How to file a wage claim in California.
Filed with the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE). Form: DLSE Form 1. Statute of limitations: 3 years (Lab. Code § 1194).
Calculate your specific deadline
Enter the date wages were due → get the deadline for California, federal FLSA, EEOC charge, and NLRB ULP.
Open SOL calculatorWhat this form covers
Covers minimum wage, overtime, meal/rest break premiums (1 hour pay per missed break), and final-pay penalties.
Where the form is filed
The DLSE Form 1 is the canonical wage-claim form for California. SynthCounsel hosts the official .gov source PDF and re-verifies it nightly.
Federal options run in parallel
State wage claims don’t replace federal claims. The FLSA SOL (2 years; 3 if willful) runs separately from California’s SOL, and you may file with the US DOL Wage & Hour Division for federal minimum-wage and overtime violations. For discrimination claims, the EEOC charge clock starts at 180 days (300 days in deferral states like California).
- · FLSA wage claim: DOL WH-31 (dol.gov)
- · EEOC discrimination charge: SynthCounsel wizard + eeoc.gov
- · NLRB unfair labor practice: NLRB-501 (nlrb.gov)
- · OSHA workplace hazard: OSHA-7 (osha.gov)
Wage claim guides for nearby states
Wage claim time limits
All four parallel deadlines (state, FLSA, EEOC, NLRB) from one date.
EEOC charge wizard
Build a Form 5 narrative if your wage claim involves discrimination.