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| ASSEMBLY BILL | No. 1881 |
An act to amend Section 1194.2 of the Labor Code, relating to employment.
Under existing law, in a court action to recover wages unpaid in violation of the minimum wage set by the Industrial Welfare Commission within the Department of Industrial Relations, the court may award liquidated damages to an employee equal to the amount of wages unlawfully unpaid, plus interest.
This bill would increase the amount of liquidated damages that may be awarded to an employee to twice the amount of the wages unlawfully unpaid, plus interest.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 1194.2 of the Labor Code is amended to read:
1194.2. (a) In any action under Section 1193.6 or Section 1194 to recover wages because of the payment of a wage less than the minimum wage fixed by an order of the commission, an employee shall be entitled to recover liquidated damages in an amount equal to twice the wages unlawfully unpaid and interest thereon. Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to authorize the recovery of liquidated damages for failure to pay overtime compensation.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), if the employer demonstrates to the satisfaction of the court that the act or omission giving rise to the action was in good faith and that the employer had reasonable grounds for believing that the act or omission was not a violation of any provision of the Labor Code relating to minimum wage, or an order of the commission, the court may, in its discretion, refuse to award liquidated damages or award any amount of liquidated damages not exceeding the amount specified in subdivision (a).
(c) This section only applies to civil actions commenced on or after January 1, 1992.