Employment · Connecticut

Can I sue for unpaid overtime in Connecticut?

the short answer

Past 40 hours in a workweek you are owed one and a half times your regular rate. The federal rule counts by the week and not by the day, so an eleven-hour Monday is not overtime if the week stops at 40, and two weeks may not be averaged together. Nothing in it requires extra pay for nights, weekends or holidays.

source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

everywhere in the u.s.

governing statute29 U.S.C. § 207(a)(1)source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

penaltyThe unpaid overtime, and an additional equal amount again as liquidated damages. The court must also allow a reasonable attorney's fee and the costs of the action (29 U.S.C. § 216(b)).source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

limit2 yearssource ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

alsoTwo years to sue, or three if the violation was willful (29 U.S.C. § 255(a)). The clock runs paycheck by paycheck, so every week you wait drops a week off the back of the claim.source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

in this state

Where do you report unpaid overtime in Connecticut?

free route

The Wage and Workplace Standards Division of the Department of Labor takes the complaint. Its own guidance is worth having before you file: overtime is due on hours actually worked over 40, there is no daily, weekend or holiday overtime unless your employer agreed to it, and every employer must keep true time and wage records at the workplace for three years.

source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

Which court hears a case like this in Connecticut?

which court

Small claims session of the Superior Court

source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

How much can you sue for in Connecticut small claims court?

small claims limit

$5,000

source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

exceptions: $15,000 for work by a certified home improvement or new home construction contractor. Libel and slander cannot be heard here at all. A tenant suing to get a security deposit back may be awarded more than the limit, costs included.

source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

What else should you know in Connecticut?

also

That three-year record-keeping duty is the reader's evidence, not the employer's paperwork. If your own timesheets are gone, the records the employer was required to keep are the ones the Division will ask for.

source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

your situation

That is the rule. Whether it is your answer is a different question.

Everything above is the law as it reaches everyone in Connecticut. What it means for you turns on facts only you have. Tell us what happened and we'll ask the same questions a lawyer would — about 90 seconds, free, and anonymous.

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