Sec. 31-68. Collection of minimum or overtime wage. Class action certifications. Collection of wages for employee whose whereabouts are unknown.
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(a)(1) If any employee is paid by his or her employer less than the minimum fair wage or overtime wage to which he or she is entitled under sections 31-58 , 31-59 and 31-60 or by virtue of a minimum fair wage order he or she shall recover, in a civil action,
(A)twice the full amount of such minimum wage or overtime wage less any amount actually paid to him or her by the employer, with costs and such reasonable attorney's fees as may be allowed by the court, or
(B)if the employer establishes that the employer had a good faith belief that the underpayment of such wages was in compliance with the law, the full amount of such minimum wage or overtime wage less any amount actually paid to him or her by the employer, with costs and such reasonable attorney's fees as may be allowed by the court.
(2)Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision
(1)of this subsection, if any employee is paid by his or her employer less than the minimum fair wage or overtime wage to which he or she is entitled under section 31-62-E4 of the regulations of Connecticut state agencies, such employee shall recover, in a civil action,
(A)twice the full amount of such minimum wage or overtime wage less any amount actually paid to such employee by the employer, with costs and such reasonable attorney's fees as may be allowed by the court, or
(B)if the employer establishes that the employer had a good faith belief that the underpayment of such wages was in compliance with the law, the full amount of such minimum wage or overtime wage less any amount actually paid to such employee by the employer, with costs as may be allowed by the court. A good faith belief includes, but is not limited to, reasonable reliance on written guidance from the Labor Department.
(3)Notwithstanding the provisions of section 52-105 , no person may be authorized by a court to sue for the benefit of other alleged similarly situated persons in a case brought for violations of section 31-62-E4 of the regulations of Connecticut state agencies, unless such person, in addition to satisfying any judicial rules of practice governing class action certifications, demonstrates to the court, under the appropriate burden of proof, that the defendant is liable to all individual proposed class members because all such members
(A)performed nonservice duties while employed by the defendant, for more than a de minimis amount of time, that were not incidental to service duties, and
(B)were not properly compensated by the defendant for some portion of their nonservice duties in accordance with section 31-62-E4 of the regulations of Connecticut state agencies.
(4)Any agreement between an employee and his or her employer to work for less than such minimum fair wage or overtime wage shall be no defense to such action as described in this section. The commissioner may collect the full amount of unpaid minimum fair wages or unpaid overtime wages to which an employee is entitled under said sections or order, as well as interest calculated in accordance with the provisions of section 31-265 from the date the wages should have been received, had they been paid in a timely manner. In addition, the commissioner may bring any legal action necessary to recover twice the full amount of the unpaid minimum fair wages or unpaid overtime wages to which the employee is entitled under said sections or under an order, 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 or interest collected pursuant to this section to the employee or in accordance with the provisions of subsection
(b)of this section.
(b)All wages collected by the commissioner for an employee whose whereabouts are unknown to the commissioner shall be held by the commissioner for three months and thereafter the commissioner may, in his discretion, pay the same, on application, to the husband or wife or, if none, to the next of kin of such employee. As a condition of such payment, the commissioner or his authorized representative shall require proof of the relationship of the claimant and the execution of a bond of indemnity and a receipt for such payment. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 3-60b , any such wages held by the commissioner for two years without being claimed shall escheat to the state, subject to the provisions of sections 3-66a to 3-71a , inclusive.