---
title: "Check that wages were paid free and clear"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/anti-discrimination-and-industrial-relations/check-that-amounts-payable-for-work-are-paid-in-full-in-money-and-at-lea/united-states"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A15-QU20261022-13-US"
practice_area: "Anti-Discrimination & Industrial Relations"
tier: "yellow"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["US"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-22"
---

# Check that wages were paid free and clear

> From the pay records the lawyer supplies, list each amount, whether it was paid to the employee, and whether the papers show any sum paid back to the employer or to another person for the employer.…

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/anti-discrimination-and-industrial-relations/check-that-amounts-payable-for-work-are-paid-in-full-in-money-and-at-lea/united-states  
Last reviewed: 2026-10-22

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Practice area | [Anti-Discrimination & Industrial Relations](https://ailawframework.com/practice/anti-discrimination-and-industrial-relations.md) |
| Human involvement | Yellow: Lawyer and AI draft together |
| How AI is used | From the pay records the lawyer supplies, list each amount, whether it was paid to the employee, and whether the papers show any sum paid back to the employer or to another person for the employer. Do not decide that a deduction is lawful and do not calculate a minimum wage. |
| What the lawyer must review | Wages, whether in cash or in facilities, are not paid unless they are paid finally and unconditionally, or free and clear. The wage requirements of the Act are not met where the employee kicks back, directly or indirectly, to the employer, or to another person for the employer's benefit, part of the wage delivered to the employee (29 C.F.R. § 531.35). You decide whether each amount was paid free and clear. The minimum-wage section is 29 U.S.C. § 206. The Wage and Hour fact sheet states the federal minimum wage as $7.25 an hour. No federal rule that wages be paid at least monthly was in the sources opened. State payday statutes were not opened. |
| Written for | United States |
| Applies to | [Check that amounts payable for work are paid in full, in money and at least monthly](https://ailawframework.com/practice/anti-discrimination-and-industrial-relations/check-that-amounts-payable-for-work-are-paid-in-full-in-money-and-at-lea.md) |

## Checking plan

- What the AI does: From the pay records the lawyer supplies, list each amount, whether it was paid to the employee, and whether the papers show any sum paid back to the employer or to another person for the employer. Do not decide that a deduction is lawful and do not calculate a minimum wage.
- Basis: Checked against the linked sources on 22 October 2026. Confirm the current instrument before reliance.

## Notes

- Credit for board, lodging, and other facilities is a different regulation and was not opened.
- Do not treat a monthly payday as a federal requirement.

## Sources

- [29 C.F.R. § 531.35, Free and clear payment; kickbacks](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/531.35) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [29 U.S.C. § 206, Minimum wage](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/29/206) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [Department of Labor, Fact Sheet 13: employment relationship under the Fair Labor Standards Act](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/13-flsa-employment-relationship) (checked 2026-10-22)

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*