§639. Wage theft remedies
(REALLOCATED FROM TITLE 26, SECTION 637)
1. Wage theft; defined. For the purposes of this section, "wage theft" means a violation of section 621‑A, 622, 623, 626, 629, 629‑A or 664.
[PL 2019, c. 461, §1 (NEW); RR 2019, c. 1, Pt. A, §31 (RAL).]
2. Injunction. In addition to other remedies allowed by this chapter, the Department of Labor or any person or persons injured by an unlawful wage payment practice or policy that causes direct harm to workers may bring an action for injunctive relief to enjoin further wage theft. If a party seeking an injunction prevails, the employer is liable to pay the cost of suit, including a reasonable attorney's fee.
[PL 2019, c. 461, §1 (NEW); RR 2019, c. 1, Pt. A, §31 (RAL).]
3. Issuance of a cease operations order. The Commissioner of Labor or the commissioner's designee may order an employer to cease its business operations if the commissioner or the commissioner's designee determines that the employer has committed wage theft, the commissioner or the commissioner's designee has previously determined the employer's practice or policy resulted in wage theft on more than one occasion or within the last 12 months and:
A. The practice or policy resulting in the wage theft affects 10 or more employees; or [RR 2019, c. 1, Pt. A, §31 (RAL).]
B. The wage theft is equal to or greater than twice an employee's average weekly wage. [PL 2019, c. 461, §1 (NEW); RR 2019, c. 1, Pt. A, §31 (RAL).]
The commissioner or the commissioner's designee shall provide the employer with notice and an opportunity to be heard 3 business days before the effective date of an order issued pursuant to this subsection. The issuance of a cease operations order constitutes final agency action. The commissioner or the commissioner's designee shall issue the cease operations order as narrowly as is determined necessary. Any person who is aggrieved by the imposition of a cease operations order has 10 days from the date of its service to make a request to the commissioner or the commissioner's designee for a hearing. The hearing must be held within 7 business days of the request. The hearing officer shall issue a decision within 5 business days of the hearing.
If an employer refuses to obey an order to cease operations, that order may be enforced in Superior Court.
[PL 2019, c. 461, §1 (NEW); RR 2019, c. 1, Pt. A, §31 (RAL).]
4. Stay of cease operations order. The Commissioner of Labor or the commissioner's designee shall stay the issuance of a cease operations order under subsection 3 if the employer provides evidence acceptable to the commissioner or the commissioner's designee that the employer has paid the employee or employees for the amount of unpaid wages and benefits owed and has implemented wage payment practices and policies that comply with this chapter.
[PL 2019, c. 461, §1 (NEW); RR 2019, c. 1, Pt. A, §31 (RAL).]
5. Rules. The Commissioner of Labor shall adopt rules to implement this section. Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2‑A.
[PL 2019, c. 461, §1 (NEW); RR 2019, c. 1, Pt. A, §31 (RAL).]
SECTION HISTORY
PL 2019, c. 461, §1 (NEW). RR 2019, c. 1, Pt. A, §31 (RAL).
Copyright ©2024 LegalFix. All rights reserved. LegalFix is not a law firm, is not licensed to practice law, and does not provide legal advice, services, or representation. The information on this website is an overview of the legal plans you can purchase—or that may be provided by your employer as an employee benefit or by your credit union or other membership group as a membership benefit.
LegalFix provides its members with easy access to affordable legal services through a network of independent law firms. LegalFix, its corporate entity, and its officers, directors, employees, agents, and contractors do not provide legal advice, services, or representation—directly or indirectly.
The articles and information on the site are not legal advice and should not be relied upon—they are for information purposes only. You should become a LegalFix member to get legal services from one of our network law firms.
You should not disclose confidential or potentially incriminating information to LegalFix—you should only communicate such information to your network law firm.
The benefits and legal services described in the LegalFix legal plans are not always available in all states or with all plans. See the legal plan Benefit Overview and the more comprehensive legal plan contract during checkout for coverage details in your state.
Use of this website, the purchase of legal plans, and access to the LegalFix networks of law firms are subject to the LegalFix Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.