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Table of Contents

• Payment of wages: Definitions.

• Weekly payment of wages.

• Payment of wages on termination of employment.

• Payment where wages disputed.

• Withholding of part of wages.

• Employer to furnish employee certain information.

• Penalty.

• Regulations.

• Waiver of weekly payment requirement.

• Civil action to collect wage claim, fringe benefit claim or arbitration award.

• Payment of fringe benefits upon termination.

• Additional Penalty.

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Sec. 31-71b. Weekly payment of wages. Exemptions. (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 an non-work 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 employees or noncertified employees from including within their collective bargaining agreement a schedule for the payment of wages to certified or noncertified employees that differs from the requirements of sub-sections (a) and (b) of this section. (d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to apply to employees swapping work-days 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, or (4) the deductions are for contributions attributable to automatic enrollment, as defined in section 2 of this act, in a retirement plan described in Section 401(k), 403(b), 408, 408A, or 457 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or any subsequent corresponding internal revenue code of the United States, as from time to time amended, established by the employer.

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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 section 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 part III of chapter 557, and this chapter, any employer, officer, agent, or other person who violates any provision of part III of chapter 557 or this chapter, or both, shall be liable to the labor department for a civil penalty of one hundred fifty dollars for each violation of said chapters. 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 part III of chapter 557 and this chapter.
NOTE: References to "this chapter" are to chapter 558.

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