisses the claim or orders payment of wages found due. Notice is mailed to each party's last known address in TWC records (61.052). If the employer acted in bad faith, an administrative penalty may be added, capped at the lesser of the wages in question or $1,000. An employee who brought a claim in bad faith can be penalized the same way (61.053).
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Either side may ask for a hearing within 21 days
A written hearing request is due not later than the 21st day after the examiner mails notice of the preliminary order (61.054). If no one asks, the order becomes TWC's final order and neither side can seek court review (61.055). An employer that does not appeal must pay the ordered amount to TWC within the same 21 days after notice is mailed (61.056).
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A wage claim appeal tribunal hears the case
The tribunal mails notice of the hearing not later than the 21st day after the request is received and holds the hearing not later than the 45th day after that notice (61.057). It may modify, affirm or rescind the preliminary order (61.059). Its order becomes final 14 days after it is mailed unless a further appeal to the commission is started (61.061(c)).
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The commission may review the tribunal's order
The commission can act on its own or permit a party to appeal to it (61.0612). Its order becomes final 14 days after mailing unless it reopens the appeal or a party files a written motion for rehearing first (61.0614).
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A party may go to court within 30 days
After using up the administrative steps, a party may sue to appeal the order not later than the 30th day after the final order is mailed. The suit is filed in the county where the claimant lives or, for a claimant who does not live in Texas, the county where the employer has its principal place of business in the state, and the court reviews the case by trial de novo under the substantial evidence rule (61.062).
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Money moves through TWC
Within 30 days after an order becomes final, the party ordered to pay must pay TWC, or deposit the amount with TWC in an interest-bearing escrow account if it seeks court review (61.063). TWC pays the claimant the wages it collects, with any interest earned, not later than the 30th day after the claim is finally resolved (61.064).
When an employer still does not pay
A final TWC order against an employer for wages or penalties, unless timely appealed to a court, becomes a lien on all of the employer's property (61.081). The lien outranks every other lien on the same property except one for ad valorem taxes (61.0825), and it can be assigned to the claimant at the claimant's request (61.085). TWC may also send a notice of delinquency to a bank or anyone else holding the employer's assets, and then levy on those assets within a 60-day window (61.091 to 61.093).
Chapter 61 also makes some nonpayment a crime. An employer that intends at hiring to avoid paying wages, or intends to avoid paying while keeping the employee on, and then fails to pay after demand commits a third-degree felony (61.019). The attorney general may seek an injunction against an employer that repeatedly fails to pay (61.020).
Wage problems often arrive with others: debt collection pressure after a missed paycheck, or a dispute with a landlord over eviction. Each is covered in the Your Rights section, and you can browse the full guide library for the rest of the site's Texas and North Texas guides.