Joint Budget Committee. The bill amends the wage theft enforcement fund (fund) to allow the division of labor standards and statistics (division) in the department of labor and employment (department) to use money in the fund to pay employees who are owed money from their employers due to obligations and liabilities related to the payment of wages or other compensation. If an employer fails to fulfill the order to pay an employee that results from a wage claim or an investigation within 6 months after the division issues a citation and notice of assessment to the employer or, if the employer requests a hearing, within 6 months after the hearing officer issues a decision, the bill allows the division to pay the employee, from the fund, the amount of money owed by the employer. The bill specifies that after the division pays the employee, the employee cannot recover that payment amount from the employer, the division shall continue to pursue payment from the employer, and any money recovered from the employer by the division will be credited to the fund.
The bill requires the division to promulgate rules specifying
procedures for employees to request payments and criteria for the division to make determinations on employee requests.
The bill also continuously appropriates money in the fund to the
division for the purpose of making payments to employees and excludes the fund from the limit on cash fund reserves.
For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, the bill appropriates $12,657
from the fund to the department for use by the executive director's office for personal services.
