Back Pay and Lost Wages Calculator

ANA›Life Services Authority›National Calculator Authority›Back Pay and Lost Wages Calculator

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Back Pay and Lost Wages Calculator

Estimate the total back pay and lost wages you may be owed due to wrongful termination, unpaid wages, discrimination, or other employment disputes. This calculator accounts for base wages, benefits, raises, and mitigation earnings.

Pay Type

Hourly Annual Salary

Hourly Rate ($)

Hours Worked Per Week

Annual Salary ($)

Date of Termination / Start of Loss

End Date of Loss Period

Expected Annual Raise / COLA (%)

Monthly Value of Lost Benefits ($) ⓘ

Monthly Mitigation Earnings ($) ⓘ

Additional Unpaid Wages / Overtime Owed ($) ⓘ

Pre-Judgment Interest Rate (% per year)

Calculate

function bacToggleWageInputs() { var type = document.getElementById('bac-wage-type').value; document.getElementById('bac-hourly-row').style.display = (type === 'hourly') ? '' : 'none'; document.getElementById('bac-hours-row').style.display = (type === 'hourly') ? '' : 'none'; document.getElementById('bac-salary-row').style.display = (type === 'salary') ? '' : 'none'; }

function bacCalc() { var resultDiv = document.getElementById('bac-result'); resultDiv.style.display = 'block'; resultDiv.className = 'calc-result';

/ ── Collect inputs ── / var wageType = document.getElementById('bac-wage-type').value; var hourlyRate = parseFloat(document.getElementById('bac-hourly-rate').value) || 0; var hoursPerWeek = parseFloat(document.getElementById('bac-hours-per-week').value) || 0; var annualSalary = parseFloat(document.getElementById('bac-annual-salary').value) || 0; var startDateStr = document.getElementById('bac-start-date').value; var endDateStr = document.getElementById('bac-end-date').value; var annualRaisePct = parseFloat(document.getElementById('bac-annual-raise').value) || 0; var benefitsMonthly = parseFloat(document.getElementById('bac-benefits-value').value) || 0; var mitigationMo = parseFloat(document.getElementById('bac-mitigation-monthly').value) || 0; var unpaidWages = parseFloat(document.getElementById('bac-unpaid-wages').value) || 0; var interestRate = parseFloat(document.getElementById('bac-interest-rate').value) || 0;

/ ── Validation ── / var errors = [];

if (wageType === 'hourly') { if (hourlyRate 168) errors.push('Hours per week cannot exceed 168.'); } else { if (annualSalary 100) errors.push('Annual raise must be between 0% and 100%.'); if (benefitsMonthly 100) errors.push('Interest rate must be between 0% and 100%.');

if (errors.length > 0) { resultDiv.className = 'calc-result calc-error'; resultDiv.innerHTML = 'Please fix the following:' + errors.map(function(e){ return ''; }).join('') + ''; return; }

/ ── Core calculations ── / var startDate = new Date(startDateStr + 'T00:00:00'); var endDate = new Date(endDateStr + 'T00:00:00');

/ Total calendar days in loss period / var msPerDay = 1000 * 60 * 60 * 24; var totalDays = (endDate - startDate) / msPerDay; // exact days var totalWeeks = totalDays / 7; var totalMonths = totalDays / 30.4375; // avg days/month var totalYears = totalDays / 365.25;

/ Base weekly / annual wage at time of termination / var baseWeeklyWage, baseAnnualWage; if (wageType === 'hourly') { baseWeeklyWage = hourlyRate * hoursPerWeek; baseAnnualWage = baseWeeklyWage * 52; } else { baseAnnualWage = annualSalary; baseWeeklyWage = annualSalary / 52; }

/ * Lost Wages with compounding annual raises applied year-by-year. * For each full or partial year in the loss period the calculator applies the * raise factor: wage_year_n = baseAnnualWage * (1 + r)^n * and accumulate the proportional amount for that year's fraction. / var raiseDecimal = annualRaisePct / 100; var lostWages = 0; var remainingDays = totalDays; var yearNum = 0;

while (remainingDays > 0) { var daysThisYear = Math.min(remainingDays, 365.25); var fractionYear = daysThisYear / 365.25; var wageThisYear = baseAnnualWage * Math.pow(1 + raiseDecimal, yearNum); lostWages += wageThisYear * fractionYear; remainingDays -= daysThisYear; yearNum++; }

/ Lost Benefits / var lostBenefits = benefitsMonthly * totalMonths;

/ Mitigation Earnings (reduce damages) / var totalMitigation = mitigationMo * totalMonths;

/ Gross Back Pay before mitigation / var grossBackPay = lostWages + lostBenefits + unpaidWages;

/ Net Back Pay after mitigation / var netBackPay = Math.max(0, grossBackPay - totalMitigation);

/ * Pre-judgment interest (simple interest on net back pay). * Interest = Principal × Rate × Time * Time in years = totalDays / 365.25 / var interestAmount = netBackPay * (interestRate / 100) * totalYears;

/ Total Award / var totalAward = netBackPay + interestAmount;

/ ── Format helpers ── / function fmt(n) { return '$' + n.toFixed(2).replace(/\B(?=(\d{3})+(?!\d))/g, ','); } function fmtDays(d) { var yrs = Math.floor(d / 365.25); var rem = d - yrs * 365.25; var mos = Math.floor(rem / 30.4375); var days = Math.round(rem - mos * 30.4375); var parts = []; if (yrs > 0) parts.push(yrs + ' year' + (yrs !== 1 ? 's' : '')); if (mos > 0) parts.push(mos + ' month' + (mos !== 1 ? 's' : '')); if (days > 0) parts.push(days + ' day' + (days !== 1 ? 's' : '')); return parts.join(', ') || '0 days'; }

/ ── Output ── / resultDiv.innerHTML = '### Back Pay & Lost Wages Estimate ' +

'' + 'Loss Period' + fmtDays(totalDays) + ' (' + totalDays.toFixed(1) + ' days)' + 'Base ' + (wageType === 'hourly' ? 'Weekly' : 'Annual') + ' Wage' + (wageType === 'hourly' ? fmt(baseWeeklyWage) + ' / week' : fmt(baseAnnualWage) + ' / year') + '' + 'Lost Wages (with ' + annualRaisePct.toFixed(1) + '% annual raise)' + fmt(lostWages) + '' + 'Lost Benefits' + fmt(lostBenefits) + '' + 'Additional Unpaid Wages / Overtime' + fmt(unpaidWages) + '' + 'Gross Back Pay' + fmt(grossBackPay) + '' + 'Less: Mitigation Earnings−' + fmt(totalMitigation) + '' + 'Net Back Pay (after Mitigation)' + fmt(netBackPay) + '' + 'Pre-Judgment Interest (' + interestRate.toFixed(2) + '% × ' + totalYears.toFixed(4) + ' yrs)' + fmt(interestAmount) + '' + 'Estimated Total Award' + fmt(totalAward) + '' + '' +

'This is an estimate for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Actual awards depend on jurisdiction, applicable law, judge or jury determinations, and other factors. Consult a qualified employment attorney.

'; }

#### Formulas Used

Lost Wages (with raises): For each year n (0-indexed) in the loss period: Lost Wages = Σ [ BaseAnnualWage × (1 + r)n × (days in year n / 365.25) ] where r = annual raise rate (decimal).

Lost Benefits: Lost Benefits = Monthly Benefits Value × (Total Days / 30.4375)

Gross Back Pay: Gross Back Pay = Lost Wages + Lost Benefits + Additional Unpaid Wages

Net Back Pay: Net Back Pay = max(0, Gross Back Pay − Total Mitigation Earnings) where Total Mitigation = Monthly Mitigation × (Total Days / 30.4375)

Pre-Judgment Interest (simple): Interest = Net Back Pay × (Annual Rate / 100) × (Total Days / 365.25)

Total Estimated Award: Total Award = Net Back Pay + Pre-Judgment Interest

#### Assumptions & References

Lost benefits should include the employer's share of health insurance premiums, 401(k) or pension contributions, paid time off, and other fringe benefits (see EEOC Enforcement Guidance on Remedies, 29 C.F.R. § 1614.501).
Claimants have a legal duty to mitigate damages by seeking comparable employment. Mitigation earnings are subtracted from gross back pay (Ford Motor Co. v. EEOC, 458 U.S. 219 (1982)).

Back Pay and Lost Wages Calculator

Back Pay and Lost Wages Calculator

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Back Pay and Lost Wages Calculator

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