Off-the-Clock Work Lawyer | Get Paid for All Hours Worked

That “quick text” from your boss on a Saturday? That’s work. Cleaning your station for 10 minutes after you’ve already clocked out? That’s work. Answering a few emails from home so the morning is easier? That’s work, too.

It’s called working off the clock, and it’s wage theft. Your employer is stealing from you, minute by minute. An off-the-clock work lawyer helps you get that money back.

It’s simple: It’s any work you do for your boss that you’re not paid for.

The law on this, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), is very clear. It says your employer must pay you for every minute they “suffer or permit” you to work.

That “permit” part is huge. It means even if your boss didn’t ask you to work, if they knew you were (or should have known) and did nothing to stop it, they have to pay you for that time.

You cannot “agree” to work for free. You cannot waive your right to be paid for your time.

This happens in a lot of sneaky ways. See if this sounds familiar:

• Pre-Shift Work: You have to boot up computers, log into three different systems, or read a prep-sheet before your 9:00 AM start time.
• Post-Shift Work: You clock out, but then you have to clean your workspace, cash out a register, or wait for a manager to lock the building.
• Working Through Lunch: Your 30-minute lunch break is automatically deducted, but you’re still answering calls at your desk or helping customers. If you are not 100% free from work, that break must be paid.
• Digital Work: Answering work emails, texts, or app messages from your personal phone.
• “Donning and Doffing”: The time you spend putting on (donning) or taking off (doffing) required safety gear or a complex uniform.
• Unpaid Travel Time: The time you spend driving from one job site to another during your workday.
• “Mandatory” Meetings: Attending a required staff meeting or training session before or after your shift.

These are not “just part of the job.” These are unpaid work hours.

Working off the clock is often an unwritten, “everybody does it” rule. Time shaving is worse. This is when your employer intentionally and fraudulently alters your time records.

A time-shaving lawsuit is often based on:

• Illegal Rounding: Your company’s time clock rounds your 7:55 AM punch-in up to 8:00 AM, and your 5:04 PM punch-out down to 5:00 PM. The rounding always helps the company.
• Automatic Deductions: The system automatically docks you for a 30-minute lunch you never got to take.

Manual Edits: A manager manually cuts your hours, claiming you “clocked in too early” or “stayed too late without approval.”

It’s tempting to just confront your manager, but that’s a risky move. Your employer has lawyers. You should have an expert on your side, too.

Your boss controls the time clock, the payroll records, and the security footage. You can’t get those. We can. An off-the-clock work lawyer uses the legal process to demand the real records, not just the ones your manager “fixed.”

Those 10 minutes a day don’t just add up. They add up to overtime. That time should be paid at time-and-a-half. We do a full audit to find not just your lost wages, but the full overtime pay you’re owed.

The law is 100% on your side here. Your employer is not allowed to fire, demote, cut your hours, or punish you in any way for filing a wage claim. If they try, that’s a separate and very powerful retaliation lawsuit.

This is the best part. When we win, the law allows you to recover:

1. Your Unpaid Wages: All the money you’re owed for the last two or three years.
2. Liquidated Damages: This is the big one. The law is so against wage theft that it often makes the employer pay you double what they stole.
3. Your Lawyer’s Fees: The law also says that if you win, your employer has to pay your attorney’s fees.

This means you can hire our team to fight for you with no upfront cost. We only get paid if we win your case.

If you think you’re a victim of wage theft, be smart.

1. Do not talk to HR or your boss. This only tips them off and puts a target on your back.
2. Keep a private log. Use a notebook or a notes app on your personal phone. Write down the actual time you start and stop working.
3. Save everything. Pay stubs, emails, texts from your boss asking you to “hop on” for a minute.

Call a lawyer. A consultation is free and, most importantly, 100% confidential. Your boss will not know you called.

You did the work. You deserve the pay. Don’t let your employer get away with stealing from you.

Our firm has recovered millions for workers just like you. We know every trick in the book, and we know how to win. Call us for a free, 100% confidential talk. We’ll look at your case, tell you what you’re owed, and make a plan. You pay nothing unless we win.