Bill > S966

This bill aims to prevent wage theft and hold employers more accountable by expanding existing labor laws. It introduces new definitions for "person," "employer," and "employee" to clarify who is covered under these regulations. A key provision establishes that a "lead company," which is a business that receives workers from a labor contractor or subcontractor, will be held jointly and severally liable for wage and hour violations committed by those contractors or subcontractors, meaning both entities share legal responsibility. The bill also empowers the attorney general or the director of the department of unemployment assistance to issue "stop work orders" against businesses found to be violating labor laws, requiring them to cease all operations at the specific location of the violation until it is corrected; employees affected by such orders will be paid for up to ten days of lost work. Furthermore, the bill enhances the attorney general's ability to bring civil actions on behalf of employees for wage and hour violations, allowing for the recovery of damages, lost wages, and other benefits, and if successful, employees can be awarded treble damages (three times the amount owed) and the attorney general can recover litigation costs and attorney fees.