My boss isn’t paying me for all the hours I work — what can I do?
Published July 3, 2026
The short answer
As a general principle, you’re meant to be paid for the time you’re required to work — and that can include tasks before or after your shift, work you do “off the clock,” and time you’re required to be on duty. Exactly how that time is counted can vary by your role and your state, but the basic idea is broad: hours worked should be hours paid.
You don’t need to win a legal argument to make the problem visible. The most useful thing you can do right now is keep your own dated record of the hours you actually work, so the gap between what you worked and what you were paid is clear.
What you can do
- 1
Write down your hours as they happen
Note when you start, when you stop, and any work you do before or after your shift or through a break — on the day it happens, while it’s fresh.
- 2
Keep anything that shows your real hours
Save schedules, clock-in screenshots, messages asking you to come in early or stay late, and your pay stubs.
- 3
Compare what you worked to what you were paid
Line up your own record against each paycheck so the shortfall is easy to see.
- 4
Raise it in writing
A short, calm written message to your employer creates a dated trail, whatever happens next.
- 5
Check the official rules
For what counts as paid time where you live, see the U.S. Department of Labor (dol.gov) or your state labor department.
Where the exact rules matter: the specifics — figures, thresholds, deadlines, and which rules apply — vary by state and by your situation. Check them with the U.S. Department of Labor (dol.gov) or your state labor department rather than relying on a number from anywhere else.
In plain terms
- Off-the-clock work
- Work that isn’t recorded on your timesheet — like prep before you clock in, or answering messages after your shift.
- Hours worked
- The time your employer requires you to be working or on duty. The details of what counts can vary by state.
- Pay stub
- The breakdown that comes with your pay, showing the hours and amounts you were paid.
Where rippedoffworker comes in
The guide tells you what to do — the app does it with you.
rippedoffworker helps you log the hours, pay, and treatment as they happen and builds a dated record over time — so what your hours came to against what you were paid, as your own estimate, and the pattern behind it are organized in one place, ready to take to the people who can help.
rippedoffworker is a record-keeping tool, not a law firm, and does not give legal advice. Any amounts are arithmetic on the figures you entered — apparent, not a guaranteed or legally determined amount.
Is it legal?
The Break Room answers that one from the regulation itself, quoted, with a link to the page the words were read from.
Is it legal for my boss to tell me to clock out and finish up?