20250SB__031097AMD INTRODUCED 2025-02-10 AMENDED_SENATE 2025-04-10 AMENDED_SENATE 2026-01-20 2025 SB AMD Introduced by Senator Wiener (Coauthor: Senator Wahab) (Coauthor: Assembly Member Haney) LEAD_AUTHOR SENATE Wiener COAUTHOR SENATE Wahab COAUTHOR ASSEMBLY Haney

An act to amend

Section of the Labor Code, relating to employment. employment Failure to pay wages: penalties. Existing law makes every person who fails to pay the wages of each employee subject to a specified penalty. Existing law makes the initial violation subject to a $100 penalty and each subsequent violation, or any willful or intentional violation, subject to a $200 penalty plus 25% of the amount unlawfully withheld. Existing law requires the penalty to either be recovered by an employee as a statutory penalty or by the Labor Commissioner as a civil penalty, as prescribed.

This bill also would permit the $200 penalty for each subsequent violation, or any willful or intentional violation, to be recovered through an independent civil action, as specified. MAJORITY NO YES NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section of the Labor Code is amended to read: 210. (

a) In addition to, and entirely independent and apart from, any other penalty provided in this article, every person who fails to pay the wages of each employee as provided in Sections 201.3, 204, 204b, 204.1, 204.2, 204.11, 205, 205.5, and 1197.5, shall be subject to a penalty as follows:

(1) For any initial violation, one hundred dollars ($100) for each failure to pay each employee.

(2) For each subsequent violation, or any willful or intentional violation, two hundred dollars ($200) for each failure to pay each employee, plus percent of the amount unlawfully withheld. (

b) The penalty may either be recovered by the employee as a statutory penalty pursuant to

Section or by the Labor Commissioner as a civil penalty through the issuance of a citation or pursuant to

Section 98.3. The procedures for issuing, contesting, and enforcing judgments for citations issued by the Labor Commissioner under this

section shall be the same as those set forth in subdivisions (

b) to (k), inclusive, of

Section 1197.1. (

c) The penalty provided under paragraph (2) of subdivision (

a) may be recovered by the employee as a statutory penalty through an independent civil action. (c)</xhtml:p>"?> (

d) An employee is only entitled to either recover the statutory penalty provided for in this section, pursuant to

Section or through an independent civil action, or to enforce a civil penalty as set forth in subdivision (

a) of

Section 2699, but not both, for the same violation. (d)</xhtml:p>"?> (

e) The provisions of this

section are severable. If any provision of this

section or its application is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application.