Ch. 578                                     1993 LAWS OF MARYLAND

CHAPTER 578
(House Bill 1006)

AN ACT concerning

Wage Payment and Collection Law - Action for Unpaid Wages

FOR the purpose of providing a private right of action by an employee against an
employer who fails to pay the employee in accordance with certain provisions of the
Wage Payment and Collection Law; allowing the action to be brought after a certain
period has elapsed; requiring allowing a court, under certain circumstances, to
award treble damages wages, counsel fees, and other costs against an employer; and
generally relating to wage payment and collection.

BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments,
Article - Labor and Employment
Section 3-507
Annotated Code of Maryland.
(1991 Volume and 1992 Supplement)

BY adding to

Article - Labor and Employment

Section 3-507.1

Annotated Code of Maryland

(1991 Volume and 1992 Supplement)

SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF
MARYLAND, That the Laws of Maryland read as follows:

Article - Labor and Employment

3-507.

(a)      Whenever the Commissioner determines that this subtitle has been violated, the
Commissioner:

           (1) may try to resolve any issue involved in the violation informally by

mediation;

(2)     with the written consent of the employee, may ask the Attorney General to
bring an action in accordance with this section on behalf of the employee; and

(3) may bring an action on behalf of an employee in the county where the
violation allegedly occurred.

(b)     (1) If, in an action under subsection (a) of this section, a court finds that an
employer withheld the wage of an employee in violation of this subtitle and not as a result of
a bona fide dispute, the court may award the employee an amount not exceeding 3 times the
wage, AND REASONABLE COUNSEL FEES AND OTHER COSTS.

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