Chapter § 6-20 § 61.051. Filing Wage Claim

• Jurisdiction: United States

6-20 § 61.051. Filing Wage Claim

(a) An employee who is not paid wages as prescribed by this chapter may file a wage claim with the commission in accordance with this subchapter.

(b) A wage claim must be filed in a manner and on a form prescribed by the commission and must be verified by the employee.

(c) A wage claim must be filed not later than the 180th day after the date the wages claimed became due for payment. The 180-day deadline is a matter of jurisdiction.

(d) The employee may file the wage claim:

(1) in person at an office of the commission;

(2) by mailing the claim to an address designated by the commission;

(3) by faxing the claim to a fax number designated by the commission; or

(4) by any other means adopted by the commission by rule.

6-20:1 Commentary

6-20:1.1 Employee Compensation and Breach of Employment Contract

Employers are sometimes faced with a situation where an employee has earned monies, but the employer believes that the monies should not be paid because the employee has "unclean hands." What is an employer's remedy? The employer may not withhold monies from the employee's paycheck except in the narrow circumstances set out in Section 61.018. Nevertheless, an employer may refuse to pay earned compensation if it established the employee breached a fiduciary duty to it.

• Central Tex. Orthopedic Prods., Inc. v. Espinoza, No. 04-09-00148, 2009 Tex. App. LEXIS 9355 (Tex. App.—San Antonio Dec. 9, 2009) (employee allegedly violated non-compete and confidentiality agreements by disclosing trade secrets to a competitor while employed by Central Texas; employer refused to pay earned commissions as a result; appeals court reversed summary judgment for the employee, holding that an employee's breach of a fiduciary duty may result in forfeiture of the employee's right to earned compensation).

Two issues that frequently arise are the timeliness of a complaint, and whether an employee can file both an administrative complaint as well as a common law lawsuit. The Texas Supreme Court answered both questions in 2006.

• Igal v. Brightstar Info. Tech. Grp., Inc., No. 04-0931, 2008 Tex. LEXIS 436 (Tex. May 2, 2008) (wage claims must be filed within 180 days of the protested action; in other words, to determine timeliness, one must go back 180 days

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