AN ACT INCREASING THE CIVIL PENALTY FOR VIOLATING A STOP WORK ORDER.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. Section 31-69a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2015):

(a) In addition to the penalties provided in this chapter and chapter 568, any employer, officer, agent or other person who violates any provision of this chapter, chapter 557 or subsection (g) of section 31-288 shall be liable to the Labor Department for a civil penalty of three hundred dollars for each violation of said chapters and for each violation of subsection (g) of section 31-288, except that (1) any person who violates (A) a stop work order issued pursuant to subsection (c) of section 31-76a shall be liable to the Labor Department for a civil penalty of [one thousand] two thousand five hundred dollars and each day of such violation shall constitute a separate offense, and (B) any provision of section 31-12, 31-13 or 31-14, subsection (a) of section 31-15 or section 31-18, 31-23 or 31-24 shall be liable to the Labor Department for a civil penalty of six hundred dollars for each violation of said sections, and (2) a violation of subsection (g) of section 31-288 shall constitute a separate offense for each day of such violation.

(b) Any employer, officer, agent or other person who violates any provision of chapter 563a may be liable to the Labor Department for a civil penalty of not greater than five hundred dollars for the first violation of chapter 563a related to an individual employee or former employee, and for each subsequent violation of said chapter related to such individual employee or former employee, may be liable to the Labor Department for a civil penalty of not greater than one thousand dollars. In setting a civil penalty for any violation in a particular case, the Labor Commissioner shall consider all factors which the commissioner deems relevant, including, but not limited to, (1) the level of assessment necessary to insure immediate and continued compliance with the provisions of chapter 563a; (2) the character and degree of impact of the violation; and (3) any prior violations of such employer of chapter 563a.

(c) The Attorney General, upon complaint of the Labor Commissioner, shall institute civil actions to recover the penalties provided for under subsections (a) and (b) of this section. Any amount recovered shall be deposited in the General Fund and credited to a separate nonlapsing appropriation to the Labor Department, for other current expenses, and may be used by the Labor Department to enforce the provisions of chapter 557, chapter 563a, this chapter and subsection (g) of section 31-288 and to implement the provisions of section 31-4.