Wage theft moves more money each year than all property crime combined, and almost none of it looks like theft. This article explains the ordinary mechanisms by which people are not paid for hours they worked: misclassification as exempt, misclassification as a contractor, off-the-clock work, unlawful rounding, tip credit failures, and unpaid final wages. It explains the two-part exemption test and why the salary label is nearly irrelevant. It covers what counts as compensable time under the continuous workday and integral-and-indispensable doctrines. It explains the employer's recordkeeping duty and the Mt. Clemens burden shift that saves claims where records were never kept. It covers the tip credit and the conditions that forfeit it entirely. It covers liquidated damages, the two- and three-year limitations periods, and the retaliation protection. It closes with what a worker should document and eleven ways valid claims are lost.