Unpaid Wages Demand Letter

What is an unpaid wages demand letter?

An unpaid wages demand letter is a formal written notice sent by an employee to an employer requesting payment of unpaid salary, wages, or overtime. The text of this letter clearly outlines the amount owed, the period of work performed, and a deadline for payment.

Failure to pay a wage or salary to an employee on time is a federal offense, as it violates provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (the “FLSA”). According to the FLSA, an employer must compensate employees for all hours actually worked for a company or organization, including overtime compensation and other cash bonuses. On top of that, employers could not withhold or postpone payments of wages when an employee poorly performs their work or commits a disciplinary offense.

This letter of demand for unpaid wages is the first official step for informing your current or former employer about the non-payment of wages. If an employer keeps ignoring and does not pay a wage immediately, an employee has a right to escalate the matter further to the U.S. Department of Labor or courts.  In case of further escalation of a conflict between employee and employer, this unpaid wages demand letter serves as written evidence of an employee’s request.

Who should use this unpaid wages demand letter template?

This unpaid wages demand letter sample could become a helpful legal tool for U.S. workers who want to claim their unpaid salary in a compliant and professional way. This letter template is suitable for:

• employees who terminated their employment contract but still did not receive a final paycheck;
• employees who plan to end their employment;
• employees who work part-time, seasonal workers, or project workers.

What does this unpaid wages demand letter template include?

The template for an unpaid wages demand letter has a simple structure, which, however, shall cover all essential elements. Those elements are as follows:

General Information

A well-drafted unpaid wages letter to employer template must provide identification details of an employer:

• full name and business address;
• full name and position of a person to whom the letter shall be addressed (e.g., HR manager);
• date of signing this letter; and
• employee’s signature.

Employment Details

This is an introductory part for every unpaid wages letter to employer template that provides general information about the employment, including:

• employee’s title and department;
• type of employment—whether it is ongoing work or an employee has already terminated their contract;
• date of employment contract (for ongoing employment) or date of termination of employment relations (for terminated employment).

This section of the letter is important for the employer to understand the circumstances of the case and details of employment.

Debt Details

In this section of the unpaid salary complaint letter, an employee must state all the financial details, including

• total amount of debt;
• type of debt (e.g., unpaid salary, overtime hours, paid days off, etc.);
• period of time for which the unpaid amount is being claimed (e.g., 1st December – 31st December); and
• acceptable payment methods via which the unpaid wage shall be paid (e.g., cash, bank transfer).

Final Request

The text of every demand letter for unpaid wages shall clearly lay out an employee’s demand to compensate unpaid wages in full. We recommend including in the text of a letter a deadline within which such a payment should be made. The law does not define the duration of such a deadline. Thus, it could last from several days to several months depending on an employee’s decision.

On top of that, it is also good practice to inform an employer about a potential legal dispute an employee wishes to take if the wages remain unpaid.

How to customize a demand for unpaid wages at FasterDraft?

To create a fully customized legal document, follow the instructions below:

1. Click the “Create Document” button.
2. Answer simple questions in the form.
3. Select a template’s format—unpaid wages demand letter PDF or Word.
4. Make a payment.
5. E-sign, download, print, and send this request to your employer.