Bill > SB341

This bill amends the Wage Payment and Collection Law to strengthen worker protections and enhance wage enforcement mechanisms. It expands the definition of "employer" to explicitly include government entities like the Commonwealth, political subdivisions, authorities, and instrumentalities, and introduces the concept of a "high violation industry" as an industry with at least 25 violations over two years. The bill requires the Department of Labor and Industry to collect and report detailed quarterly data about wage violations, categorized by industry, and submit semiannual reports to legislative committees and on their public website. It significantly increases penalties for wage violations, raising fines from 10% to $2,000 per violation or triple the unpaid wages, and introduces more stringent consequences for employers who discriminate against workers filing complaints. The bill establishes a new Wage Enforcement Fund to collect penalties and support ongoing workplace investigations, with funds dedicated exclusively to enforcement activities. Additionally, the legislation creates provisions to hold employers accountable by treating similar businesses as the same employer if they share substantially similar operational characteristics. Criminal penalties are also enhanced, with potential fines and imprisonment for repeated wage violation offenses, and the bill provides strong protections against workplace retaliation for workers who report violations.

Labor and Employment

https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billinfo/bill_history.cfm?syear=2025&sind=0&body=S&type=B&bn=341