Read below to learn more about wage payment laws in Virginia. Before this law, employees could only file a claim with the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry. Finally, the new law enhances potential criminal penalties for wage theft where the theft was done “willfully and with the intent to defraud.” This is a higher standard than “knowingly.” Employers who intentionally steal wages can be found guilty of a misdemeanor (for amounts less than $10,000) and for a felony (for amounts higher than $10,000). 801 Cherry Street, Suite 2365 Please note that unsolicited emails and attached information sent to McGuireWoods or a firm attorney via this website do not create an attorney-client relationship. Use our Online Contact page or call us at (817) 479-9229. WHAT WE DO This is a first of its kind in Virginia. To an employee or employees is guilty of a Class 6 felony (i) if the value of the wages earned and not paid is $10,000 or more or (ii) regardless of the value of the wages earned and not paid, if the conviction is a second or subsequent conviction under this section. Wage theft is the illegal underpayment or nonpayment of a worker’s wages. The attorneys listed on this site are NOT board certified. Burnett Plaza Not paying the overtime premium for hours worked over 40. Now, investigations can be expanded beyond an individual worker to suspected wage theft violations with respect to any and all employees at a given workplace. If your employer has not paid you properly or on time, you may be entitled to recover not only your unpaid wages, but also penalties intended to punish your employer for wage theft. (Photo: 8News) These amendments under Virginia’s Wage Payment Act (“VWPA”) are the first of its kind and provide enhanced protections for employees who are victims of wage theft by creating a private cause of action for employees to sue their employers to recover … In federal court, many employers prevail on motions for summary judgment, thus avoiding the risks of a jury trial. Virginia Enacts New “Wage Theft Law,” Creating Private Right of Action for Unpaid Wages. Virginia Wage Theft Legislation. Wage theft is the broad term that included unpaid overtime, failure to pay for all hours … The Wage Theft Law permits recovery of wages owed (… €Before this law, employees could only file a claim with the Virginia Department of Labor and This website is ATTORNEY ADVERTISING and Drew N. Herrmann is the attorney responsible for the content on this site. MEDIA MENTIONS. Not … By clicking "accept" you confirm that you have read and understand this notice. Employers are now liable for unpaid overtime wages plus liquidated damages and interest. By Dallas Hammer and Katherine Krems. We may not respond to unsolicited emails and do not consider them or attached information confidential. Under the amended wage theft law in Virginia, signed in April 2020, Virginia employers now have reason to fear substantial legal and financial consequences for stealing wages. Since the Wage Theft Law allows for the availability of increased damages for prevailing employees, it could bring an onslaught of new claims in Virginia. New legislation signed into law this year, however, significantly changes a worker’s right to redress in an area of keen importance to household employers – namely wage theft.. See McGuireWoods alerts discussing LGBTQ The labor regulators can expand an investigation where evidence is uncovered that creates a âreasonable beliefâ that wage theft is more widespread than just the reported incident described in the complaint. WHY US Virginia’s regular 2020 legislative session enacted many new laws Below is a summary of some of the new laws’ key provisions. If you are not a McGuireWoods client, do not send us any confidential information. This new law, which becomes effective on July 1, 2020, dramatically alters Virginia’s wage and hour landscape in the following ways: New Private Right of Action: Currently, Virginia employees cannot sue their employers directly for … They’re also calling for the department to step up enforcement against employers who have been credibly accused of wage theft, with fines and additional referrals to law enforcement. Wage theft happens in a variety of ways. If an employer is found to have misclassified a worker or a group of workers as independent contractors, the employer could be responsible for paying (1) wages owed, (2) liquidated damages equal to the wages owed, and (3) the plaintiff’s … protecting employee rights. The Wage Theft Law expands the remedies available to the employee. A misdemeanor conviction carries a potential jail term of up to 12 months; a felony conviction can result in a jail term of more than a year. The defendant asked the court to dismiss the complaint. The major components of the new Virginia wage theft legislation are as follows: Under House Bill 123, if a court determines an employer deliberately failed to pay an employee’s appropriate wages, the employee could be entitled to attorneys’ fees in addition to triple the amount of wages … However, the Wage Theft Law now excuses the employer from criminal liability if the employer’s failure to pay wages was due to a bona fide dispute between the employer and employee. RICHMOND—Governor Ralph Northam has signed nearly two dozen new laws to support working Virginians, including legislation to combat worker misclassification and wage theft, ban workplace discrimination, and prohibit non-compete covenants for low-wage workers.. New Private Right of Action: The Wage Theft Law permits employees to sue their employers for unpaid wages, a private right of action not previously granted to Virginia employees. The Labor & Employment Lawyers at Herrmann Law represent clients across the United States and across the state of Texas including: Fort Worth, Arlington, Bedford, Euless, Grand Prairie, Denton, Lewisville, Dallas, Garland, Irving, McKinney, Plano, Frisco, Mesquite, Carrollton, Richardson, Tyler, Lubbock, Amarillo, Wichita Falls, Waco, College Station, Houston, Killeen, Pasadena, The Woodlands, Pearland, San Antonio, Austin, Round Rock, El Paso, Corpus Christi, Laredo, McAllen, Brownsville, Beaumont, Midland, Odessa, Abilene, San Angelo, and all other cities and counties across the state of Texas. If the amount of wages owed is less than $10,000, employers can be found guilty of a misdemeanor. “There’s basically no incentive for employers to pay their workers on time under Virginia law because the penalty is, ‘Ok, fine, pay … That means we may disclose unsolicited emails and attachments to third parties, and your unsolicited communications will not prevent any lawyer in our firm from representing a party and using the unsolicited communications against you. The old version of the law failed to punish employers that did not properly pay wages … Fort Worth, Texas 76102, SUBMIT YOUR CASE Before this law, employees could only file a claim with the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry. See our articles for details: Virginia Minimum Wage Increase Will Take Effect on May 1, 2021; Virginia to Gradually Raise Minimum Wage On April 12, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam approved HB 123/SB 838, known as the Wage Theft Law. Previously, employees could not sue their employers under state law and were instead required to file an administrative claim with the Virginia Department of Labor and Industries. LEGAL CENTER In addition to recovery of all wages owed plus 8 percent pre-judgment interest, the Wage Theft Law permits recovery of liquidated damages in an amount equal to the wages owed and reasonable attorney fees and costs. Along with a number of other employer friendly laws passed this summer (Values Act and Wage Theft Law), Virginia has joined Maryland in prohibiting non-compete agreements with certain “low” wage workers.What is a non-compete agreement? Last updated: July 11th, 2020. This summer, members of the Eastern Atlantic States’ Regional Council of Carpenters, the local carpenters union, began holding signs on VCU’s campus, accusing the university of wage theft. /wp-content/uploads/2018/10/logo-406-x-331.png, https://paycheckcollector.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/virginia-wage-theft-scaled.jpg, Copyright Herrmann Law. The department may broaden its investigation to include additional employees (whether or not those employees have actually made a complaint of nonpayment of wages), and violations not previously asserted by the employee who filed a complaint. Earlier this year, the State of Virginia amended its labor code to give real teeth to its wage theft law. New Provisions Specific to Contractors: The Wage Theft Law imposes additional obligations on general contractors of large multiresidential or commercial construction contracts (i.e., greater than $500,000). The new wage theft law also has “teeth” in that it grants all Virginia employees the right to file suit against their employer, individually or collectively, to recover unpaid wages. Now, an employee may file suit individually, jointly with other aggrieved employees or on behalf of similarly situated employees as a collective action in Virginia state court. Virginia recently enacted significant amendments to its wage payment laws. While some wage deductions are acceptable under the law, some items may be considered illegal wage deductions in Virginia. To stay protected, the collection and archiving of data that shows who was on each project (and when) will help support general contractors and limit costly … reforms that include new noncompete restrictions, and a new law that expands the HB 123/SB 838(Wage Theft Law) creates a private right of action for employees to sue their employers for allegedly unpaid wages. Importantly, “knowingly” does not require proof of intent to defraud; actual knowledge, deliberate ignorance and reckless disregard are each sufficient to establish that the employer acted “knowingly.”. The new Wage Theft Law comes equipped with expensive penalties. © Copyright 2018 All Rights Reserved by Herrmann Law, PLLC. Notably, the enactment of HB 123 and SB 838, known as the Wage Theft Law, for the first time creates a private right of action for Virginia employees to sue for allegedly unpaid wages. The Governor proposes to increase the minimum wage … Thus, employers rarely faced wage and hour lawsuits in state court. Stealing workers’ tips. The subcontractor’s employees may recover their unpaid wages, an equal amount of liquidated damages, attorney’s fees and, if applicable, treble damages, jointly and severally against the general contractor and subcontractor. This significantly expands the department’s investigatory authority and inflates the risk to employers, as a single complaint could result in a sitewide or even statewide investigation with commensurate recovery and penalties. Minimum Wage. As it did previously, the Wage Theft Law also carries potential criminal penalties for violations made willfully and with the intent to defraud. We are a law firm committed to representing and advocating for employeesâ rights in the workplace. The Wage Theft Law also expands the relief available to prevailing plaintiffs and their attorneys, incentivizing state law wage and hour lawsuits against employers. As such, Virginia employees were often victimized and without proper recourse to recover their wrongfully withheld wages. Under the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act, federal law requires that employers pay an hourly wage of at least $7.25 to covered employees. RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Laborers hired to work on some of Virginia’s major construction projects, including the new General Assembly Building and Virginia Commonwealth University’s new outpatient facility in Richmond, are accusing the subcontractors that employed them of wage theft in two federal … All Rights Reserved ©, Even Illegal Businesses Must Adhere to Overtime and Wage Laws, Unpaid Overtime and Other Wage Theft Violations, FAQ: Being Paid Accrued, Unused Vacation Days Upon Termination, Virginia Workers now have what is called a “private right of action,” that is, workers can file lawsuits directly against their employers seeking to recover unpaid wages through the court system, Workers who succeed in recovering unpaid wages can recover their attorneys fees, that is, employers will be required, potentially, to pay the attorney’s fees of workers who sue, In addition to money damages paid to workers, employers can also be assessed a civil penalty of $1,000 per violation (payable to the state), Workers are now able to recover treble damages if the wage theft was done “knowingly” — “knowingly” is defined as having actual knowledge, willful blindness or reckless disregard, Workers are now protected from retaliation by their bosses if they report wage theft or file a lawsuit against their employer for unpaid wages; claims of retaliation, however, can only be filed administratively, With respect to construction workers, the General Contractor (“GC”) will now be considered the “employer” if the GC knew or had reason to know that a subcontractor was stealing wages; this means workers can sue the GC for wage theft and the GC will be jointly and severally liable under the new law. 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