Employment · Iowa

Can I sue for unpaid overtime in Iowa?

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 Iowa?

free route

The Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing takes an Iowa wage claim, published in English and Spanish, and it will go as far as filing a lawsuit on your behalf to collect. It must be less than a year — 365 days — since the wages were due. On overtime it refers you out: its own page says to contact the federal Wage and Hour Office, which enforces overtime law.

source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

Which court hears a case like this in Iowa?

which court

District court sitting in small claims

source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

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

small claims limit

$6,500

source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

What else should you know in Iowa?

also

So Iowa is a two-office claim if you are owed both. Unpaid wages and unlawful deductions go to the state, inside 365 days; the overtime goes federal, where the clock is two years or three for a wilful violation.

source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

your situation

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

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unpaid overtime — state by state →other claims in this state →