Senate Bill 276 amends the law concerning wage payments to give employers a little extra time before they have to cough up an employee’s wages. Currently they have to pay at least twice per month, and each paycheck has to consist of everything that’s owed at a point 10 days prior to the paycheck. So, for example, if you get paid on the 15th of the month, then you have to be paid all you have earned up to the 5th of the month. The proposed new law amends this to specify 10 “business” days. “Business days” excludes Saturdays, Sundays, or legal holidays even if, apparently, you earned your wages on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday. So, on the 15th, depending how the days of the week fall, you’d have to be paid everything earned up to the 3rd of the month.
It screws workers just a little, but not a huge deal. You take a hit on the first paycheck, you get a little extra on the last paycheck, and the ones in the middle are the same. The bill contains an interesting noncode provision:
(b) Having received and considered testimony concerning the customary and usual wage payment practices of employers, it is the intent of the general assembly that the ten (10) day period referenced in IC 22-2-5-1, before its amendment by this act, be construed as ten (10) business days (as defined in IC 22-2-5-0.5, as added by this act).
Indiana doesn’t have legislative histories to assist courts in their interpretations. This is an effort to give the courts a retroactive legislative history to assist them in interpreting an unambiguous provision. Current law says “Payment shall be made for all wages earned to a date not more than ten (10) days prior to the date of payment.” There is nothing in existing language that even hints at the possibility that Saturdays and Sundays ought to be excluded from the reckoning. I’ll be interested to see whether a court does anything more than laugh at this noncode provision. I’d also be interested to know whose constituent is getting sued for messing up wage payments and is trying to save themselves retroactively.
Or, maybe I’m all wet. Maybe there is a compelling reason for that noncode provision, not tailored to the situation of any particular constituent. In any event, this bill passed the House 93 to 0 and has been returned to the Senate.
[tags]SB276-2007, labor[/tags]
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