Unpaid Wages / Overtime in nonprofit - What Are My Options?

I've been trying to resolve this on my own but I'm stuck.

fired after reporting safety violations. I've been dealing with this for about 9 months now and the situation isn't improving fr fr.

I have worked at this company for 5 years. My position is exempt and I do not have a written employment agreement beyond the standard offer letter.

Should I hire a lawyer for this or try to handle it myself?

I've dealt with this before.

I ended up escalating to a supervisor/manager, which cost about $1-3 but saved me a lot more in the long run....

I spent way more time googling than I should have before just calling a lawyer.