H2163 — An Act clarifying the process for paying the wages of dismissed employees

Summary

An Act clarifying the process for paying the wages of dismissed employees

Bill Text

• Full text Current

AI-generated reading aid from the bill's amendatory text — verify against the official bill.

This bill introduces a new section outlining a 'Right to Cure' for employers regarding claims of unpaid wages and modifies existing law to include the payment of demanded wages.

• Section 150

  or the payment of demanded wages pursuant to section 204 of this chapter,

  This addition allows for the inclusion of wage payment demands in the protections provided under Section 150.

• Chapter 149

  Section 204. Right to Cure (a) After termination of a person’s employment, claims that are brought to recover unpaid employment-based compensation resulting from a violation of sections 33E, 52E, 148, 148A, 148B, 148C, 150C, 152, 152A, 159C or 190 or section 19 of chapter 15 and that seek treble damages under section 150 of chapter 149 shall be preceded by a written demand for relief to the employer specifying those sums due and the reasons therefor. Upon receipt of such a demand for relief, the employer shall have fifteen business days to cure any asserted deficiency by making payment in full to the aggrieved claimant. The employer shall have no liability for attorneys’ fees or for treble damages under section 150 of chapter 149 should the employer cure the violation by paying, within fifteen days of receiving the written demand, any deficiency in such compensation payments: (i) that are indisputably due; or (ii) upon a showing that the violation was the result of a good faith miscalculation, error or reliance on erroneous information from a third party. (b) In any action that is brought to recover unpaid employment-based compensation resulting from a violation of sections 33E, 52E, 148, 148A, 148B, 148C, 150C, 152, 152A, 159C or 190 or section 19 of chapter 151 and that seeks treble damages under section 150 of chapter 149, if the employer shows to the satisfaction of the court that the employer’s act or omission giving rise to such action was in good faith, and that the employer had reasonable grounds for believing that its act or omission was not a violation of such laws, the court may, in its sound discretion, award no statutory or treble damages.

  This new section establishes a 'Right to Cure' procedure that allows employers to rectify wage violations without facing treble damages, provided they comply with specified conditions.

Sponsors

• Jeffrey N. Roy · Primary

Subjects