All actions for the enforcement of rights accruing to individuals under statutes or acts of incorporation or by operation of law shall be brought within 20 years after the right of action has accrued; provided, however, that all actions for the recovery of wages, overtime, or damages and penalties accruing under laws respecting the payment of wages and overtime shall be brought within two years after the right of action has accrued.
§ 9-3-22.Enforcement of rights under statutes, acts of incorporation; recovery of wages, overtime, and damages
Chapter 3. Limitations of Actions · Article 2. Specific Periods of Limitation · Last amended 1943 · Last verified July 17, 2026
In one sentenceClaims to enforce rights created by a Georgia statute or a corporate charter, or arising by operation of law, must be brought within 20 years of accrual, except that wage, overtime, and related penalty claims under wage-payment laws must be brought within two years.
Full Text of § 9-3-22
Plain-English Summary
Not every legal right traces back to a contract or a personal injury. Some rights exist only because a statute or a corporation's charter creates them, or because the law implies a duty even without an agreement. O.C.G.A. § 9-3-22 gives these statutory and charter-based rights a generous 20-year window, one of the longest periods anywhere in this article.
That long runway shrinks dramatically for one category: wages. Anyone seeking unpaid wages, overtime, or the damages and penalties that wage-payment statutes attach to unpaid wages and overtime has only two years from accrual to sue. The legislature carved this exception out in 1943, though the statute itself does not explain why wage claims get a shorter period than the other statutory and charter-based rights this section otherwise covers.
In practice, this section functions as a catchall for rights that Georgia statutes or corporate charters create outside the ordinary contract and tort framework. Whether the 20-year period or the two-year wage exception applies depends entirely on what kind of right is being enforced.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to sue to enforce a right created by a Georgia statute?
Twenty years after the right of action has accrued, under the general rule in O.C.G.A. § 9-3-22.
Is there an exception for wage claims?
Yes. Actions to recover wages, overtime, or the damages and penalties that wage-payment laws attach to unpaid wages and overtime must be brought within two years after the right of action accrues.
Does this section cover rights created by a corporation's articles of incorporation?
Yes. It expressly covers rights accruing to individuals under acts of incorporation, along with rights under statutes or arising by operation of law.
Why is the wage-claim period so much shorter than the general 20-year period?
The statute does not explain its own policy reasoning, but the text singles out wage, overtime, and related penalty claims for the shorter two-year period while leaving other statutory and charter-based rights at 20 years.
Does the two-year wage period cover overtime penalties as well as unpaid overtime itself?
Yes. The statute covers wages, overtime, and damages and penalties accruing under laws respecting the payment of wages and overtime, all within the same two-year period.
Amendment History
Ga. L. 1855-56, p. 233, § 12; Code 1863, § 2857; Code 1868, § 2865; Code 1873, § 2916; Code 1882, § 2916; Civil Code 1895, § 3766; Civil Code 1910, § 4360; Code 1933, § 3-704; Ga. L. 1943, p. 333, § 1.
Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, published by the
Official Code of Georgia Annotated, Georgia Code Revision Commission / LexisNexis. Last verified July 17, 2026.
· Official source
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