What is pre-judgment interest and why does it matter?

Pre-judgment interest is statutory interest accrued on unpaid wages from the date of your job loss to the date of settlement or judgment. California requires 10% per year, New York 9%, and federal cases typically use 5–7%. On a $50,000 back pay award over 2 years, pre-judgment interest adds $10,000 in additional damages.

Should I include overtime, bonuses, and commissions?

Yes. Courts require 'full economic restoration,' which means every form of compensation must be included. Use a 2–3 year average for variable pay. If you earned regular overtime at 1.5× your base rate, include those hours in your weekly wage calculation.

Do unemployment benefits reduce my lost wage claim?

In most jurisdictions, yes. Unemployment insurance and disability income received during the gap are deducted from gross lost wages to calculate net loss (duty to mitigate). Some states don't require this offset in discrimination cases — consult your attorney.

Can I include the value of lost health insurance and 401(k) match?

Yes. Employer-sponsored health insurance, 401(k) matching, HSA contributions, and other benefits are compensable economic losses. Use the employer's cost, not your employee contribution. Employer-paid health insurance typically runs $600–$800/month per employee.

Do RSUs and stock options count as lost wages?

Yes, if they would have vested after your separation date. Courts typically value unvested equity at the stock price on the termination date. Enter the total dollar value of unvested grants in the RSU/Equity field.

How far back can I claim lost wages?

Federal Title VII, ADA, ADEA: 2–3 year back pay limit. FLSA violations: 2 years (3 for willful). State wrongful termination: typically 2–4 years. Personal injury: 2–3 years in most states. Set your separation date to your actual last day worked.

What if my new job pays MORE than my old job?

The calculator automatically switches to 'gain mode' and shows how much more you'll earn over time. You can still see the unemployment gap loss from the period between jobs. This mode is also useful for evaluating a new job offer.

Does this calculator account for taxes on the settlement?

No. Employment discrimination back pay is taxable as ordinary income. Personal injury wage loss may be non-taxable under IRC Section 104. Attorney fees are typically deducted before you receive your share. This calculator shows gross economic loss before taxes or fees.

Lost Wages Calculator 2026

Lost Wages & Job Change Impact Guide

Calculate what a job change really costs or earns you

Expert Tips

Document Everything From Day One: Save pay stubs, offer letters, termination notice, W-2s (2–3 years prior), and any bonus/commission agreements in writing. Courts and insurance adjusters require paper evidence — "I remember earning X" is not documentation. A folder of contemporaneous records is worth thousands more than a verbal claim.
Include Every Form of Compensation: Base salary is just the starting point. Overtime, annual bonuses, commissions, stock vesting, 401(k) match, health insurance, ESPP, and PTO payout all count as compensable economic loss. Employer-provided health insurance alone averages $600–$800/month — omitting it can reduce a claim by $10K+ per year.
Claim Pre-Judgment Interest: Most states allow statutory interest (7–10% annually) on unpaid wages from the date of loss to the date of settlement. California mandates 10% per year, New York 9%. On a $50,000 loss over 2 years, that's $10,000 in additional interest — a separate damages component your attorney should always include.
Mitigation Is Required — Document the Job Search: Courts require you to actively seek comparable employment. Keep a dated job-search log: every application, every interview, every rejection. Gaps without documentation reduce your award. "Comparable" means similar pay and seniority — you are not required to take a dramatically lower-paying job just to mitigate.
RSUs and Equity Are Compensable: Unvested RSUs, stock options, and ESPP shares that would have vested post-separation are recoverable economic damages. Courts typically value them at the price on the termination date. Tech workers and executives often have six-figure equity losses overlooked in initial claims — always account for vesting schedules that were cut short.

Understanding Lost Wages — What counts, who qualifies, and what the law requires

What Counts as Lost Wages

Base Salary & Hourly Wages: The foundation of every claim. Use the fully-loaded hourly equivalent — annual salary ÷ 52 weeks ÷ hours per week — to ensure comparable calculations when jobs have different pay structures.
Overtime Pay: If you regularly worked overtime at your old job, that income is part of your "expected" earnings. Courts use a 2–3 year average. Overtime at 1.5× rate must be included in your weekly wage base.
Bonuses & Commissions: Annual bonuses, signing bonuses, and commission structures count. Use the prior 2-year average if bonuses varied. Commission-based roles are harder to quantify — use your average commission rate applied to the same sales volume.
Benefits Package Value: Employer-sponsored health insurance, 401(k) matching, HSA contributions, life insurance, and ESPP are economic value. Use the employer's cost (not your employee contribution). COBRA replacement averages $700–$800/month.
RSUs, Stock Options & Equity: Unvested grants that would have vested post-separation are recoverable. Courts use value on the termination date. Vesting cliffs and acceleration clauses affect the total — include the full unvested schedule, not just the next tranche.

When Can You Claim Lost Wages

Wrongful Termination: Firing without legal cause (at-will employment still has limits: discrimination, retaliation, public policy violations). Back pay from termination to resolution + front pay for future losses.
Work Injury / Disability: Injury preventing return to work or requiring a lower-paying role. Workers' comp covers partial wage replacement; the gap between workers' comp and actual wages is the "loss." Personal injury settlements can include the full wage differential.
Employment Discrimination: Race, gender, age, disability, religion discrimination under Title VII, ADA, ADEA, and state equivalents. Remedies include back pay, front pay, and reinstatement. Federal caps on compensatory damages apply ($50K–$300K based on employer size).
Voluntary Career Change: Even without a legal claim, this calculator shows the full financial impact of switching jobs — who's better off, by how much, and over what time horizon. Use it to negotiate offers, validate a decision, or plan your finances.

How Lost Wages Are Calculated — The formulas attorneys and courts actually use

The Three Components of a Claim

Back Pay (Historical Loss): What you would have earned from separation date to today. Calculated as: (Previous weekly wage − Replacement income received) × weeks elapsed. Pre-judgment interest is added on top of this amount.
Front Pay (Future Loss): Projected ongoing wage differential from today through the end of your working life or a court-ordered period. Calculated year-by-year to account for expected raises. Discounted to present value in formal forensic reports.
Benefits & Incidentals: Lost health insurance, 401(k) match, equity, and other non-wage compensation. Added to both back pay and front pay periods. Often 20–35% on top of the raw wage differential.

Pre-Judgment Interest by State

California (10%/year): California Labor Code mandates 10% annual pre-judgment interest on unpaid wages. Simple interest — not compounded. On $50K unpaid for 2 years: $10,000 in interest owed separately from the base damages.
New York (9%/year): CPLR §5001 provides 9% simple interest from the date damages accrued. Applied broadly to employment discrimination, breach of contract, and personal injury wage loss claims.
Federal Cases (~5–7%): Federal employment cases (Title VII, ADEA, ADA) accrue interest at the post-judgment federal rate. State law rates apply where state law creates the cause of action.
Other States (6–7% typical): Illinois, Texas, and most other states apply 6–7% annually. Some states require a separate finding of willfulness for pre-judgment interest in employment cases.

Mitigation and Offsets

Duty to Mitigate: You are legally required to make a good-faith effort to find comparable work. Failure to mitigate reduces your award dollar-for-dollar. Document every job search step — applications, interviews, rejections — with dates.
Unemployment Insurance Offset: Unemployment benefits received during the gap reduce the employer's liability in most jurisdictions. Include them as an offset in your calculation. Some states do not require offset in discrimination cases.
Disability Insurance Offset: Short-term and long-term disability payments reduce the net loss claim. Workers' comp partial wage replacement is subtracted from the total lost wages to arrive at the net uncovered loss.

Building a Defensible Claim — Documentation, common mistakes, and working with attorneys

Documentation Checklist

Employment Records: Most recent 3 pay stubs, W-2s for last 3 years, offer letter or employment contract, any written bonus/commission agreements, performance reviews showing expected promotions, termination notice or last day confirmation.
Benefit Records: Benefits summary plan description (from HR), employer health insurance cost confirmation, 401(k) matching policy in writing, RSU grant agreements with vesting schedules, ESPP enrollment documents.
Job Search Documentation: Dated log of every application submitted, interview notes with dates and companies, rejection emails/letters, offers received and declined with reason, recruiter communications.
New Employment Records: Offer letter from new job, pay stubs showing actual earnings, any sign-on bonus or equity received, benefits summary from new employer.

Common Mistakes That Reduce Claims

Accepting Any Job Without Negotiating: You are not required to accept the first offer — only a "comparable" one. Significantly lower pay, different occupation, or different geographic area may not qualify as comparable. Document offers declined and your reasoning.
Forgetting Benefits in the Calculation: The single most common mistake. A $70K job with full benefits is not equivalent to a $68K job with no benefits — the total compensation gap is actually $6K–$12K per year once insurance and 401k match are included.
Not Claiming Future Losses: Many claimants accept a settlement covering only back pay without negotiating for ongoing wage differential (front pay). If your new job permanently pays less, front pay for 2–5 years is standard and legally supported.
Miscalculating the Wage Differential: Compare total compensation to total compensation — not just base salary. Include OT history, bonus averages (use 2–3 year average, not best year), and benefits costs at both jobs.

Career Change Financial Analysis — Using this calculator for voluntary job changes and offer evaluation

Quantifying a Positive Job Change

Total Earnings Gain Over Time: Even a $5/hour raise compounds significantly over 2–5 years. This calculator projects the total additional earnings you will accumulate — useful for validating a risky career move or justifying leaving a stable job.
Break-Even on Sign-On Bonuses vs. Vesting: Many jobs offer a sign-on bonus to compensate for unvested equity left behind. Compare the sign-on amount to your unvested RSU value at your current employer to evaluate whether the offer truly compensates you.
Benefits Downgrade: A higher-paying role with worse benefits may actually pay less in total compensation. Run both through this calculator — a $10K salary increase offset by $8K in lost benefits is only a $2K improvement.

Evaluating a Job Offer

How to Use This Calculator for Offer Evaluation: Enter your current job as "Previous Employment" and the new offer as "New Employment." Set separation date to today and new job start date to the offer start. Gain mode shows total lifetime earnings difference over your projection window.
Factor in the Transition Gap: If the new role starts 2–4 weeks after leaving your current job, you will have a short unemployment gap. Even a 3-week gap at $1,200/week = $3,600 in lost income to factor into your decision.
Annual Raise Expectations: Enter the expected annual raise % at each job. If your current employer gives 2% and the new one offers 5% growth, the compounding advantage of the new role increases every year.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is pre-judgment interest and why does it matter?: Pre-judgment interest is statutory interest accrued on unpaid wages from the date of your job loss to the date of settlement or judgment. California requires 10% per year, New York 9%, and federal cases typically use 5–7%. On a $50,000 back pay award over 2 years, pre-judgment interest adds $10,000 in additional damages.
Should I include overtime, bonuses, and commissions?: Yes. Courts require 'full economic restoration,' which means every form of compensation must be included. Use a 2–3 year average for variable pay. If you earned regular overtime at 1.5× your base rate, include those hours in your weekly wage calculation.
Do unemployment benefits reduce my lost wage claim?: In most jurisdictions, yes. Unemployment insurance and disability income received during the gap are deducted from gross lost wages to calculate net loss (duty to mitigate). Some states don't require this offset in discrimination cases — consult your attorney.
Can I include the value of lost health insurance and 401(k) match?: Yes. Employer-sponsored health insurance, 401(k) matching, HSA contributions, and other benefits are compensable economic losses. Use the employer's cost, not your employee contribution. Employer-paid health insurance typically runs $600–$800/month per employee.
Do RSUs and stock options count as lost wages?: Yes, if they would have vested after your separation date. Courts typically value unvested equity at the stock price on the termination date. Enter the total dollar value of unvested grants in the RSU/Equity field.
How far back can I claim lost wages?: Federal Title VII, ADA, ADEA: 2–3 year back pay limit. FLSA violations: 2 years (3 for willful). State wrongful termination: typically 2–4 years. Personal injury: 2–3 years in most states. Set your separation date to your actual last day worked.
What if my new job pays MORE than my old job?: The calculator automatically switches to 'gain mode' and shows how much more you'll earn over time. You can still see the unemployment gap loss from the period between jobs. This mode is also useful for evaluating a new job offer.
Does this calculator account for taxes on the settlement?: No. Employment discrimination back pay is taxable as ordinary income. Personal injury wage loss may be non-taxable under IRC Section 104. Attorney fees are typically deducted before you receive your share. This calculator shows gross economic loss before taxes or fees.

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