Sec. 31-60. Payment of less than minimum or overtime wage. Regulations.
Sec. 31-60. Payment of less than minimum or overtime wage. Regulations. (a)
Any employer who pays or agrees to pay to an employee less than the minimum fair
wage or overtime wage shall be deemed in violation of the provisions of this part.
(b) The Labor Commissioner shall adopt such regulations, in accordance with the
provisions of chapter 54, as may be appropriate to carry out the purposes of this part.
Such regulations may include, but are not limited to, regulations defining and governing
an executive, administrative or professional employee and outside salesperson; learners
and apprentices, their number, proportion and length of service; and piece rates in relation to time rates; and shall recognize, as part of the minimum fair wage, gratuities in
an amount (1) equal to twenty-nine and three-tenths per cent, and effective January 1,
2009, equal to thirty-one per cent of the minimum fair wage per hour for persons, other
than bartenders, who are employed in the hotel and restaurant industry, including a hotel
restaurant, who customarily and regularly receive gratuities, (2) equal to eight and two-tenths per cent, and effective January 1, 2009, equal to eleven per cent of the minimum
fair wage per hour for persons employed as bartenders who customarily and regularly
receive gratuities, and (3) not to exceed thirty-five cents per hour in any other industry,
and shall also recognize deductions and allowances for the value of board, in the amount
of eighty-five cents for a full meal and forty-five cents for a light meal, lodging, apparel
or other items or services supplied by the employer; and other special conditions or
circumstances which may be usual in a particular employer-employee relationship. The
commissioner may provide, in such regulations, modifications of the minimum fair
wage herein established for learners and apprentices; persons under the age of eighteen
years; and for such special cases or classes of cases as the commissioner finds appropriate
to prevent curtailment of employment opportunities, avoid undue hardship and safeguard the minimum fair wage herein established. Regulations in effect on July 1, 1973,
providing for a board deduction and allowance in an amount differing from that provided
in this section shall be construed to be amended consistent with this section without the
necessity of convening a wage board or amending such regulations.
(c) Regulations adopted by the commissioner pursuant to subsection (b) of this
section which define executive, administrative and professional employees shall be updated not later than October 1, 2000, and every four years thereafter, to specify that
such persons shall be compensated on a salary basis at a rate determined by the Labor
Commissioner.
(1951, S. 2034d; 1957, P.A. 435, S. 5; 1959, P.A. 683, S. 3; 1961, P.A. 519, S. 3; 1967, P.A. 492, S. 2; 1971, P.A. 616,
S. 2; P.A. 73-561, S. 1, 2; 73-616, S. 29, 64, 67; P.A. 80-64, S. 1, 7; P.A. 99-199; P.A. 00-144, S. 2; P.A. 01-42, S. 2, 3;
P.A. 02-33, S. 2; P.A. 03-278, S. 91; P.A. 04-68, S. 1; P.A. 08-113, S. 1.)
History: 1959 act extended regulatory authority to cover executive, administrative and professional employees, deleted
bonuses and special pay from matters subject to regulation and established gratuity rates of $0.35 for restaurant employees
and $0.30 for others; 1961 act increased gratuity rates and added "based on the actual cost of food and labor"; 1967 act
raised maximum gratuities in Subsec. (b) from $0.40 per hour to $0.47 until July 1, 1968, and %0.50 thereafter for persons
employed in hotel and restaurant industry; 1971 act increased gratuities limit to $0.60 per hour; P.A. 73-561 authorized
deduction for board "in the amount of eighty-five cents for a full meal and forty-five cents for a full meal" rather than for
"reasonable value of board, based on the actual cost of food and labor" in Subsec. (b); P.A. 73-616 amended Subsec. (b)
to add provision allowing amendment of regulations without convening a wage board and amended Subsec. (c) to delete
provision specifying that regulations take effect upon publication in the Connecticut Law Journal; P.A. 80-64 made recognition of gratuities as part of minimum wage mandatory rather than optional, substituting "shall" for "may", and changed
gratuity limit from $0.60 per hour to 23% of the minimum fair wage; P.A. 99-199 amended Subsec. (b) to delete provisions
requiring commissioner to consult with wage board prior to adopting regulations, to require commissioner to adopt regulations in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedure Act and to make gender neutral changes and amended
Subsec. (c) to delete provisions specifying procedure for adoption of regulations and to require that regulations defining
executive, administrative and professional employees be updated by the commissioner by October 1, 2000, and every four
years thereafter; P.A. 00-144 amended Subsec. (b) by making a technical change and adding provisions requiring regulations
re the minimum wage for certain hotel and restaurant employees from January 1, 2001, to December 31, 2002; P.A. 01-42 amended Subsec. (b) by making a technical change, deleting existing provisions requiring regulations re the minimum
wage for certain hotel and restaurant employees from January 1, 2001, to December 31, 2002, and adding provision re
minimum wage regulation requirements for such employees for the periods from January 1, 2001, to December 31, 2001,
and January 1, 2002, to December 31, 2002, effective May 31, 2001; P.A. 02-33 amended Subsec. (b) by deleting regulations
requirement in effect from January 1, 2001, to December 31, 2001, re calculations of the minimum wage for certain hotel
and restaurant employees and bartenders, by extending the expiration date of regulations requirement for certain hotel and
restaurant employees and bartenders from December 31, 2002, to December 31, 2004, by adding provision re regulations'
applicability to hotel and restaurant employees "who customarily and regularly receive gratuities" and by making technical
changes, effective July 1, 2002; P.A. 03-278 made technical changes in Subsec. (b), effective July 9, 2003; P.A. 04-68
amended Subsec. (b) to permanently increase amount of gratuities recognized as part of minimum fair wage per hour (or
"tip credit") from 23% to 29% for hotel and restaurant workers, excluding bartenders, to establish permanent tip credit of
8.2% for bartenders who customarily and regularly receive gratuities, and to delete identical temporary provisions for both
categories of workers which were scheduled to sunset on December 31, 2004, effective January 1, 2005; P.A. 08-113
amended Subsec. (b) to increase amount of gratuities recognized as part of minimum fair wage per hour, effective January
1, 2009, from 29.3% to 31% for hotel and restaurant workers, excluding bartenders, and from 8.2% to 11% for bartenders
who customarily and regularly receive gratuities.
See chapter 54 re uniform administrative procedures.
See Sec. 31-58(j) for definition of "minimum fair wage".
Cited. 140 C. 73. Constitutionality discussed. 142 C. 437. Cited. 219 C. 520. Cited. 223 C. 573.
Limited amount of gratuity allowed for minimum wage. 18 CS 452.