Connecticut Wage Claim Demand Letter

CONNECTICUT WAGE CLAIM DEMAND LETTER

1. Sender and Recipient

Date: [__/__/____]

From:

To:

Re: Demand for unpaid wages and compensation

Dear [RECIPIENT NAME]:

I demand payment of the earned wages and compensation itemized below. This letter concerns:

• ☐ Unpaid regular wages
• ☐ Unpaid final wages
• ☐ Unpaid minimum wage
• ☐ Unpaid overtime
• ☐ Earned commissions
• ☐ Earned, nondiscretionary bonus compensation
• ☐ Accrued fringe benefits payable under an employer policy or collective bargaining agreement
• ☐ Unauthorized deductions
• ☐ Other wage claim reviewed by Connecticut counsel: [DESCRIPTION]

The requested response date in Section 7 is a settlement deadline chosen for this letter. It is not represented as a statutory pre-suit notice period.

2. Employment and Pay Information

Factual Statement

[STATE THE RELEVANT FACTS IN DATE ORDER. IDENTIFY THE WORK PERFORMED, HOURS, PAY PERIODS, AGREED COMPENSATION, AMOUNTS PAID, AMOUNTS WITHHELD, AND PRIOR PAYROLL COMMUNICATIONS.]

[____________________________________________________________]

[____________________________________________________________]

[____________________________________________________________]

3. Calculation of Unpaid Principal

A. Regular, Final, Commission, or Bonus Wages

Include a commission or bonus only if the identified agreement or plan made it earned and payable. Do not list a merely discretionary or unvested opportunity as earned wages.

B. Minimum-Wage Differential

The Connecticut minimum wage is $16.94 per hour beginning January 1, 2026. Confirm coverage, exemptions, tip-credit rules, youth rules, and any higher applicable rate before completing this table.

C. Overtime

Unless a valid exemption applies, Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-76c generally requires one and one-half times the regular rate for hours worked over forty in a workweek. Commission and nondiscretionary incentive compensation may affect the regular-rate calculation; have payroll or counsel verify the formula.

D. Promised Fringe Benefits at Termination

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-76k applies when an employer policy or collective bargaining agreement provides for payment of accrued fringe benefits upon termination. Attach the controlling policy or agreement and calculate only what it promises.

E. Unauthorized Deductions

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-71e permits withholding or diversion of wages only through an authorized statutory path, including a deduction required or empowered by law or a written authorization that satisfies the statute. Identify why each challenged deduction lacks a valid path.

F. Total Unpaid Principal

4. Connecticut Legal Basis

Wage Definition and Pay Schedule

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-71a defines wages to include employee compensation calculated by time, task, piece, commission, or another basis. Section 31-71b generally requires payment weekly or once every two weeks on a regular payday designated in advance. The end of the pay period may be no more than eight days before that payday, subject to the statute's exceptions and waiver process.

Final Pay

Under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-71c:

• wages are due no later than the next business day after an employer discharge; and
• wages are due no later than the next regular payday after a resignation, layoff, or labor-dispute suspension.

State Remedies

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-72 states that an employee shall recover twice the full amount of qualifying unpaid wages, with costs and reasonable attorney's fees allowed by the court. If the employer establishes a good-faith belief that the underpayment complied with law, the statute instead provides the full amount owed, costs, and court-allowed reasonable attorney's fees.

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-68 separately addresses minimum-wage and overtime claims and likewise provides a twice-the-unpaid-amount recovery, subject to its good-faith provision, plus costs and court-allowed reasonable attorney's fees.

A statutory recovery stated as twice the unpaid amount is the total wage recovery at 2x. It is not the unpaid principal plus an additional 2x, and this letter does not seek triple recovery or duplicative recovery under overlapping statutes.

Limitations Period and Administrative Route

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-596 generally requires an action for periodically payable employment remuneration to be brought within two years after the right of action accrues. The Connecticut Department of Labor also states that its failure-to-pay-wages investigations are limited to the previous two years from the date a complaint is submitted. Other claims or facts may have different accrual or limitations rules; counsel should calculate the deadline before sending this letter.

The Wage and Workplace Standards Division accepts wage complaints through its official complaint page. An administrative complaint is not a substitute for timely filing any court action.

Retaliation

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-69b prohibits discharge, discipline, penalty, or discrimination because an employee filed or caused a wage investigation or proceeding, testified or was about to testify, or exercised a right protected by the covered wage laws.

Future-Effective Review

Public Act 26-12 amends § 31-72 effective January 1, 2027. The current statute applies as of this template's verification date. Counsel must check the then-current text before using this form on or after January 1, 2027.

5. Potential Statutory Recovery

Complete this section only after counsel confirms the governing claim and remedy. Do not add the principal to a line already calculated at twice the principal.

6. Supporting Records

Copies of the following are enclosed or available:

• ☐ Employment offer, contract, or wage notice
• ☐ Time records and schedules
• ☐ Pay statements and payroll records
• ☐ Commission or bonus plan and calculations
• ☐ Vacation or fringe-benefit policy
• ☐ Written deduction authorization, if any
• ☐ Separation notice
• ☐ Payroll or HR communications
• ☐ Employee calculation spreadsheet
• ☐ Other: [DESCRIPTION]

Please preserve payroll, timekeeping, compensation-plan, policy, and communication records relevant to this dispute. This is a preservation request; it does not purport to be a court order.

7. Demand and Response

The total unpaid principal presently demanded is $[____].

Please provide payment and a written calculation explaining the Employer's position by [__/__/____], which is [____] calendar days after anticipated receipt of this letter.

Payment instructions:

• Payee: [NAME]
• Delivery method: [CERTIFIED CHECK / COUNSEL TRUST ACCOUNT / OTHER]
• Delivery address or instructions: [DETAILS]

If the Employer disputes any item, please identify the disputed line, the factual and contractual basis for the dispute, and all supporting payroll records. If the matter is not resolved by the response date, the Claimant may consider an administrative complaint with the Connecticut Department of Labor and any timely civil remedy available after legal review.

Nothing in this letter waives any claim, defense, filing deadline, or nonwaivable right.

Sincerely,

Sources and References

• Connecticut General Assembly, current Chapter 558: https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_558.htm
• Connecticut General Assembly, current Chapter 926, § 52-596: https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_926.htm#sec_52-596
• Connecticut General Assembly, Public Act 26-12: https://www.cga.ct.gov/2026/act/pa/pdf/2026PA-00012-R00HB-05003-PA.pdf
• Connecticut Department of Labor, Wage Payment Laws (DOL-74): https://portal.ct.gov/dol/-/media/DOL/2022-New-Design-System/Divisions/wage-and-workplace-standards/dol-74.pdf
• Connecticut Department of Labor, Wage and Workplace Standards complaint forms: https://portal.ct.gov/dol/divisions/wage-and-workplace-standards/wage-complaint
• Connecticut Department of Labor, wage and hour guidance and 2026 minimum wage: https://portal.ct.gov/dol/divisions/wage-and-workplace-standards/wage-and-hour
• Connecticut Department of Labor, wage-retaliation complaints: https://portal.ct.gov/dol/divisions/legal/wage-and-unemployment-insurance-retaliation-complaints
• U.S. Department of Labor, regular rate and commission compensation: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/56a-regular-rate