Source: http://www.wvlegislature.gov/wvcode/code.cfm?chap=21&art=5
Timestamp: 2020-07-03 23:07:26
Document Index: 496621019

Matched Legal Cases: ['§21', '§21', '§5', '§29', '§21', '§21', '§21', '§21', '§21', '§21', '§21', '§21', '§21', '§21']

§21-5-4. Cash orders; employees separated from payroll before paydays; employer provided property.
§21-5-7. Prime contractor"s responsibility for wages and benefits.
(a) Every person, firm or corporation doing business in this state, except railroad companies as provided in section one of this article, shall settle with its employees at least twice every month and with no more than 19 days between settlements, unless otherwise provided by special agreement, and pay them the wages due, less authorized deductions and authorized wage assignments, for their work or services.
(3) By deposit or electronic transfer of immediately available funds into an employee’s payroll card account in a federally insured depository institution. The term “payroll card account” means an account in a federally insured depository institution that is directly or indirectly established through an employer and to which electronic fund transfers of the employee’s wages, salary, commissions or other compensation are made on a recurring basis, whether the account is operated or managed by the employer, a third person payroll processor, a depository institution or another person. “Payroll card” means a card, code or combination thereof or other means of access to an employee’s payroll card account, by which the employee may initiate electronic fund transfers or use a payroll card to make purchases or payments. Payment of employee compensation by means of a payroll card must be agreed upon in writing by both the person, form or corporation paying the compensation and the person being compensated; or
(4) By any method of depositing immediately available funds in an employee’s demand or time account in a bank, credit union or savings and loan institution that may be agreed upon in writing between the employee and such person, firm or corporation, which agreement shall specifically identify the employee, the financial institution, the type of account and the account number: Provided, That nothing herein contained shall be construed in a manner to require any person, firm or corporation to pay employees by depositing funds in a financial institution.
(c) If, at any time of payment, any employee is absent from his or her regular place of labor and does not receive his or her wages through a duly authorized representative, he or she is entitled to payment at any time thereafter upon demand upon the proper paymaster at the place where his or her wages are usually paid and where the next pay is due.
(d) Nothing herein contained may affect the right of an employee to assign part of his or her claim against his or her employer except as in subsection (e) of this section.
(e) No assignment of or order for future wages may be valid for a period exceeding one year from the date of the assignment or order. An assignment or order shall be acknowledged by the party making the same before a notary public or other officer authorized to take acknowledgments, and any order or assignment shall specify thereon the total amount due and collectible by virtue of the same and, unless otherwise provided for in subsection (f) of this section, three-fourths of the periodical earnings or wages of the assignor are all times exempt from such assignment or order and no assignment or order is valid which does not so state upon its face: Provided, That no such order or assignment is valid unless the written acceptance of the employer of the assignor to the making thereof is endorsed thereon: Provided, however, That nothing herein contained may be construed as affecting the right of employer and employees to agree between themselves as to deductions to be made from the payroll of employees.
(f) If an employee of the state has been overpaid wages, including incremental salary increases pursuant to §5-5-2 of this code, an employee may voluntarily authorize a written assignment or order for future wages to the state to repay the overpayment in an amount not to exceed three-fourths of his or her periodical earnings or wages.
(b) Whenever a person, firm or corporation discharges an employee, or whenever an employee quits or resigns from employment, the person, firm or corporation shall pay the employee’s wages due for work that the employee performed prior to the separation of employment on or before the next regular payday on which the wages would otherwise be due and payable: Provided, That fringe benefits, as defined in section one of this article, that are provided an employee pursuant to an agreement between the employee and employer and that are due, but pursuant to the terms of the agreement, are to be paid at a future date or upon additional conditions which are ascertainable are not subject to this subsection and are not payable on or before the next regular payday, but shall be paid according to the terms of the agreement. For purposes of this section, “business day” means any day other than Saturday, Sunday or any legal holiday as set forth in section one, article two, chapter two of this code.
(f)(1) Notwithstanding any provision in this section to the contrary, if at the time of discharge or resignation, an employee fails to return employer provided property, as set forth by the parties under paragraph (C) of this subsection, the employer may withhold, deduct or divert an employee’s final wages, in an amount not to exceed the replacement cost of the employer provided property that was not returned as set forth under paragraph (C) of this subsection, to recover the replacement cost of the employer provided property, subject to the following:
(A) The employer provided property had been provided to the employee in the course of, and for use in, the employer’s business;
(B) The employer provided property has a value in excess of $100;
(C) The employee had signed a written agreement with the employer contemporaneous with the obtaining of the employer provided property, or signed and ratified an agreement if property had been provided prior to the effective date of this provision; and such agreement contained, at a minimum, the following information:
(i) Specific itemization of the employer provided property, with a specified replacement cost;
(ii) Clear statement that such items are to be returned immediately upon discharge or resignation; and
(iii) Clear statement, coupled with the employee’s acknowledgement and agreement, that should the employee fail to timely return the specified items, the replacement cost of such items may be recovered by the employer from the employee’s final wages;
(D) The employer shall notify the employee in writing at the time of discharge or resignation by personal service, or as soon thereafter as practicable by personal service or via certified mail with return receipt requested, as to the replacement cost of the items and make a demand for return of such employer provided property within a certain date, not to exceed ten business days of the notification; and
(E) The employer shall relinquish the withheld, deducted or diverted wages to the employee if the employee returns the employer’s property, equipment, supplies and uniforms in a condition suitable for the age and usage of the items within the deadline specified in paragraph (D) of this subsection: Provided, That uniforms returned to the employer within three years of their issuance shall be deemed acceptable in their current condition at the time of separation from employment for purposes of this section: Provided further, replacement tools are deemed to be the property of the employee and are not subject to the provisions of this section.
(2) Nothing herein precludes an employee from voluntarily consenting in writing to an employer’s withholding, deduction or diversion of a certain amount from the employee’s final wages in satisfaction of subsection (1) of this section.
(3) If an employee objects to the replacement cost amount to be deducted by an employer, and provides such written objection within the deadline specified in paragraph (D), subsection (1) of this subsection, then the employer shall place the controverted amount in an interest bearing escrow account: Provided, That if a civil action or equitable relief is not brought by the employee for the claimed amount within three months, the employee shall forfeit the amount in escrow and such money shall revert to the employer.
(4) Nothing in this subsection is intended, nor shall it be construed, to abolish or limit any other remedies available to an employer to recover employer provided property, damages related to employer provided property or any other damages or relief, equitable or otherwise, available under any applicable law.
(5) Notwithstanding any provision in this section to the contrary, this provision shall not apply to employer-employee business relationships that are subject to, and governed by, collective bargaining agreements.
(6) For purposes of this section the following terms mean:
(A) The term “employer provided property” means all property provided by an employer to an employee for use in the employer’s business, including but not limited to, equipment, phone, computer, supplies or uniforms.
(B) The term “replacement cost” means actual cost paid by an employer for employer provided property, or for the same or similar property, if the original employer provided property no longer exists. In calculating the “replacement cost”, the cost shall include any vendor discounts provided to the employer for such property.
(C) The term “replacement tools” means equipment, other than uniforms, provided by the employer to the employee for use in the course of the employer’s business and to replace equipment provided by the employee that is lost.
(e) The Commissioner of Labor shall charge an annual fee to be established by legislative rule. All fees paid pursuant to this section shall be paid to the Commissioner of Labor and deposited in an appropriated special revenue account hereby created in the State Treasury to be known as the Psychophysiological Examiners Fund and expended for the implementation and enforcement of this section. Through June 30, 2019, amounts collected which are found from time to time to exceed funds needed for the purposes set forth in this section may be utilized by the commissioner as needed to meet the division’s funding obligations: Provided, That beginning July 1, 2019, amounts collected may not be utilized by the commissioner as needed to meet the division’s funding obligations. In addition to any other information required, an application for a license shall include the applicant’s Social Security number.
(f) The Commissioner of Labor shall propose rules for legislative approval in accordance with §29A-3-1 et seq. of this code governing the administration of psychophysiological detection of deception, lie detector or similar examination to any person: Provided, That all applicable rules in effect on the effective date of §21-5-5a, §21-5-5b, §21-5-5c and §21-5-5d of this code will remain in effect until amended, withdrawn, revoked, repealed or replaced. The legislative rules shall include:
(3) Standards of accuracy which shall be met by machines or other devices to be used in psychophysiological detection of deception, lie detector, or similar examination;
(4) The conditions under which a psychophysiological detection of deception, lie detector, or similar examination may be administered;
(5) Fees for licenses, renewals of licenses, and other services provided by the commissioner;
(7) Any other purpose to carry out the requirements of §21-5-5a, §21-5-5b, §21-5-5c and §21-5-5d of this code.
§21-5-7. Prime contractor’s responsibility for wages and benefits.
(a) Whenever any person, firm, or corporation shall contract with another for the performance of any work which the prime contracting person has undertaken to perform for another, the prime contractor shall become civilly liable to employees engaged in the performance of work under the contract for the payment of wages and fringe benefits relating to such work only, exclusive of attorney’s fees, interest, liquidated damages, or any other damages of any kind, as provided in §21-5-4(e) of this code, or other applicable law and/or common law, to the extent that the employer of the employee fails to pay the wages and fringe benefits: for work performed under the contract with the prime contractor. The employer, and its shareholders, owners, directors, and officers shall be personally and civilly liable to the prime contractor for any sums paid under this section, including attorney’s fees.
(b) Any individual or entity seeking redress pursuant to subsection (a) of this section must:
(1) Notify the prime contractor, by certified mail, only that wages or fringe benefits have not been paid within 100 days of the date the wages or fringe benefits become payable to the employee; and
(2) Commence the action within one year of the date the employee delivered notice to the prime contractor pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection.
(c) The employer of the employee to whom wages and/or fringe benefits are owed, shall whenever feasible provide, immediately upon request by the employee or the prime contractor, complete payroll records relating to work performed under the contract with the prime contractor.
(d) Whenever the employee to whom wages and/or fringe benefits are due is represented by a union or other plan administrator, the union or other plan administrator, shall whenever feasible, immediately upon notice of a claim hereunder, cooperate with the employee and the prime contractor to identify and quantify the wages and fringe benefits owed for work performed under the contract with the prime contractor. Further, if the union or agents thereof or other plan administrator, including, but not limited to, third party administrators, trustees, administrators, or employees, become aware that an employer is not timely in the payment of wages and/or fringe benefits, the union or other plan administrator shall immediately notify the affected employee and the prime contractor for whom the affected employee provided work.
(e) A prime contractor must notify the owner and the architect prior to the completion of the contract if any subcontractor has not been paid in full.