West Virginia Code of State Rules › Agency 42 - Labor › Title 42 - LEGISLATIVE RULE DIVISION OF LABOR › Series 42-05 - Wage Payment and Collection › Section 42-5-3 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 28, July 12, 2024
3.1. The "Act" or
				"the law," for purposes of this rule, means the Wage Payment and Collection
				Act, W. Va. Code §
									21-5-1
et seq
.
3.2.
				"Assignment of wages" or "wage assignment" means a voluntary written document
				that complies with the requirements set forth in W. Va. Code §
									21-5-3(e)
				authorizing the transfer of a portion of an employee's net wages to
				another.
3.3. "Break" when
				authorized by an employer, means a rest period of short duration, up to 20
				minutes, that must be counted as hours worked.
3.4. "Claimant" means an employee or former
				employee who submits a request for assistance to the Division, alleging that he
				or she is owed unpaid wages, or alleging any other violation of the Act or this
				rule.
3.5. "Days" means calendar
				days, unless otherwise stated.
3.6.
				"Director" means the director of the Wage and Hour Section, or his or her
				designee.
3.7. "Division" means the
				West Virginia Division of Labor.
3.8. "Earned wages" means wages that are owed
				to an employee for all hours worked.
3.9. "Employ" means to hire, permit, or
				suffer to work.
3.10. "Final order"
				or "Commissioner's final order" means an order issued by the Commissioner which
				the employer either does not appeal pursuant to W. Va. Code §
									29A-5-4,
				or which has been upheld after the employer has exhausted his or her appeal
				rights pursuant to W. Va. Code §§
									29A-5-4
				and
				29A-6-1.
3.11. "Garnishment order" or "wage
				garnishment order" refers to a legal procedure in which an employee's wages are
				required by court order to be withheld by an employer for the payment of a
				debt.
3.12. "Hours worked" means
				the time an employee is under the control and direction of his or her employer,
				and includes the compensable time provisions of § 42-8-11.
3.13. "Illegal deduction" means a deduction
				made by an employer from an employee's wages without a valid assignment of
				wages, without complying with the provisions of W. Va. Code §
									21-5-4(f)
				concerning employer provided property, without a valid wage garnishment order,
				or without an employee's written authorization for union or club dues, pension
				plans, a payroll savings plan, charitable contributions, insurance, a
				hospitalization plan, or plans of a similar kind.
3.14. "Net wages" means an employee's wages
				after deductions are taken out from an employee's gross wages.
3.15. "Pay period" means the scheduled number
				of days for which an employee is paid, which may or may not coincide with the
				day an employee is paid.
3.16.
				"Request for Assistance" or "RFA" means a form provided by the Division and
				submitted by a claimant alleging that he or she is owed unpaid wages or
				alleging any other violation of the Act or this rule.
3.17. "Status conference" means an employer's
				informal meeting with the Division regarding the status of the Division's
				investigation into an alleged violation of the Act or this rule.
3.18. "Wages," for state employees, includes
				the incremental salary increases pursuant to W. Va. Code §
									5-5-2.
3.19. "Work week" means a regular recurring
				period of 168 hours made up of 7 consecutive 24 hour periods.