This is one of the most frequent questions we get at DCWageLaw. When an employee wants to sue their boss, they often ask: “If I decide I want to go ahead and file a lawsuit against my boss, how long will it be before my case is over?!” It’s a natural question to ask: “When will I get my money!”

The short answer is: it depends. But in “wage and hour” cases, there are some patterns.

At DCWageLaw, we specialize in lawsuits for unpaid minimum wages, unpaid overtime wages, unpaid prevailing wages, unpaid sick leave, and similar types of cases. These cases are generally known as “wage and hour” cases.

“Wage and hour” cases, like any kind of court case, can vary widely in their length. In some cases, the plaintiffs and defendants reach a settlement within a matter of weeks. And some cases proceed all the way through trial—a process that can take a year or two.

Based on our experience in hundreds of cases involving unpaid wages, we can tell you the following:

1. The majority of our clients have begun to recover some money within 3 to 6 months of the date that their case was filed or a demand letter was sent. In other words, based on our past experience, 3 to 6 months is about the average time that a “wage and hour” case takes to reach some type of resolution.
2. Less than 10% of our clients have had to wait more than one year for their case to reach some type of resolution. This can happen if the defendant is insolvent or goes bankrupt. It can also happen in the rare case where a defendant—unwisely—decides to take a case to trial.

Of course: every case is different, we cannot make any predictions about what may happen in your case, and our past results do not guarantee success in any future case. If you have a claim relating to wages that you would like to discuss, we encourage you to contact us for a free case evaluation.