Calculating Back Pay and Damages

You Deserve More Than Just Wages You Deserve Justice

When your employer doesn’t pay what they should, it’s not just a financial issue, it feels personal. You worked the hours, showed up every day, and followed the rules. So when your paycheck comes up short, it’s not just frustrating, it’s defeating. That money was yours. It should’ve been in your pocket.

At Horn Wright, LLP, our employment law attorneys understand how deeply this affects you. We help workers across New York take a stand, demand answers, and recover more than just wages. If your employer cut corners, they owe you more than back pay. They owe you respect.

What Back Pay Covers Under New York Law

Back pay isn’t just a refund. It’s the money you were legally entitled to, week after week, that never showed up in your paycheck. In New York, that includes unpaid regular wages, overtime you never received, and time that mysteriously disappeared from your records.

New York Labor Law §198 lets you go back as far as six years to claim those missing wages. That’s a long time, and it adds up quickly. If your employer has been trimming an hour here and there, or “forgetting” to pay you overtime, the law gives you space to get what’s yours.

Federal law covers this too. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), 29 U.S.C. § 206 et seq., you’re entitled to back pay, although the lookback period is shorter—two years, or three if the violation was willful. But here in New York, that extended timeline is a real advantage.

How Liquidated Damages Boost What You’re Owed

Back pay is just the start. New York and federal law both allow something called liquidated damages, and they can double what you’re owed. Think of them as a penalty for the employer, and a way to make up for everything you went through.

If you’re missing $7,000 in wages, liquidated damages could turn that into $14,000. That’s how serious the law takes wage theft. Under New York Labor Law §198(1-a) and FLSA §216(b), courts will usually award these damages unless your employer can prove they genuinely tried to follow the law. Spoiler: They rarely can.

This isn’t a bonus. It’s a way to restore what was taken. If your employer had no problem cutting your pay, the law steps in to make sure they feel that choice financially.

Interest Penalties and Other Financial Consequences for Employers

Here’s where it gets even more real. On top of back pay and liquidated damages, New York law lets courts award prejudgment interest. That means you get compensated for how long you’ve waited to be made whole. CPLR §5001 often applies a 9% annual interest rate—so the longer it drags out, the more they owe you.

You can also recover your attorney’s fees and court costs. That’s built into FLSA §216(b) and New York Labor Law §663(1). So, instead of worrying about how to afford a lawyer, the law makes your employer pay for making you take legal action in the first place.

In especially bad cases, a judge might order your employer to change internal practices or reinstate you if you were wrongfully let go. If the New York State Department of Labor gets involved, they may tack on additional penalties under NY Labor Law §215.

How to Calculate Wages Owed from Missing Time Records

You don’t need to have every document in perfect order. If you worked the hours and didn’t get paid, that’s what matters. New York law shifts the burden of proof to the employer when they don’t keep proper records. And they’re supposed to under Labor Law §195(4).

The FLSA requires similar recordkeeping under 29 CFR §516. If they fail to track your time correctly, or if records are “lost,” you can use your own logs, messages, or even witness testimony to support your claim. That means you still have a case, even if your employer’s timesheets are fuzzy or missing.

• Keep your own log of hours you worked.
• Save text messages or emails related to shift changes.
• Note anyone who saw you working outside scheduled hours.

Judges know employers often erase or manipulate time data. You don’t need perfection. You need honesty and enough detail to show what really happened.

What Courts Look For When Awarding Damages

Judges don’t just look at your pay stubs. They consider how long this went on, how many others were affected, and whether your employer tried to cover it up. Both FLSA and New York Labor Law give judges room to award damages based on patterns of abuse, not just isolated mistakes.

They’ll pay attention if this happened every week. Or if several coworkers reported the same problem. If your employer changed your job title to avoid paying overtime, or added fake breaks to your timesheet, New York Labor Law §215 lets courts treat that as retaliation or fraud, which can increase penalties.

Even without full records, you can win. Courts understand that workers aren’t handed HR logs. They want the truth. They want to hear what you lived through. That’s what counts.

Using a Lawyer or Filing Pro Se in New York

Filing a claim on your own (called “pro se”) is totally allowed. It works fine for simple, straightforward claims where you have clean records. But if your case is complex, or you’ve been retaliated against, having an attorney on your side can be the difference between a partial win and full justice.

Our team at Horn Wright, LLP, helps workers break down messy timelines, calculate full damages, and bring hard-to-ignore claims into the spotlight. We know what judges expect. We know how employers try to sidestep responsibility. And most importantly, we know how to put your case together.

New York Labor Law §198 and 663 allow your employer to be held responsible for covering your legal fees if you win. That means you don’t have to go it alone, and you don’t have to pay upfront.

How New York’s Damage Awards Compare to New Hampshire’s Labor Rules

Every state handles wage violations a little differently. In New York, workers benefit from some of the strongest labor protections in the country. For starters, New York gives you six full years to file a claim under Labor Law §198(3). New Hampshire? Just three.

New York also builds in liquidated damages as the default. New Hampshire doesn’t. There, you often have to prove your employer acted “willfully” before extra money is added. In New York, the burden is flipped. Your employer has to prove they acted responsibly—which isn’t easy.

And while both states let you collect interest, New York’s courts tend to award higher amounts, more consistently. That’s good news if you’ve been waiting years for justice. New York’s law simply packs more punch.

If you suspect your pay was short, don’t brush it off. Let our employment law attorneys at Horn Wright, LLP, help you take a closer look. Our track record speaks for itself—and we’re here to get what you’re owed.