## How the limitation period applies

The controlling primary authority for FLSA federal wage and hour claim SOL (29 U.S.C. § 255(a)) is **29 U.S.C. § 255(a)**.

> **29 U.S.C. § 255(a).** if the cause of action accrues on or after May 14, 1947-may be commenced within two years after the cause of action accrued, and every such action shall be forever barred unless commenced within two years after the cause of action accrued, except that a cause of action arising out of a willful violation may be commenced within three years after the cause of action accrued;

## Use the calculator

DocketMath's statute-of-limitations tool can model these timelines once you identify the controlling claim type and accrual date. Use the source panel for the verified primary-source citations.

[Open the Statute of Limitations calculator](/tools/statute-of-limitations)

## Sources

- [29 U.S.C. § 255(a) — 29 U.S.C. § 255. Statute of limitations.](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title29-section255&num=0&edition=prelim)

All sources are official primary law published by `uscode.house.gov`.

**Corroboration method:** government_primary_source_direct_fetch.


Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employees can sue for unpaid wages and related wage-and-hour relief (for example, unpaid overtime). A lawsuit...

Statute of Limitations for FLSA Claims (federal wage/hour) in United States (Federal)

We have said that a petitioner is entitled to equitable tolling only if he shows (1) that he has been pursuing his rights diligently, and (2) that some extraordinary circumstance stood in his way and prevented timely filing.

A charge under this section shall be filed within one hundred and eighty days after the alleged unlawful employment practice occurred and notice of the charge (including the date, place and circumstances of the alleged unlawful employment practice) shall be served upon the person against whom such charge is made within ten days thereafter, except that in a case of an unlawful employment practice with respect to which the person aggrieved has initially instituted proceedings with a State or local agency with authority to grant or seek relief from such practice or to institute criminal proceedings with respect thereto upon receiving notice thereof, such charge shall be filed by or on behalf of the person aggrieved within three hundred days after the alleged unlawful employment practice occurred, or within thirty days after receiving notice that the State or local agency has terminated the proceedings under the State or local law, whichever is earlier, and a copy of such charge shall be filed by the Commission with the State or local agency.

Any action commenced on or after May 14, 1947, to enforce any cause of action for unpaid minimum wages, unpaid overtime compensation, or liquidated damages, under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended [ 29 U.S.C. 201 et seq. ], the Walsh-Healey Act, or the Bacon-Davis Act 1 - (a) if the cause of action accrues on or after May 14, 1947-may be commenced within two years after the cause of action accrued, and every such action shall be forever barred unless commenced within two years after the cause of action accrued, except that a cause of action arising out of a willful violation may be commenced within three years after the cause of action accrued;

(b) A tort claim against the United States shall be forever barred unless it is presented in writing to the appropriate Federal agency within two years after such claim accrues or unless action is begun within six months after the date of mailing, by certified or registered mail, of notice of final denial of the claim by the agency to which it was presented.

This equitable doctrine is read into every federal statute of limitation. ... where a plaintiff has been injured by fraud and remains in ignorance of it without any fault or want of diligence or care on his part, the bar of the statute does not begin to run until the fraud is discovered.

(a) Subject to the provisions of section 2416 of this title , and except as otherwise provided by Congress , every action for money damages brought by the United States or an officer or agency thereof which is founded upon any contract express or implied in law or fact, shall be barred unless the complaint is filed within six years after the right of action accrues or within one year after final decisions have been rendered in applicable administrative proceedings required by contract or by law, whichever is later.

Under 28 U.S.C. § 2401(b), a tort claim against the United States (which encompasses property-damage tort claims, including damage to personal property, brought under the Federal Tort Claims Act) is forever barred unless (i) it is presented in writing to the appropriate Federal agency within two years after the claim accrues and (ii) any civil action is begun within six months after the date of mailing, by certified or registered mail, of notice of final denial of the claim by the agency. The ve

Under 28 U.S.C. § 2401(b), a tort claim against the United States — which encompasses medical-malpractice tort claims brought under the Federal Tort Claims Act against federal medical providers such as VA hospitals, military medical facilities, and Indian Health Service facilities — is forever barred unless (i) it is presented in writing to the appropriate Federal agency within two years after the claim accrues and (ii) any civil action is begun within six months after the date of mailing, by ce

Under the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2401(b), a tort claim against the United States is forever barred unless presented in writing to the appropriate federal agency within two years after the claim accrues.

An FLSA wage and hour claim must be commenced within two years after the cause of action accrued (three years for a willful violation) under 29 U.S.C. § 255(a).

For the purpose of computing the limitations periods established in section 2415, there shall be excluded all periods during which-

(a) the defendant or the res is outside the United States, its territories and possessions, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; or

(b) the defendant is exempt from legal process because of infancy, mental incompetence, diplomatic immunity, or for any other reason; or
(c) facts material to the right of action are not known and reasonably could not be known by an official of the United States charged with the responsibility to act in the circumstances; or

(d) the United States is in a state of war declared pursuant to article I, section 8, of the Constitution of the United States.

(1) General rule No suit or proceeding under section 7422(a) for the recovery of any internal revenue tax, penalty, or other sum, shall be begun before the expiration of 6 months from the date of filing the claim required under such section unless the Secretary renders a decision thereon within that time, nor after the expiration of 2 years from the date of mailing by certified mail or registered mail by the Secretary to the taxpayer of a notice of the disallowance of the part of the claim to which the suit or proceeding relates.

We have generally been much less forgiving in receiving late filings where the claimant failed to exercise due diligence in preserving his legal rights.

where the party injured by the fraud remains in ignorance of it without any fault or want of diligence or care on his part, the bar of the statute does not begin to run until the fraud is discovered, though there be no special circumstances or efforts on the part of the party committing the fraud to conceal it from the knowledge of the other party.

We therefore hold that the same rebuttable presumption of equitable tolling applicable to suits against private defendants should also apply to suits against the United States. Congress, of course, may provide otherwise if it wishes to do so.