Senate Bill No. 1035 Summary

• Labor Commissioner or Director of Wage and Workplace Standards may enter employer workplaces during business hours to investigate complaints of nonpayment of wages, violations of subsection (g) of section 31-288, or violations of subsection (b) of section 31-53, and may examine records and interview employees.

• Increases penalties for willfully failing to furnish wage records or refusing to admit labor officials from $100-$250 to $1,000, with each day of violation constituting a separate offense.

• Commissioner must issue a stop work order within 72 hours of determining an employer violated wage payment laws, requiring cessation of all business operations at the specific location where the violation exists, and order remains effective until employer achieves compliance or after a hearing.

• Employers may request a hearing within 10 days of stop work order issuance, conducted according to chapter 54 procedures.

• Increases civil penalties for violating a stop work order from $1,000 to $5,000 per violation, with each day constituting a separate offense; stop work orders and penalties apply to successor entities with the same principals or officers engaged in the same trade or activity.

• Effective October 1, 2023.