If you think we may have recovered unpaid wages for you, use the Workers Owed Wages (WOW) application to search and claim them. Employers need to stay compliant with laws regarding employee pay and minimum wage, overtime, salary disclosure, payroll deductions, and more.Outside of a few extremely specific circumstances, withholding an employee's pay without their consent is considered wage theft and illegal. Some states, however, may require immediate payment. In the US, it is not legal to withhold pay period. Even if there have been issues with the work. An employer has the right to make many types of deductions from an employee's pay. Most employers are required to pay the minimum federal wage or the state minimum wage if that is higher. Workers 16 and up may work up to 50 hours in one week and up to 10 hours a day only between the last day of school and Labor Day. If both the worker and the employer agree to withhold federal income tax, employers can withhold.