North Carolina wage claims: how to get your unpaid pay

How to file a wage claim in North Carolina

1. Gather your records

   Dates and hours worked, your pay rate, pay stubs or bank deposits, texts or schedules, and the employer's name and address.

2. Ask in writing first (optional)

   A demand letter gives your employer a deadline to pay and shows you tried. Use the free letter on this page.

3. File with North Carolina Department of Labor

   File online with the NCDOL Wage and Hour Bureau for unpaid wages (not overtime), a missing final paycheck, promised vacation pay, unauthorized deductions, pay cuts without notice, or missing pay stub information. NCDOL sends minimum wage, overtime, tip and government-employer complaints to the US Department of Labor (866-487-9243). You need your own name and contact information (no third-party complaints), your employer's street address, your pay rate and the amount owed. Filing is free. You can also go straight to court, but NCDOL will not investigate a claim you have already filed in court.

4. Watch the deadline

   NCDOL will not accept complaints for wages due more than one year ago (NCDOL How to File page). To sue in court: 2 years (N.C.G.S. § 95-25.22(f)).

Minimum wage and overtime in North Carolina

North Carolina's minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, the same as the federal rate. State law follows the federal rate if it goes higher (N.C.G.S. § 95-25.3). Farm workers and domestic workers are covered by the federal minimum wage instead of the state law. No increase is scheduled.

Minimum wage (2026)

$7.25

Tipped cash wage

$2.13

Overtime

You get 1.5 times your regular pay for hours over 40 in a workweek (N.C.G.S. § 95-25.4). North Carolina has no daily overtime. The state overtime and minimum wage rules do not cover most workers whose employers are covered by the federal FLSA. Those workers are protected by federal law and file with the US DOL (N.C.G.S. § 95-25.14; NCDOL How to File page).

Paydays: Your employer must pay all wages and tips on the regular payday. Pay periods may be daily, weekly, every two weeks, twice a month or monthly (N.C.G.S. § 95-25.6).

Your final paycheck in North Carolina

If you are fired or laid off

By the next regular payday, through normal pay channels, or by trackable mail if you ask in writing. Bonuses and commissions are due on the first payday after the amount can be calculated.

If you quit

Same rule: by the next regular payday.

Law

N.C.G.S. § 95-25.7

When was your final paycheck due in North Carolina?

Enter how your job ended and your last day of work. We show your state’s rule and, when the rule is a simple number of days or your next payday, the date.

Penalties your employer may owe

In court, the employer owes your unpaid wages plus interest from the date each amount was due, plus liquidated damages equal to the unpaid amount. The court may lower the damages if the employer shows good faith. The court may also order the employer to pay your attorney's fees and costs (N.C.G.S. § 95-25.22).

Retaliation and immigration status

Your employer may not retaliate against you for filing a wage complaint, testifying, or using your rights under the Wage and Hour Act (Retaliatory Employment Discrimination Act, N.C.G.S. § 95-241). You must file a written retaliation complaint with NCDOL within 180 days (§ 95-242). You can sue only after NCDOL gives you a right-to-sue letter, and then within 90 days. For a willful violation, the court must triple the lost wages (§ 95-243).

Federal law also makes it illegal to fire or punish you for filing a wage complaint or cooperating in an investigation (US DOL Fact Sheet #77A).

The US Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division enforces federal wage law without regard to immigration status, and its services are free and confidential whether you are documented or not (US DOL).

Deductions and tips

Your employer may deduct only what the law requires (like taxes) or what you agreed to in writing in advance, with the reason and amount stated. Deductions for cash shortages or damaged property also need 7 days' written notice. Deductions that benefit the employer may not drop you below minimum wage or cut into overtime pay (N.C.G.S. § 95-25.8; NCDOL Deductions page). To pay $2.13 an hour plus tips, the employer must tell you in advance, let you keep all your tips, and keep tip records (NCDOL Minimum Wage page).

Good to know in North Carolina

• You must get written notice at least one pay period in advance before your pay rate is cut (NCDOL Deductions from Wages page).
• Promised vacation pay can't be forfeited at separation unless your employer told you about that policy in advance (N.C.G.S. § 95-25.7; § 95-25.13).
• If you accept a back-pay payment supervised by NCDOL, you give up your right to sue for those wages (N.C.G.S. § 95-25.22(e)).

Forms

• NCDOL Online Wage Complaint

Wage-theft calculator for North Carolina

Work out what you should have been paid: at least the minimum wage for every hour, plus overtime. Then compare it with what you got.

Free demand letter for unpaid wages

A short, firm letter asking your employer to pay what it owes by a deadline. Many workers get paid at this step, and in some states a written demand starts penalties or makes the employer pay your attorney fees later. Fill this in, then download the letter as PDF or Word (or copy it), sign it, keep a copy and send it in a way you can prove, such as certified mail or an email you keep.

Questions about wage claims in North Carolina

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