Kansas Administrative Regulations › Agency 49 - DEPARTMENT OF LABOR › Article 21 - PROCEDURES › Section 49-21-2 - Processing claims

Current through Register Vol. 43, No. 28, July 11, 2024
(a) Service of
					claim. A copy of the claim shall be mailed to the employer by United States
					mail.
(b) Investigation.
(1) The investigator shall determine that
					each claim is within jurisdiction of the Kansas wage payment statutes to the
					best extent possible prior to service of the claim upon the employer.
(2) The notice of claim shall
					contain citation of the statute alleged to have been violated with a brief
					description of the nature of the violation.
(3) The employer shall be notified of a
					specified date on which a response is required, not to exceed 20 days.
					Extensions of the response period may be extended for good and sufficient
					reasons at the discretion of the secretary or the secretary's authorized
					representative.
(4) The employer
					shall respond on forms provided by the division of labor-management relations
					and employment standards within the time specified in the notice of claim or
					within 10 days of receipt of the claim, whichever is longer. Any response which
					is incomplete and that does not answer the allegations of the claim shall not
					be considered to have satisfied the response requirement.
(5) Failure on the part of the employer to
					respond to a claim shall be considered as establishing a dispute and a hearing
					may be set without further investigation. The investigator in all claims shall
					have the full authority and power of the secretary as provided in
					K.S.A.
					44-322.
(6) When the evidence shows there is probable
					cause to believe that a violation has occurred, the investigator shall attempt
					to obtain payment or settlement through conciliation of the parties to the
					dispute.
Determination of an alleged violation shall be based upon:
(A) The lawful provisions of the
					employment agreement or contract between the employer and employee;
(B) evidence of work performed; and
(C) proof of payment for work
					performed under the agreement or contract.
Any agreement by the parties or any requirement by the employer
						to contravene, set aside or waive any provision or any right created under the
						act shall be in violation of the act and equivalent to nonpayment of earned
						wages. Any provision contained in the employment agreement or contract that
						violates any provision or right created by this act shall not be enforceable,
						regardless of whether the parties have mutually assented to the provision.
Any conditional wage payment requiring a release from further
						claim for balances alleged to be owed by the employer shall be a violation of
						K.S.A.
						44-321 and therefor null and void unless that
						release is part of a binding settlement agreement as described in the act and
						defined herein.
(7) When evidence fails to support the
					alleged claim, the investigator, after giving 30 days notice to the claimant of
					the need for further evidence, may dismiss such claim as unmeritorious if such
					evidence is not submitted.
(8) In
					claims where a dispute has been determined to exist and payment or settlement
					is not obtained, the investigator shall prepare the case for hearing.