[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-281521-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-1-en-105":81,"doc-detail-281521-en":127},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","my-old-job-owes-me-money-wage-claims-fact-sheet","My Old Job Owes Me Money - Wage Claims - Fact Sheet","","My Old Job Owes Me Money: Wage Claims fact sheet explains how employees can recover unpaid wages after leaving or losing a job in Minnesota. It defines wage claims, identifies which parties may be responsible, and distinguishes employees from independent contractors and special cases such as construction work, migrant agricultural workers, and union-covered employment. It outlines payment timing rules, where to receive the final check, bankruptcy filing steps, and the written wage demand process, including required information for intake and how penalties may be calculated when payments are late.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/","Template",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/letters/","Letters",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/my-old-job-owes-me-money-wage-claims-fact-sheet/281521/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/my-old-job-owes-me-money-wage-claims-fact-sheet/281521.png","ImageObject",442,249,{"name":42,"@type":43},"WPS_1786070896","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-19","2026-09-16",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",9,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"Who can file a wage claim and against whom in Minnesota?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"If you left or lost your job and were not paid all wages, you can make a wage claim against your employer. Construction workers may claim against the contractor, subcontractor, or both, depending on the situation. The fact sheet is for employees, not independent contractors.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"What are the Minnesota deadlines for employers to pay after you ask for unpaid wages?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"If you were fired or laid off, you must be paid within 24 hours after you ask in writing. If you quit or resigned, you must be paid on or by the next regular payday unless it is less than 5 days away, and you must be paid within 20 days of your last day.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"What information is needed for the MN Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) intake?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"You need your employer’s name and contact information, your rate of pay, the dates you worked for which you were not paid, your last workday date, and the date you demanded final wages (if you did). A wage demand is not required to file a wage claim.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},281521,1790197559,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,89,94,99,104,109,114,118,123],{"id":85,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":86,"show_sort_weight":87,"slug":88},11,"Presentations",90,"presentations",{"id":90,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":91,"show_sort_weight":92,"slug":93},12,"Resumes",80,"resumes",{"id":95,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":96,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":98},14,"Invoices",70,"invoices",{"id":100,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":101,"show_sort_weight":102,"slug":103},15,"Posters",60,"posters",{"id":105,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":106,"show_sort_weight":107,"slug":108},16,"Social Media",50,"social-media",{"id":110,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":111,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},17,"Forms",40,"forms",{"id":115,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":116,"slug":117},18,30,"letters",{"id":119,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":121,"slug":122},21,"Paper Templates",5,"papers-templates",{"id":124,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":125,"show_sort_weight":4,"slug":126},158,"General","general-158",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":128},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":129,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":130,"doc_module":22,"category_id":115,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":131,"file_id":132,"file_url":133,"file_type":134,"file_size":135,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":121,"language":136,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":137,"faqs":138,"seo_title":139,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":140,"read_time":26},549768072016,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_155a257f0dc6eb9ab79c44ca47cae57d","Fact Sheet  \nMy Old Job Owes Me Money: Wage Claims  \nWhat’s a wage claim?  \nIf you left or lost your job and were not paid all of your wages, you can make a “wage claim”against your employer. If you are a construction worker, you can make a wage claim against the contractor or subcontractor – or both. If you were a migrant agricultural worker, you have the right to stay in your employer-provided housing until you are paid your final wages. You can get all the money that you earned before you stopped work, even if you left on bad terms. You may be able to get more money as a penalty if your employer did not follow the law about paying your wages after you stopped work.  \nMinnesota law has steps to follow to make a wage claim. If you were an independent contractor or had a written job contract, the rules may be different. Read your personnel policy manual or contract. Not all policies or contracts are legal, so call a lawyer if you have questions. This fact sheet is for employees not independent contractors.  \nSee our fact sheet Job Status and Your Rights if you are not sure.  \nWhat are wages?  \nWages include your hourly pay, overtime, and/or salary. Wages may also include bonuses and commissions that you earned before you lost your job. Wages may also sometimes include paid time off (PTO) that you earned during your job. Employers don’t have to pay out your earned sick and safe time (ESST), but some employers choose to. Make sure you look at any employment handbooks, job contracts or agreements about how you earn and how you can use your PTO and ESST.  \nHow soon must they pay me?  \n• If you were fired or laid-off, Minnesota law says that you must be paid within 24 hours after you ask for it. You have to ask in writing to be paid within 24 hours. Otherwise, you get paid at your next scheduled paycheck.  \n• If you quit or resigned, you must be paid on or by the next regular payday unless it is less than 5 days away. Then they can wait until the second payday. You must be paid within 20 days of your last day.  \nThe money must be paid at the place you usually got your checks unless you ask them to mail your last check.  \nThere are some exceptions:  \n• If you are a migrant worker, you must be paid within 3 days if you quit. If you are fired or laid-off, the rules are the same as above-they have to pay you within 24 hours of asking for it.  \n• If you are in a union with a collective bargaining agreement, there may be different rules.  \n• If your employer or contractor files for bankruptcy before you are paid, file your claim in bankruptcy court. There are 4 bankruptcy courts in Minnesota, and you can put your name on the list of people needing to be paid.  \nBankruptcy court usually puts wage claims before most other claims. This means you may still get paid even if it seems that the employer doesn’t have any money. Be sure to make your wage claim!  \n• If you handled money or property at your job, the employer can take 10 days after your last work day to check your accounts before you are paid.  \nGenerally, employers cannot take money out of your paycheck for work property that is lost, stolen or damaged. They can, if you agree to it in writing after the loss or damage happened, or if a court decides you are to blame.  \nHow do I make a wage claim?  \nAsk for your unpaid wages as soon as possible after you leave your job. This is called making a demand for wages. Your demand must be in writing but doesn’t need to say the amount owed.  \nThere is a sample wage demand letter with this fact sheet. Write it in your own words, sign, and date your letter. Keep a copy. Ask the employer or contractor to pay you all of your unpaid wages and commissions right away.  \nIf your employer doesn’t pay you after getting your letter, contact the MN Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) at [dli.laborstandards@state.mn.us](dli.laborstandards@state.mn.us. You)[.](dli.laborstandards@state.mn.us. You)[ You](dli.laborstandards@state.mn.us. You) can also call t","cbCaim1xNjE4J8LT","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaim1xNjE4J8LT","pdf",476458,"English","# What’s a wage claim?\n# What are wages?\n# How soon must they pay me?\n# Exceptions\n# How do I make a wage claim?\n## Wage demand letter\n## Contacting MN DLI and intake\n# What if they don’t pay me on time?\n## Payment considered complete\n## Penalties for late payment","[{\"question\":\"Who can file a wage claim and against whom in Minnesota?\",\"answer\":\"If you left or lost your job and were not paid all wages, you can make a wage claim against your employer. Construction workers may claim against the contractor, subcontractor, or both, depending on the situation. The fact sheet is for employees, not independent contractors.\"},{\"question\":\"What are the Minnesota deadlines for employers to pay after you ask for unpaid wages?\",\"answer\":\"If you were fired or laid off, you must be paid within 24 hours after you ask in writing. If you quit or resigned, you must be paid on or by the next regular payday unless it is less than 5 days away, and you must be paid within 20 days of your last day.\"},{\"question\":\"What information is needed for the MN Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) intake?\",\"answer\":\"You need your employer’s name and contact information, your rate of pay, the dates you worked for which you were not paid, your last workday date, and the date you demanded final wages (if you did). A wage demand is not required to file a wage claim.\"}]","My Old Job Owes Me Money - Wage Claims - Fact Sheet | PDF",1789566580]