HLS 12RS-2081 ORIGINAL
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Regular Session, 2012
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON NO. 76
BY REPRESENTATIVE SMITH
PRIVILEGES/LIENS: Requests the La. State Law Institute to study and make
recommendations regarding unpaid wages
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON1
To urge and request the Louisiana State Law Institute to study procedures for the filing of2
liens for unpaid wages and to make specific recommendations for legislation.3
WHEREAS, working families need the assurance of timely pay for work performed4
to meet basic living expenses for themselves and their children, and all workers should be5
paid the wages due for all work performed and should be paid in a timely manner. Where6
wages are not paid, workers must have a way to recover quickly and without great expense;7
and8
WHEREAS, failure to pay wages may occur when workers' hours are decreased, or9
workers are required to work before clocking in or after clocking out, not paid overtime10
when overtime is due, or not paid at all. Failure to pay wages is reported across all11
industries; and 12
WHEREAS, for many working families living paycheck-to-paycheck, unpaid wages13
means the difference between hunger and sustenance, and a safe home and homelessness;14
and15
WHEREAS, the state of Louisiana suffers when employers fail to pay payroll taxes16
associated with the unpaid wages and fail to make contributions to the unemployment17
insurance and workers' compensation systems, diminishing state and local government18
revenues. In the New Orleans area alone, the Wage Claim Clinic at the Workplace Justice19
Project of Loyola College of Law assisted workers with demands of over six hundred20
thousand dollars in unpaid wages in 2011. These unpaid wages would have yielded21 HLS 12RS-2081 ORIGINAL
HCR NO. 76
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approximately fifty thousand dollars in taxes to the state of Louisiana. This represents a1
fraction of total unpaid wages just in the city of New Orleans. The total unpaid revenues for2
the entire state is unknown but could be many times this amount; and3
WHEREAS, unpaid wages are bad for business because law-abiding businesses and4
employers must compete with businesses that do not pay their fair share, leaving an unfair5
playing field for honest business people. Local business suffers when workers and their6
families have no money to spend; and7
WHEREAS, communities suffer when working families are forced to rely on public8
assistance or charities to survive or are forced to leave their homes to seek other work9
because of unpaid wages; and 10
WHEREAS, most wage and hour disputes brought in Louisiana are resolved through11
private litigation, where only twenty-five percent of wages are actually collected; and 12
WHEREAS, the option of filing liens has been available for construction workers,13
mechanics, and other tradespeople with success over a long period of time; and 14
WHEREAS, construction liens filed for wages owed by contractors consistently15
result in a more successful rate of recovery than private litigation; and 16
WHEREAS, despite statutes governing the treatment of workers' pay dating back to17
1920, the current law in Louisiana anticipates litigation but offers no non-litigation remedy18
for unpaid wages outside of the construction lien; and19
WHEREAS, the option of filing a lien for wages would create an alternative to20
litigation and could reduce the cost of litigation for Louisiana businesses.21
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby22
urge and request the Louisiana State Law Institute to study all options, specifically lien23
rights, and make specific recommendations for legislation to provide an effective remedy24
for unpaid wages that will be an efficient tool to obtain wrongfully withheld wages without25
requiring expensive litigation, and that such legislation clearly establish that violations of26
workplace laws are against the public policy of the state.27
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Resolution be transmitted28
to the director of the Louisiana State Law Institute and that the Louisiana State Law Institute29 HLS 12RS-2081 ORIGINAL
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report its findings and recommendations in the form of specific proposed legislation to the1
Legislature of Louisiana on or before January 1, 2014.2
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
Smith HCR No. 76
Requests the La. State Law Institute to study all options, specifically lien rights, and make
specific recommendations for legislation to provide an effective remedy for unpaid wages.