Sec. 31-72. Civil action to collect wage claim, fringe benefit claim or arbitration award. - Connecticut Statutes

      Sec. 31-72. Civil action to collect wage claim, fringe benefit claim or arbitration award. When any employer fails to pay an employee wages in accordance with the provisions of sections 31-71a to 31-71i, inclusive, or fails to compensate an employee in accordance with section 31-76k or where an employee or a labor organization representing an employee institutes an action to enforce an arbitration award which requires an employer to make an employee whole or to make payments to an employee welfare fund, such employee or labor organization may recover, in a civil action, twice the full amount of such wages, with costs and such reasonable attorney's fees as may be allowed by the court, and any agreement between him and his employer for payment of wages other than as specified in said sections shall be no defense to such action. The Labor Commissioner may collect the full amount of any such unpaid wages, payments due to an employee welfare fund or such arbitration award, as well as interest calculated in accordance with the provisions of section 31-265 from the date the wages or payment should have been received, had payment been made in a timely manner. In addition, the Labor Commissioner may bring any legal action necessary to recover twice the full amount of unpaid wages, payments due to an employee welfare fund or arbitration award, 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, arbitration awards or payments due to an employee welfare fund collected pursuant to this section to the appropriate person.

      (1951, S. 1291b; 1955, S. 3015d; 1967, P.A. 641; P.A. 78-358, S. 2, 6; P.A. 89-157, S. 2; P.A. 90-55, S. 1, 3.)

      History: 1967 act deleted reference to repealed Sec. 31-71, added reference to Secs. 31-71a to 31-37i, authorized recoveries by labor organizations and made provisions applicable to cases where employee or labor organization institutes action to enforce arbitration award; P.A. 78-358 authorized recovery of twice the amount of wages and costs where previously recovery was limited to the amount itself and substituted "recover the amount provided by this section" for "collect such claim" in provision re bringing of legal action; P.A. 89-157 deleted the provisions allowing the labor commissioner to take an assignment of an employee's wage claim and provided for the collection and distribution by the labor commissioner of unpaid wages, payments due an employee welfare fund and arbitration awards; P.A. 90-55 made provisions applicable to cases where employer has failed to compensate an employee in accordance with Sec. 31-76k.

      See Sec. 31-89a re civil action to collect past due payments to employee welfare funds.

      See Sec. 52-596 re statute of limitation for actions for payment of remuneration for employment.

      Award of attorney's fees and costs does not apply to proceedings to confirm, modify or vacate arbitration awards, which are not civil actions within meaning of title 52, but only to civil actions later brought to enforce such orders. 176 C. 401. Cited. 209 C. 818. Cited. 211 C. 648. Cited. 212 C. 294. Cited. 217 C. 490. Cited. 219 C. 217. Legislature did not exempt real estate salespersons from section as was done in Unemployment and Workers' Compensation Acts. 231 C. 690. Award of double damages justified where employer requested employee to work additional hours, assured employee that she would be paid and then subsequently denied payment of overtime wages. 243 C. 454. Determination of whether an individual can be considered an employer where a corporate entity exists depends on the individual's authority to control hours and wages and responsibility for illegally withholding wages. Id. Analysis of legislative history. Wage statutes, as a whole, do not provide substantive rights regarding how a wage is earned, but provide remedial protections where employer-employee wage agreement is violated. 260 C. 152. It is well established that it is appropriate for plaintiff to recover attorney's fees and double damages under this section only when defendant has acted with bad faith, arbitrariness or unreasonableness. If a contingency fee agreement is reasonable, trial court may depart from its terms only when necessary to prevent substantial unfairness to the party who bears ultimate responsibility for payment of the fee. 265 C. 210. Double damage award under section not equivalent to punitive or exemplary damages; provision prohibiting employer from raising agreement for payment of wages between employer and employee as defense against action for unpaid wages does not bar employer from raising agreement for other purposes, such as ground for vacating arbitration award. 275 C. 72.

      Cited. 8 CA 254. Cited. 10 CA 22. Provisions govern collection of wages; employees' rights under these statutory provisions are not preempted by collective bargaining agreements. 16 CA 232. Cited. 18 CA 618. Cited. 26 CA 251. Cited. 27 CA 800. Cited. 35 CA 31. Cited. 36 CA 29. Plaintiff's pension and medical benefits do not qualify as "wages" pursuant to section. 57 CA 419. Award of double damages and attorney's fees in unpaid wage case was reasonable exercise of court's discretion. 69 CA 463. Statute construed to empower Labor Commissioner to initiate legal action for enforcement of payment bond on behalf of employees of subcontractor against general contractor and surety on public works project. Statute, together with Secs. 49-41 and 49-42 re public works and bond enforcement, intended by legislature as remedial statutory scheme to ensure that employees on public works projects are paid wages to which they are entitled. 73 CA 39. Since grievance procedures established in collective bargaining agreement were not capable of providing relief for plaintiff's claim, plaintiff did not have to exhaust her administrative remedies before bringing an action under this section since to do so would be futile. 78 CA 601.