Unpaid Overtime Demand Letter to Employer (FLSA 29 U.S.C. § 207 + State OT Tiers)

[Your Full Name]
  [Address]
  [City, State ZIP]
  [Phone] [Email]

  [Date]

  [Employer Legal Name — Human Resources / Payroll]
  [Employer Address]

  cc: [Direct supervisor]

  Sent via certified mail, return receipt requested
  (Copy also emailed to HR / payroll contact)

  Re: Demand for Unpaid Overtime Wages — [Pay periods / dates] — $[Total Amount]

  To Human Resources:

  I am writing to demand payment of unpaid overtime wages I earned working for [Employer] between [Start date] and [End date]. During this period I regularly worked more than 40 hours in a workweek (and, where noted below, more than the daily limit my state sets) but was not paid the overtime premium the law requires.

  Employment details:
    • Position / title: [Title]
    • Classification on my paystub: [Hourly / Salaried "exempt" / Salaried non-exempt / "Independent contractor" / 1099]
    • Pay rate: $[Hourly rate], or salary of $[Annual salary] (= $[Annual salary ÷ 2,080] per hour for a 40-hour week)
    • How I tracked my hours: [Timeclock / app / emails and Slack timestamps / my own contemporaneous log, attached]

  Overtime worked and amount owed:

  | Workweek | Total hours | Hours over the limit | Regular rate | OT rate (1.5× or 2×) | OT owed |
  |----------|-------------|----------------------|--------------|----------------------|---------|
  | [Wk of MM/DD] | [e.g., 52] | [12] | $[Rate] | $[Rate × 1.5] | $[Amount] |
  | [Wk of MM/DD] | [50] | [10] | $[Rate] | $[Rate × 1.5] | $[Amount] |
  | [Wk of MM/DD] | [48] | [8] | $[Rate] | $[Rate × 1.5] | $[Amount] |
  | TOTAL | | | | | $[Total OT owed] |

  Legal basis:

  [Everyone starts with the federal floor. Then add the state tier that applies to you and strike the rest.]

    [FEDERAL FLOOR — applies in every state]
    Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. § 207(a)(1), a covered employer may not employ a non-exempt employee for more than 40 hours in a workweek unless the employee receives overtime "at a rate not less than one and one-half times the regular rate at which he is employed" for the excess hours. My regular rate includes not just my base wage but also nondiscretionary bonuses and shift differentials, which must be folded in before the 1.5× multiplier is applied.

    [MISCLASSIFICATION — use this if you were called "exempt," "salaried," or an "independent contractor"]
    Being paid a salary does not, by itself, make an employee exempt from overtime. The executive, administrative, and professional ("white-collar") exemption under 29 U.S.C. § 213(a)(1) and 29 C.F.R. Part 541 applies only if BOTH a salary test and a duties test are met. The salary level is $684 per week ($35,568 per year) under 29 C.F.R. § 541.600, and the employee's actual day-to-day job duties must satisfy the executive, administrative, or professional duties test in 29 C.F.R. §§ 541.100, 541.200, or 541.300. A job title, a salary, or a signed "exempt" acknowledgment is not enough. My actual duties were [describe: e.g., following set procedures, no authority to hire/fire, no independent discretion on significant matters], which do not meet the duties test, so I was and am entitled to overtime.

    [DAILY-OVERTIME STATE — add the cite for your state]
    [CALIFORNIA] In addition to the federal weekly rule, Cal. Lab. Code § 510(a) requires 1.5× the regular rate for all hours over 8 (up to 12) in a workday and the first 8 hours on the seventh consecutive day of work, and 2× ("double time") for hours over 12 in a workday and for hours over 8 on the seventh consecutive day. California's white-collar exemption also has a higher bar: under Cal. Lab. Code § 515(a) an exempt employee must earn a monthly salary of at least twice the state minimum wage for full-time (40-hour) work AND be primarily engaged in exempt duties.
    [ALASKA] Under AS 23.10.060, overtime at 1.5× is owed for hours over 8 in a day or over 40 in a week. (Employers with fewer than four employees are exempt.)
    [NEVADA] Under NRS 608.018, an employee paid less than 1.5× the state minimum wage must receive 1.5× for hours over 8 in a workday as well as over 40 in a week; an employee paid 1.5× the minimum wage or more receives overtime only over 40 hours per week.
    [COLORADO] Under the Colorado COMPS Order #40 (7 CCR 1103-1), overtime at 1.5× is owed for hours over 40 in a week, over 12 in a workday, OR any 12 consecutive hours — whichever calculation pays the most.
    [ALL OTHER STATES] My state follows the federal standard: overtime is owed for hours over 40 in a workweek under 29 U.S.C. § 207.

  Demand:

  Within [14] days of receipt of this letter, please pay the $[Total OT owed] in unpaid overtime identified above by [check / direct deposit to the account on file], and correct my classification going forward so that overtime is paid as earned.

  If you do not, I intend to pursue all remedies available, which include:
    • A wage complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, and/or my state labor agency (free to file);
    • A private suit under 29 U.S.C. § 216(b), which makes an employer liable for the unpaid overtime PLUS an equal amount as liquidated (double) damages, and requires the court to award my reasonable attorney's fees and costs;
    • The full lookback period: under 29 U.S.C. § 255(a), I may recover two years of back overtime — three years if the violation was willful.

  I would prefer to resolve this directly and promptly. I have kept a complete copy of this letter and the records below.

  Sincerely,

  [Your Signature]
  [Your Printed Name]

  Enclosures: [time records / contemporaneous hours log; paystubs for the periods at issue; offer letter or job description showing duties; any written "exempt" or "independent contractor" classification; bonus/commission records that affect the regular rate]