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Polauf Law LLC Stephen Polauf · Attorney at Law

Fees & Services

Wage & Hour / Wage Deductions and Pay Practices

Wage compliance, deduction forms, and pay practice review for Connecticut employers and employees.

Wage and Hour Compliance

Wage and hour issues cover how employees are paid, when they are paid, what counts as wages, and when employers may lawfully deduct or withhold pay. Connecticut's wage statutes are collected in Chapter 558 and include strict rules on written wage information, permissible deductions, timing of pay, and remedies when wages are not paid as required.

Employers must, at the time of hiring, advise employees in writing of their rate of pay, hours of employment, and wage payment schedule, and must make all wage-related policies (including vacation, sick leave, and comparable benefits) available in writing or by posted notice under CGS § 31-71f. Employers may not withhold or divert any portion of an employee's wages unless the deduction is required by law or is authorized in writing on a form approved by the Labor Commissioner under CGS § 31-71e. When wages are wrongfully withheld or reduced, CGS § 31-72 permits employees to bring a civil action to recover twice the full amount of wages due, plus costs and reasonable attorney's fees, unless the employer proves a good-faith belief that its pay practices complied with the law. Those double-damages and fee provisions give employees leverage in wage disputes.

Double Damages: CGS § 31-72

When wages are wrongfully withheld or reduced, CGS § 31-72 permits employees to recover twice the full amount of wages due, plus costs and attorney's fees, unless the employer proves a good-faith belief that its pay practices complied with the law.

Overtime: Federal and Connecticut Standards

Overtime is governed by two separate bodies of law that both reach most Connecticut employers. Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, a covered employee must receive one and one-half times the regular rate of pay for hours worked beyond forty in a workweek.1 The Act exempts employees who work in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity, along with outside sales and certain computer employees.2 Exempt status depends on two independent tests: the employee's actual job duties and a salary-basis test set by federal regulation.3 As of 2026, after the Department of Labor's 2024 rule raising the figure was vacated in litigation and then formally rescinded, the standard salary level returned to $684 per week, or $35,568 annually, and the highly compensated employee threshold returned to $107,432.4 A salaried title and a fixed salary are not sufficient on their own; an employee who fails either the duties test or the salary test is entitled to overtime.

Connecticut imposes its own overtime requirement that operates independently of federal law. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-76c requires one and one-half times the regular rate for hours worked over forty in a workweek,5 and § 31-76b defines the regular rate that anchors the calculation.6 Connecticut recognizes its own executive, administrative, professional, and outside-salesperson exemptions, which are defined by the Labor Commissioner's regulations rather than by direct reference to the federal salary figure.7 Because the state exemptions are set by Connecticut regulation, an employer must confirm classification under state law in addition to federal law, and several industries remain subject to separate Connecticut wage orders.

When both laws reach the same employee, the employer must comply with whichever standard gives the employee greater protection. Classification turns on the work the employee actually performs, and the Second Circuit resolves exemption disputes on that factual record rather than on the employer's label.8 A misclassification carries concrete exposure: unpaid back overtime, liquidated damages equal to the unpaid wages plus attorney's fees under federal law,9 and Connecticut's own double-damages and fee provisions under § 31-72. Individual owners and managers who control pay practices can be held personally liable as employers under the FLSA.10

For employers, I review exemption classifications against the federal and Connecticut tests, audit salary-basis and regular-rate calculations, and structure corrective reclassification before a Department of Labor complaint or a lawsuit forces the issue. For employees, I assess whether a salaried or nominally managerial position was misclassified, calculate the unpaid overtime at stake, and pursue it through the Department of Labor or in court. In either posture the analysis starts from the same facts: the work the employee actually performed and the way the regular rate was calculated.

For Employers

For employers, wage and hour compliance starts with written policies and structured pay practices. Connecticut law requires written notice of rates, hours, and pay schedules, as well as written or posted policies governing vacation, sick leave, and other wage-related benefits. I advise employers on drafting and reviewing wage policies, overtime practices, and written notices so they meet these requirements and match the employer's payroll practices.

Overtime is a central part of that review. Misclassifying a salaried employee as exempt, when the position does not satisfy both the duties test and the salary test, creates liability for unpaid back overtime, liquidated or double damages, and attorney's fees. I evaluate exemption status, regular-rate calculations, and overtime practices under federal and Connecticut law, and I have drafted Connecticut overtime and wage policies within multistate employee handbooks for nationwide manufacturing employers that operate in Connecticut. The governing standards are set out in the overtime section above.

Wage deduction consent forms are permitted only in limited circumstances. Under CGS § 31-71e, most voluntary deductions beyond taxes and standard benefits require written employee authorization on a form approved by the Labor Commissioner, and only for limited purposes such as uniforms, tools, and certain advances. Even when a business has a reason to recoup an advance or unearned paid time off, a wage deduction is not a general-purpose solution. Employers should hesitate before making any change to an employee's wages or using deductions and should consult counsel before doing so.

The consent forms I draft address specific transactions and are submitted for approval by the Connecticut Department of Labor. I have obtained commissioner approval for wage deduction forms for employers who front-load paid sick leave under Connecticut's amended paid sick leave law, including recoupment of advanced, unearned sick leave at separation in a manner that complies with both the paid sick leave statute and CGS § 31-71e. That approval process is mandatory for these forms and is part of the service.

When wage disputes arise, I evaluate the employer's exposure under the double-damages standard, help correct practices that led to the dispute, and resolve claims through negotiation, DOL proceedings, or litigation.

Wage and Hour Litigation and Expert Opinions

I have been involved in wage and hour litigation in Connecticut Superior Court and in federal court. This work includes defending special defense theories against a motion to strike filed by the Department of Labor in Commissioner of Labor v. Grove School, Inc.,11 and preserving a favorable ruling on reconsideration, and subsequently on appeal, in the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Savinova v. Nova Home Care, LLC.12

I am available to provide expert opinions and consulting analysis on Connecticut and federal wage and hour questions for employers, employees, and other counsel.

For Employees

When an employer withholds a paycheck or makes an unauthorized deduction, that is a violation of Connecticut's wage statutes, not a matter an employee has to negotiate. Under CGS § 31-71e, most deductions beyond taxes and standard benefits need written authorization on a commissioner-approved form. Wrongful withholding can trigger double damages and attorney's fees under CGS § 31-72 unless the employer proves good-faith compliance.

I identify what categories of pay are in dispute, such as base wages, overtime, commissions, bonuses, and unlawful policy-based reductions, and advise whether a Connecticut Department of Labor complaint, a civil action, or both fits your facts. The double-damages and fee provisions often move employers to settle before litigation; I use them when they apply.

Scope of Service

  • Wage and hour compliance counseling for employers, including written wage notices and wage-related policies
  • Overtime exemption classification under the FLSA and Connecticut law, and regular-rate and pay practice review
  • Drafting and revising written wage policies and handbooks to satisfy CGS § 31-71f requirements
  • Drafting, reviewing, and obtaining Connecticut DOL approval for wage deduction consent forms under CGS § 31-71e, including forms for front-loaded or advanced paid sick leave arrangements
  • Advising employers on when wage deduction consent forms may lawfully be used and when changes to wages should not be made
  • Advising employees on withheld wages, improper deductions, and unpaid overtime
  • Representation in wage disputes through CT DOL proceedings and civil actions under CGS § 31-72
  • Wage and hour litigation in Connecticut Superior Court and federal court, including FLSA overtime collective and class actions
  • Expert opinions and consulting analysis on Connecticut and federal wage and hour questions for employers, employees, and counsel

Authorities Cited

  1. Fair Labor Standards Act § 7(a)(1), 29 U.S.C. § 207(a)(1). ↩
  2. 29 U.S.C. § 213(a)(1). ↩
  3. 29 C.F.R. pt. 541. ↩
  4. 29 C.F.R. § 541.600; see Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales, and Computer Employees, 91 Fed. Reg. 27,833 (May 15, 2026) (restoring the 2019 salary levels after the 2024 rule was vacated). ↩
  5. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-76c. ↩
  6. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-76b. ↩
  7. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-76i; see also Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-60 (authorizing the Labor Commissioner's exemption regulations). ↩
  8. Scott v. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., 954 F.3d 502 (2d Cir. 2020). ↩
  9. 29 U.S.C. § 216(b). ↩
  10. Irizarry v. Catsimatidis, 722 F.3d 99 (2d Cir. 2013). ↩
  11. Commissioner of Labor v. Grove School, Inc., No. HHD-CV-23-6177012-S (Conn. Super. Ct.). ↩
  12. Savinova v. Nova Home Care, LLC, No. 3:20-cv-01612 (D. Conn.); related proceeding, No. 24-2113 (2d Cir.). ↩
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