Rhode Island General Laws 28-14-19.2. Private right of action to collect wages or benefits and for equitable relief
(a) Any employee or former employee, or any organization representing the employee or former employee aggrieved by the failure to pay wages and/or benefits or misclassification in violation of chapter 12 of this title and/or this chapter may file a civil action in any court of competent jurisdiction to obtain relief. An aggrieved party shall be entitled to recover any unpaid wages and/or benefits, compensatory damages, and liquidated damages in an amount up to two (2) times the amount of unpaid wages and/or benefits owed, as well as an award of appropriate equitable relief, including reinstatement of employment, fringe benefits and seniority rights, and reasonable attorney’s fees and costs, and/or such other appropriate relief or penalties authorized under this chapter and chapter 12 of this title. In determining the amount of any penalty imposed under this section, consideration shall be given to the size of the employer‘s business, 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. Any unpaid fringe benefit contributions owed pursuant to this section in any form shall be paid to the appropriate benefit fund: however, in the absence of an appropriate fund, the benefit shall be paid directly to the aggrieved employee.
Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 28-14-19.2
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- 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
- Employee: means any person suffered or permitted to work by an employer, except that independent contractors or subcontractors shall not be considered employees. 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
- Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- 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) An action instituted pursuant to this section may be brought by one or more employees or former employees individually and/or on behalf of other employees similarly situated.
(c) No agreement between the employee and employer to work for less than the applicable wage and/or benefit rate or to otherwise work under terms and/or conditions in violation of applicable law is a defense to an action brought pursuant to this section.
(d) An employer’s responsibility and liability hereunder is solely to the employer’s own employees.
(e) A civil action filed under this section may be instituted instead of, but not in addition to, the director of labor and training enforcement procedures authorized by the above referenced chapters, provided the civil action is filed prior to the date the director of labor and training issues notice of an administrative hearing.
(f) The filing of a civil action under this section shall not preclude the director of labor and training from investigating the matter and/or referring the matter to the attorney general, contractors’ registration board, and/or the tax administrator.
(g) Any claim hereunder shall be forever barred unless commenced within three (3) years after the cause of action accrued.
History of Section.
P.L. 2012, ch. 306, § 4; P.L. 2012, ch. 344, § 4.