Being Denied Overtime in District of Columbia
My employer isn't paying me overtime — here's what District of Columbia law says and what to do next.
Statute: D.C. Code § 32-1003(c)
Deadline: 1095 days
Penalty: Employer may be liable for treble (3x) the amount of unpaid overtime as liquidated damages, plus costs and reasonable attorney fees. Three-year SOL under D.C. Wage Payment Act
What is being denied overtime?
The rule is older than your grandparents and it hasn't changed: work more than 40 hours in a single workweek and your employer owes you at least 1.5 times your regular rate for every hour past 40. That's the Fair Labor Standards Act, on the books since 1938.
It covers most hourly workers automatically. If you're salaried but earn less than $684 a week ($35,568 a year), you're owed overtime no matter what your job title says. Above that salary line, your employer can call you "exempt" — but only if your actual day-to-day duties fit one of the narrow categories the DOL spells out (executive, administrative, professional, computer, or outside sales). The label isn't enough; the duties have to match.
One thing worth knowing: the DOL tried to raise the salary threshold to $58,656 in 2024, which would have pulled millions of mid-level salaried workers back into overtime eligibility. A federal judge in Texas vacated the rule in November 2024, so the line is still $35,568 going into 2026.
What to Do If Your Employer Doesn't Pay Overtime
Cases get won on records, not memory. Start there.
Step 1: Keep your own time log. Note when you start, when you stop, and every break. A notebook, a phone app, even photos of the time clock — anything contemporaneous beats your boss's word in front of a DOL investigator.
Step 2: Check the math on your pay stubs. Pull every week you cracked 40 hours. The overtime hours have to be paid at 1.5× your regular rate, and the "regular rate" includes most non-discretionary bonuses and commissions — which is why a lot of overtime claims are even bigger than people first think.
Step 3: Put it in writing. A short email to HR or your manager asking them to correct the underpayment is enough. Save the response (or the silence).
Step 4: File the complaint. The DOL Wage and Hour Division takes complaints at 1-866-487-9243 or online at dol.gov. You can also call an employment attorney — most take overtime cases on contingency, so there's no money up front.
How District of Columbia differs from federal law
The District of Columbia follows federal FLSA overtime rules but adds several worker-friendly protections:
- Higher exempt salary threshold: D.C. sets a higher salary threshold for overtime exemption than the federal level, tied to the D.C. minimum wage. Employees must earn at least a specified weekly salary to be classified as exempt.
- Wage Payment and Collection Law: D.C. requires employers to pay all earned wages, including overtime, promptly. Employers who fail to pay can face liquidated damages of 3x the unpaid wages, plus attorney fees and costs.
- Written notice requirements: D.C. employers must provide written notice to employees of their pay rate, overtime rate, and pay schedule before employment begins.
- Stronger enforcement: The D.C. Office of the Attorney General actively prosecutes wage theft cases, including overtime violations, and has recovered millions in back wages for workers.
Additional steps in District of Columbia
File a complaint with the D.C. Department of Employment Services (DOES) at does.dc.gov or call (202) 671-1880. You can also contact the D.C. Office of the Attorney General's Workers' Rights Bureau.
What you should NOT do
Don't work off the clock. If your boss tells you to clock out but finish the task, that's textbook wage theft. Make a quick note of when it happened and what you were asked to do.
Don't take "you're exempt" at face value. Run the salary and duties tests yourself. If anything's off, you may be owed years of back pay.
Don't sit on it. The FLSA gives you 2 years from each paycheck (3 if the violation was willful). Wait too long and the earliest weeks fall off the back end of your claim.
Don't quit before you file. You can file while you're still on the payroll, and retaliation for filing a wage complaint is itself illegal under FLSA §15(a)(3).
Don't wait — the clock is ticking.
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