(a)  Any employer found to have violated the provisions of this chapter upon final determination by the department of labor and training, including claims settled via settlement agreement and administrative hearing, shall be assessed an administrative penalty equal to fifteen percent (15%) to twenty-five percent (25%) of the amount of back wages ordered to be paid for a first violation within a three-year (3) period. For subsequent violations within a three-year (3) period, the assessment shall equal twenty-five percent (25%) to fifty percent (50%) of the amount of back wages ordered to be paid.

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Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 28-14-17.1

  • Department: means the department of labor and training. See Rhode Island General Laws 28-29-2
  • Director: means the director of the department of labor and training or his or her duly authorized representative. See Rhode Island General Laws 28-14-1
  • Employer: means any individual, firm, partnership, association, joint stock company, trust, corporation, receiver, or other like officer appointed by a court of this state, and any agent or officer of any of the previously mentioned classes, employing any person in this state. See Rhode Island General Laws 28-14-1
  • Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
  • Wages: means all amounts at which the labor or service rendered is recompensed, whether the amount is fixed or ascertained on a time, task, piece, commission basis, or other method of calculating the amount. See Rhode Island General Laws 28-14-1

(b)  In determining the amount of any penalty imposed under this section, the director or his or her designee shall consider the good faith of the employer; the gravity of the violation; the history of previous violations; and whether or not the violation was an innocent mistake or willful violation.

History of Section.
P.L. 2017, ch. 302, art. 13, § 6.