Bill > S987

This bill establishes the Commonwealth Living Wage Law, which mandates that employers receiving state benefits must pay their employees a "living wage," defined as an hourly rate that starts at $13.89 in 2016 and increases annually, eventually being adjusted for inflation. An "employer receiving state benefits" is broadly defined to include businesses that have had state contracts worth $100,000 or more in the last three years, received tax benefits of $100,000 or more, or were subcontractors to such employers, with an exception for non-profit human service providers unless their state contract adequately funds a living wage. The bill prohibits employers from reducing other employee benefits to fund these wage increases, allows for collective bargaining agreements to set higher wages, and empowers the director of the division of labor standards to enforce the law through regulations, record-keeping requirements, posting notices of employee rights, imposing civil penalties up to $500 per violation, and barring violators from future state benefits after a fair hearing. Employees paid less than the required living wage are entitled to recover double the difference, plus attorney's fees and costs, and the attorney general is authorized to investigate violations and bring legal action to enforce the law.