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Wage Payment Laws
The following represents a summary of selected
laws; Section 31-69a through 31-76k. For review of full text,
consult the
General Statutes
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Payment of wages: Definitions. (Sec. 31-71a).
Whenever used in sections 31-71a to 31-71i,
inclusive:
(1) "Employer" includes any individual,
partnership, association, joint stock company, trust,
corporation, the administrator or executor of the estate of a
deceased person, the conservator of the estate of an
incompetent, or the receiver, trustee, successor or assignee of
any of the same, employing any person, including the state and
any political subdivision thereof;
(2) "Employee" includes any person suffered or
permitted to work by an employer;
(3) "Wages" means compensation for labor or
services rendered by an employee, whether the amount is
determined
on a time, task, piece, commission or other basis of
calculation;
(4) "Commissioner" means the Labor Commissioner.
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Weekly payment of wages. Exemptions.
(Sec. 31-71b).
(a) Each
employer, by himself, his agent or representative, shall pay weekly all moneys
due each employee on a regular pay day, designated in advance by the employer,
in cash, by negotiable checks or, upon an employee's written request, by credit
to such employee's account in any bank which has agreed with the employer to
accept such wage deposits. (b) The end of the pay period for which payment is
made on a regular pay day shall be not more than eight days before such regular
pay day, provided, if such regular pay day falls on a nonwork day, payment shall
be made on the preceding work day. (c) This section shall not be construed to
prohibit a local or regional board of education and a recognized or certified
exclusive bargaining representative of its certified or noncertified employees
from including within their collective bargaining agreement a schedule for the
payment of wages to certified employees or noncertified employees that differs
from the requirements of subsections (a) and (b) of this section. (d) Nothing in
this section shall be construed to apply to employees swapping workdays or
shifts as permitted under a collective bargaining agreement.
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Payment of wages on termination of employment.
(Sec 31-71c).
(a) Whenever an employee voluntarily terminates his employment,
the employer shall pay the employee's wages in full not later
than the next regular pay day, as designated under section
31-71b, either through the regular payment channels or by mail.
(b) Whenever an employer discharges an employee, the employer
shall pay the employee's wages in full not later than the
business day next succeeding the date of such discharge. (c)
When work of any employee is suspended as a result of a labor
dispute, or when an employee for any reason is laid off, the
employer shall pay in full to such employee the wages earned by
him not later than the next regular pay day, as designated under
section 31-71b.
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Payment
where wages disputed. (Sec 31-71d).
(a) In case of a dispute over the amount of
wages, the employer shall pay, without condition and within the
time set by sections 31-71a to 31-71i, inclusive, all wages, or
parts thereof, conceded by him to be due, and the employee shall
have all remedies provided by law, including those under said
sections as to recovery of any balance claimed.
(b) The acceptance by any employee of a payment
under this section shall not constitute a release as to the
balance of his claim and any release required by an employer as
a condition to payment shall be void.
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Withholding
of part of wages. (Sec. 31-71e).
No employer may withhold or divert any portion of an
employee's wages unless (1) the employer is required or
empowered to do so by state or federal law, or (2) the employer
has written authorization from the employee for deductions on a
form approved by the commissioner, or (3) the deductions are
authorized by the employee, in writing, for medical, surgical or
hospital care or service, without financial benefit to the
employer and recorded in the employer's wage record book.
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Employer to
furnish employee certain information.
(Sec. 31-71f). Each employer shall:
(1) Advise his employees in writing, at the time of hiring, of
the rate of remuneration, hours of employment and wage payment
schedules, and (2) make available to his employees, either in
writing or through a posted notice maintained in a place
accessible to his employees, any employment practices and
policies or change therein with regard to wages, vacation pay,
sick leave, health and welfare benefits and comparable matters.
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Penalty.
(Sec. 31-71g).
Any employer or any officer or agent of an employer
or any other person authorized by an employer to pay wages who
violates any provision of this part may be: (1) Fined not less
than two thousand nor more than five thousand dollars or
imprisoned not more than five years or both for each offense if
the total amount of all unpaid wages owed to an employee is more
than two thousand dollars; (2) fined not less than one thousand
nor more than two thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than
one year or both for each offense if the total amount of all
unpaid wages owed to an employee is more than one thousand
dollars but not more than two thousand dollars; (3) fined not
less than five hundred nor more than one thousand dollars or
imprisoned not more than six months or both for each offense if
the total amount of all unpaid wages owed to an employee is more
than five hundred but not more than one thousand dollars; or (4)
fined not less than two hundred nor more than five hundred
dollars or imprisoned not more than three months or both for
each offense if the total amount of all unpaid wages owed to an
employee is five hundred dollars or less.
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Regulations.
(Sec. 31-71h).
The commissioner is authorized to issue
regulations for the establishment of procedures for carrying out
the provisions of sections 31-71a to 31-71i, inclusive.
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Waiver of
weekly payment requirement. (Sec 31-71i).
The commissioner may, upon application, waive the provisions of
section 31-71b with respect to any particular week or weeks, and
may also, upon application, permit any employer, subject to the
provisions of this section, to establish regular pay days less
frequently than weekly, provided each employee affected shall be
paid in full at least once in each calendar month on a regularly
established schedule..
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Civil action
to collect wage claim, fringe benefit claim or arbitration
award. (Sec. 31-72).
When any employer fails to pay an employee wages
in accordance with the provisions of sections 31-71a to 31-71i,
inclusive, or fails to compensate an employee in accordance with
section 31-76k or where an employee or a labor organization
representing an employee institutes an action to enforce an
arbitration award which requires an employer to make an employee
whole or to make payments to an employee welfare fund, such
employee or labor organization may recover, in a civil action,
twice the full amount of such wages, with costs and such
reasonable attorney's fees as may be allowed by the court, and
any agreement between him and his employer for payment of wages
other than as specified in said sections shall be no defense to
such action. The Labor Commissioner may collect the full amount
of any such unpaid wages, payments due to an employee welfare
fund or such arbitration award, as well as interest calculated
in accordance with the provisions of section 31-265 from the
date the wages or payment should have been received, had payment
been made in a timely manner. In addition, the Labor
Commissioner may bring any legal action necessary to recover
twice the full amount of unpaid wages, payments due to an
employee welfare fund or arbitration award, and the employer
shall be required to pay the costs and such reasonable
attorney's fees as may be allowed by the court. The commissioner
shall distribute any wages, arbitration awards or payments due
to an employee welfare fund collected pursuant to this section
to the appropriate person.
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Payment of
fringe benefits upon termination of employment. (Sec.
31-76k).
If an employer policy or collective bargaining
agreement provides for the payment of accrued fringe benefits
upon termination, including but not limited to paid vacations,
holidays, sick days and earned leave, and an employee is
terminated without having received such accrued fringe benefits,
such employee shall be compensated for such accrued fringe
benefits exclusive of normal pension benefits in the form of
wages in accordance with such agreement or policy but in no case
less than the earned average rate for the accrual period
pursuant to sections 31-71a to 31-71i, inclusive.
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Additional
penalty. (Sec. 31-69a).
In addition to the penalties provided in chapter
557, this chapter and chapter 568, any employer, officer, agent
or other person who violates any provision of chapter 557, this
chapter or subsection (g) of section 31-288, shall be liable to
the Labor Department for a civil penalty of three hundred
dollars for each violation of said chapters and for each
violation of subsection (g) of section 31-288. The Attorney
General, upon complaint of the Labor Commissioner, shall
institute a civil action to recover such civil penalty. Any
amount recovered shall be deposited in the General Fund and
credited to a separate nonlapsing appropriation to the Labor
Department, for other current expenses, and may be used by the
Labor Department to enforce the provisions of chapter 557, this
chapter and subsection (g) of section 31-288 and to implement
the provisions of section 31-4.
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