Your last paycheck never came. Your commissions were recalculated after you quit. You were paid straight time for 55-hour weeks at a warehouse, a restaurant or a construction site. You were told you were a contractor when you did the work of an employee. These are the most common wage problems El Paso workers bring to us, and they cut across every industry in the region: logistics and trucking along the Loop 375 corridor, restaurants, home health agencies, call centers, construction crews, and small businesses on both sides of the border. Unpaid wages are not a misunderstanding to let go. They are a debt the law requires your employer to pay.
Two laws do most of the work. The Texas Payday Law, Texas Labor Code Chapter 61, requires an employer to pay a fired employee within six calendar days and an employee who quits by the next regular payday, and it covers commissions, bonuses and earned vacation promised in writing. A wage claim under that law is filed with the Texas Workforce Commission on Form LL-1 and must be received within 180 days of the date the wages were due. The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (29 U.S.C. § 207) requires time-and-a-half for hours over 40 in a workweek for non-exempt employees, with a two-year lookback (three for willful violations) and liquidated damages that can double the recovery.
Navar Law starts with a signed attorney demand letter that cites the statute, states the exact amount owed and gives the employer a short deadline. Many El Paso employers pay at that stage because the alternative is a TWC investigation, administrative penalties and, under the FLSA, attorney's fees. If the letter is ignored, we prepare and file the TWC wage claim with your pay records, schedules and texts, and we respond to the employer's answer. Everything is done on paper or by phone; you never appear in court. Filing alone often fails because the claim is miscalculated, lacks proof of hours or misses the 180-day window, and a claim filed wrong the first time is hard to fix.
What counts as unpaid wages under Texas and federal law
Wages under the Texas Payday Law include hourly pay, salary, commissions, bonuses and fringe benefits such as vacation or sick pay that the employer promised in a written policy or agreement. Illegal deductions count too: an El Paso employer cannot take money out of your check for a cash register shortage, a broken tool or a uniform without your written authorization, and never below minimum wage. If you were paid in cash with no stubs, your own notes, texts and coworker statements are still evidence. The TWC takes claims from workers regardless of immigration status, and so do we.
Overtime is a separate federal question. Being paid a salary does not automatically make you exempt; the job duties and the salary level under Department of Labor regulations decide. Misclassifying employees as independent contractors, paying a day rate with no overtime, or averaging hours across two weeks are common violations in El Paso construction, trucking and home health work. We look at your actual schedule and the way you were paid to decide whether to pursue the Texas Payday Law route, the FLSA route, or both.
Deadlines and what happens after you file with the TWC
The 180-day deadline under Texas Labor Code § 61.051 runs from the day each paycheck was due, so older pay periods fall off the calendar every week you wait. After the claim is filed, the TWC Wage and Hour Department notifies the employer, which typically has 14 days to respond. An investigator reviews both sides and issues a Preliminary Wage Determination Order. Either party may appeal within 21 days to a Wage Claim Appeal Tribunal, which holds a telephone hearing. If the order becomes final and the employer still does not pay, the TWC can collect through liens and bank levies, and unpaid orders can lead to administrative penalties. No step in this process requires you to appear in a courtroom.
What's included
- Consultation to review your pay stubs, schedules, texts and any written pay policy
- Calculation of wages, commissions and overtime owed under the Texas Payday Law and the FLSA
- Signed attorney demand letter to the employer citing the applicable statutes with a payment deadline
- Preparation and filing of TWC Wage Claim Form LL-1 with supporting evidence, if the letter is ignored
- Written response to the employer's answer during the TWC investigation
- Guidance on retaliation protections if the employer reacts to your claim
How it works
Gather your proof
Send us pay stubs, schedules, time clock screenshots, texts with your supervisor and your offer letter or commission plan. Even partial records help us build an accurate calculation of what you are owed.
Attorney demand letter
Within three business days we send a signed demand letter citing Texas Labor Code Chapter 61 and, where applicable, the FLSA, with a firm deadline. Many El Paso employers pay at this stage rather than face a TWC investigation.
File the TWC wage claim if needed
If the employer does not pay, we file Form LL-1 with the Texas Workforce Commission before the 180-day deadline and handle the investigation correspondence and any telephone hearing with you.