ORIGINAL HOUSE
BILL NO. 0239
ENROLLED ACT NO.
106, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FIFTY-SIXTH
LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING
2001
GENERAL SESSION
AN ACT relating to labor and
employment; providing for
specified
conditions of employment; modifying gender
specific
provisions; providing hearing procedures for
violations of
employment provisions; specifying civil and
criminal
penalties; making conforming amendments; and
providing for an
effective date.
Be It Enacted
by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:
Section 1. W.S. 27-1-108, 27-1-109, 27-2-104(a)(i),
27-2-109(g), 27-4-101(a), 27-4-103, 27-4-111, 27-4-301(a)
and (e), 27-4-302 through 27-4-304, 27-4-501(a)(iv),
27-4-502, 27-4-504, 27-4-505, 27-4-506, 27-4-508,
27-5-101(b), 27-9-102(d), 27-9-104(a)(intro), (ii), (iii),
(v), (vi) and (b), 27-9-105(a)(i), (ii) and (d) and
27-9-106(a) and by creating new subsections (k) and (m) are
amended to read:
27-1-108. Penalties generally.
Any person
who violates or omits to comply with any of the
provisions of this
act, or any of the lawful orders of the
commissioner of labor
and statistics
department of
employment is guilty of a misdemeanor and
upon conviction shall
be punished by a fine of not more
than one thousand
dollars ($1,000.00), imprisonment in the
county jail for not
more than one (1) year, or both.
27-1-109. Prosecution of violations.
The
district attorney for any county in this state shall,
upon
complaint on oath, of the commissioner of labor, upon
receipt of a verified
complaint from the director of the
department of
employment or a final agency decision of the
department of
employment prosecute to termination before
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any court
of competent jurisdiction, in the name of the
state of Wyoming,
actions or proceedings against any person
or persons charged
with violation of any of the provisions
of this act, or any of
the laws of this state enacted for
the protection of
employees.
27-2-104. Duties of department of
employment.
(a) The
department of employment shall:
(i) Enforce all
laws enacted by the legislature
of Wyoming, relating
to labor, wages, hours of labor, and
to the health,
welfare, life and limb of the workers of
this state;
27-2-109. Examination of witnesses.
(g) Except as
otherwise provided by law, all orders
and decisions of the
commissioner of labor and statistics
regard to chapters 4,
5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 of title 27, shall
be issued only after
an opportunity for hearing pursuant to
the Wyoming
Administrative Procedure Act. Any party
aggrieved by an order or decision of the commissioner of
labor and statistics
department of
employment with regards to chapters 4, 5, 6,
7, 8 and 9 of title
27, shall have the right to appeal to
district court
pursuant to the Wyoming Administrative
Procedure Act.
27-4-101. Semimonthly payments
required; method of
payment;
agricultural operations exempt; payment in case of
labor dispute
or temporary layoff.
(a) Every
person, firm or corporation, engaged in the
operation of any
railroad, mine, refinery, and work
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incidental
to prospecting for, or the production of, oil
and gas, or other
factory, mill or workshop, within the
state of Wyoming,
shall, on or before the first day of each
month, pay the their
employees thereof the wages earned by
them during the first
half of the preceding month ending
with the fifteenth day
thereof of
the month, and on or
before the fifteenth
day of each month pay the their
employees thereof the wages earned by them during the last
half of the preceding
month; provided, however, that if at
any time of payment
any employee shall be absent from his
or her regular place
of labor, and shall not receive his or
her wages, at that
time due and owing, through a duly
authorized representative,
he or she shall be entitled to
said payment at any time
thereafter upon demand on the
proper paymaster or at
the place where such wages are
usually paid;
provided, further, that if the first or the
fifteenth of the month
occurs on a day which is not a
working day, that the
last preceding working day shall be
the payday, for all
personnel who are regularly paid at one
(1) location,
provided, further, every employer shall
establish and maintain
regular paydays as herein provided
and shall post and
maintain copies of this law printed in
plain type in at least
two (2) conspicuous places where
such the notices can be seen by the
employees. Provided,
further, that state
employees receive their pay at a date
no later than the
eighth of the month following the month
of employment, for
which said payment is made.
27-4-103. Semimonthly payments
required; penalty.
Every
person violating any of the provisions of this act,
shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor and upon conviction
thereof, shall be
punished by a fine of not less than
twenty-five dollars
($25.00) nor more than one hundred
dollars ($100.00)
($750.00), or by imprisonment in the
county jail for a
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period of
not more than ninety (90) days six (6) months, or
by both such fine and imprisonment.
27-4-111. Assignments of wages;
consent of marital
spouse
required.
No such assignment of or order for, wages to be
earned in
the future shall be
valid, when made by a married man
his wife the
spouse to the making of such assignment is attached
thereto.
27-4-301. Definitions.
(a) "Employee"
means any female individual employed
by an employer.
(e) "Commissioner Director"
means the director of the
department of
employment or his designee who is authorized
to administer W.S. 27-4-301
through 27-4-304. the state
labor commissioner.
27-4-302. Prohibition on paying
employees less for
same work.
(a) No employer
shall pay to any female in any
occupation in this
state, a salary or hourly wage rate less
than that paid to male
employees employed by the same
employer for the same
work.
establishment in which
the employees are employed, between
employees on the basis
of gender by paying wages to
employees at a rate
less than the rate at which the
employer pays wages to
employees of the opposite gender for
equal work on jobs the
performance of which requires equal
skill, effort and
responsibility and which are performed
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under similar working conditions, except where the payment
is made pursuant to:
(i) A seniority
system;
(ii) A merit system;
(iii) A system which
measures earning by
quantity or quality of
production; or
(iv) A differential
based on any other factor
other than gender.
27-4-303. Liability of employer
generally; liquidated
damages;
individual and group actions; assignment of claim.
(a) An employer
who violates the provisions of W.S.
27-4-302 shall be
liable to the employee or employees
affected in the amount
of their unpaid wages, and in an
additional equal
amount as liquidated damages. Action to
recover such liability may be maintained in any court of
competent jurisdiction
by any one (1) or more employees for
and in behalf of herself the employee
or themselves the
employees and other employees
similarly situated, and no
agreement by any such the
employee to work for less than
the wage to which such the
employee is entitled under this
act shall be a defense
to any such action. At the request
of any employee paid
less than the wage to which she may be
entitled under this
act, the commissioner may take an
assignment of such
wage claim in trust for the assigning
employee and may bring
any legal action necessary to
collect such claim,
including the liquidated damages
provided by this
section. The commissioner shall not be
required to pay the
filing fee, or other costs, in
connection with such
action. The commissioner shall have
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power to join various claimants against the employer in one
(1) action.
(b) Upon receipt of a
written claim by any employee
of a violation of this
act, the director shall process,
investigate and
determine the validity of the claim.
The
director shall have
power to join various claims against
the same employer in
one (1) claim. If either the employer
or employee is
aggrieved by the director's determination,
the aggrieved party
may request a fair hearing. The
aggrieved party must
file a written request for hearing
within fifteen (15)
calendar days of receipt of the
director's
determination. Upon receipt of a timely
submitted request for
hearing, the director shall appoint
an independent hearing
officer to conduct the fair hearing
between the employer
and employee. The fair hearing shall
be conducted pursuant
to the Wyoming Administrative
Procedure Act. The
hearing officer's determination shall
constitute the
director's final agency action. Upon a
finding by the hearing
officer that the claim is valid, the
director shall order
the employer to pay the amount of
wages due plus an
additional equal amount as liquidated
damages. Where the
employer failed to appeal an adverse
determination to the
district court and failed to comply
with the director's
order, the director shall refer the
matter to the
appropriate county attorney for enforcement
of the director's
order.
27-4-304. Penalty for violations.
Any
employer who willfully violates any provision of this
act, or who discharges
or in any other manner discriminates
against any employee
because such the
employee has made any
complaint to his
employer, the commissioner, director or
any other person, or
instituted, or caused to be instituted
any proceeding under
or related to this act, or has
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testified
or is about to testify in any such the
proceedings, shall,
upon conviction, thereof, be punished
by a fine of not less
than twenty-five dollars ($25.00),
nor more than two
hundred dollars ($200.00), or by
imprisonment for not
less than ten (10) days nor more than
one hundred eighty
(180) days, or by both such the fine and
imprisonment. Each day
such a violation continues shall
constitute a separate
offense.
27-4-501. Definitions.
(a) Whenever
used in this act:
(iv) "Commissioner Department"
means the
commissioner
of labor and statistics department of
employment;
27-4-502. Claims for unpaid wages.
The commissioner department
is hereby empowered to take
assignment
of claims for unpaid wages due and owing an
employee
27-4-104. The commissioner department
in taking assignment
of a claim for unpaid wages as provided
for in this act is
not to exceed the sum
of five hundred dollars ($500.00) or
two (2) months wages,
whichever is the greater, per
employee per wage assignment claim.
27-4-504. Investigation
and determination of unpaid
wage claims;
hearing; orders; collection of unpaid wages.
(a) Upon
receipt of a written claim for unpaid
wages,
the commissioner department
shall process, investigate and
determine the validity
of the claim. If the employer
disputes or refuses to
pay the claim, the commissioner
shall hold a hearing
pursuant to the Wyoming Administrative
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Procedure Act. As provided by W.S. 16-3-112, an impartial
hearing officer shall
be appointed to preside at the
hearing.
(b) If either the
employer or employee is aggrieved
by the department's
determination, the aggrieved party may
request a fair
hearing. The aggrieved party must file a
written request for
hearing within fifteen (15) calendar
days of receipt of the
department's determination. Upon
receipt of a timely
submitted request for hearing, the
director shall appoint
an independent hearing officer to
conduct the fair
hearing between the employer and employee.
The fair hearing shall
be conducted pursuant to the Wyoming
Administrative
Procedure Act. The hearing officer's
determination shall
constitute the director's final agency
action.
(c) Upon a
finding by the hearing examiner officer
that the unpaid wage claim is valid and enforceable and
either the time for
judicial review has passed or the
decision has been
affirmed by final judicial review, the
commissioner
department shall order the employer to pay the
amount of unpaid wages
due. The
department's order is not
appealable or subject
to judicial review. The commissioner
prosecute promptly, with the assistance
of the county
attorney, whatever initiate legal proceedings
are
necessary to insure collection of collect the unpaid
wages. With the written consent of the employee the
commissioner may
settle or adjust any wage claim.
(d) Unless the order is on appeal to a district
court,
commissioner's
department's order is punishable by a civil
fine not to exceed two
hundred dollars ($200.00) for each
day the employer fails
to comply with the order.
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27-4-505. County attorney to assist in
collection of
unpaid wages.
In pursuing the collection of any assigned wage claim, the
commissioner shall be
assisted by the county attorney or
his representative. no
court costs or any
fees for necessary writs, process and
proceedings shall be payable
in advance. If judgment is
rendered against the
defendant the court shall assess as
part of the judgment
reasonable attorneys fees if the case
was prosecuted by a
private attorney and the costs of the
proceedings. If
judgment is rendered for the defendant
employer, the office
of the commissioner of labor and
statistics shall be
liable to the defendant employer for
his court costs and
reasonable attorney fees. An action
brought under
authority of and in compliance with this
article is not subject
to challenge or dismissal for
failure to exhaust
administrative remedies
employer failed to
comply with the department's order to
pay the unpaid wages
due, the department shall refer the
matter to the
appropriate county attorney for enforcement
of the department's
order.
27-4-506. Limitation on attempts to
make payment of
wages
collected; unclaimed wages.
The commissioner department
shall attempt for a period of
not less than two (2) years, four
(4) months from the date
of the collection, to
make payments of wages collected
under this act to the
persons entitled thereto to the
wages. Wages collected by commissioner the
department which
remain unclaimed for a
period of more than two (2) years
revert
to the general fund of
the state of Wyoming
property for purposes
of W.S. 34-24-101 through 34-24-140.
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27-4-508. Agreements for reciprocal
enforcement; of
claim to
another state.
(a) The commissioner department
is hereby empowered
to enter into
agreements with agencies of other states or
the federal government
for the reciprocal enforcement and
collection of wage
claims if such those states have a
statute authorizing
the same.
(b) In the
event the commissioner department has been
assigned
against which said the
claim has been filed has moved to
another state, the commissioner department
may reassign
to the proper agency
of the other state for collection,
provided that there is
in existence at the time a
reciprocal agreement
with such the
state for the collection
of claims. The commissioner department
is also authorized
to accept claims from
other states for collection of wages
from employers who
have removed to Wyoming.
27-5-101. State and county employees;
overtime
compensation.
(b) Except for
employees whose maximum salary is
remitted by statute,
any state or county employee may be
compensated at a rate
one and one-half (1 1/2) times their
regular compensation
for each hour of service required to
be performed because of emergency situations in excess of
eight (8) hours per
day and forty (40) hours per week. If
overtime compensation
is paid pursuant to this section, no
additional benefits, such as including
compensatory time
off, shall be allowed
to the employee receiving the
overtime compensation.
27-9-102. Definitions.
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(d) As used in
W.S. 27-9-101 through 27-9-108,
"commission department"
means the department of employment
which is
the successor agency to the Wyoming fair
employment commission commissioner director"
means the director of
the department or his designee who is
authorized to
administer W.S. 27-9-101 through 27-9-108.
27-9-104. Powers and duties of
department of
employment.
(a) The Wyoming fair employment commission department
shall have the
following powers and duties:
(ii) To adopt,
publish, amend, and rescind
regulations consistent
with and for the enforcement of this
article;. Prior to the
adoption of any regulation
authorized by law, or
the amendment or rescission thereof,
the commission shall
as far as practicable, publish or
otherwise circulate
notices of its intended action and
afford interested
persons opportunity to submit data or
views orally or in
writing. The commission shall file
forthwith in the
office of the secretary of state a
certified copy of each
regulation adopted by it. The
secretary of state
shall keep a permanent register of such
regulations open to
public inspection, which rules shall be
made available to
officials of this state free of charge,
and to other persons
at a price fixed by the secretary of
state to cover publication
and mailing costs;
(iii) To receive,
investigate, and pass upon
discrimination in
employment or the existence of a
discriminatory or
unfair employment practice; by a person,
an employer, an employment
agency, a labor organization, or
the employees or
members thereof;
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(v) For the
purposes of all investigation and
for the purposes of
the hearing or any proceeding before
the commission, commission department
shall have the power
to issue subpoenas requiring the
attendance and
testimony of witnesses and the production of
any books, papers,
documents or records which the
commission
department deems relevant or material to the
inquiry;
(vi) In case of
disobedience to a subpoena the
commission
department may invoke the aid of any district
court in the state in
requiring the attendance and
testimony of witnesses
and the production of documentary
evidence. Any failure to obey such the
order of the court
may be punished by such the
court as a contempt thereof of
court;
(b) The
department of employment, the successor
agency to the fair
employment practices commission, may
selected
by the attorney
general
27-9-101 through 27-9-108. and exercise all
authority of
the department.
shall constitute the
final agency action.
27-9-105. Discriminatory and unfair
employment
practices enumerated;
limitations.
(a) It is a
discriminatory or unfair employment
practice:
(i) For an
employer to refuse to hire, to
discharge, to promote
or demote, or to discriminate in
matters of
compensation or the terms, conditions or
privileges of employment
against, a qualified handicapped
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of age, sex, race,
creed, color, national origin or
ancestry;
(ii) For a
person, an employment agency, a labor
organization, or the its
employees or members, thereof, to
discriminate in
matters of employment or membership against
any person, otherwise
qualified, because of age, sex, race,
creed, color, national
origin or ancestry, or a qualified
handicapped
disabled person;
(d) As used in
this section "qualified handicapped
handicapped disabled
person who is
capable of performing
a particular job, or who would be
capable of performing
a particular job with reasonable
accommodation to his handicap disability.
27-9-106. Filing of complaint;
determination; appeal
for hearing.
(a) Filing complaint. - Any person claiming to be
aggrieved by a
discriminatory or unfair employment practice
may, by himself personally
or through his attorney-at-law
commission
a verified, written
complaint in duplicate which shall
state the name and
address of the person, employer,
employment agency or
labor organization alleged to have
committed the
discriminatory or unfair employment practice,
complained of,
thereof of the claim and contain such other information as
shall be required by
the commission department. The
commission or a
commissioner may in like manner make, sign
and file the
complaint.
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(k) If either the
employer or employee is aggrieved
by the department's
determination, the aggrieved party may
request a fair
hearing. The fair hearing shall be conducted
pursuant to the
Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act.
(m) Where an employer
does not timely appeal or
comply with the
hearing officer's adverse decision, the
department may
petition the appropriate district court for
the enforcement of the
hearing officer's decision.
Section
2. W.S. 27-2-104(a)(ii), 27-4-102,
27-4-503,
27-9-104(a)(iv), 27-9-106(b)
through (j), 27-9-107 and
27-9-108 are repealed.
Section 3. This act is effective July
1, 2001.
(END)
Speaker of
the House President of
the Senate
Governor
TIME APPROVED: _________
DATE APPROVED: _________
I hereby certify that this
act originated in the House.
Chief Clerk
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