Page 178 - An Indispensible Resource for Being a Credible Activist

to comply with the statute. If the employment agency complies with the requirement to sub-
mit a bond or otherwise submits a timely response, the commissioner may (1) terminate
proceedings against the agency or (2) schedule a hearing and, by certified mail, give the
agency written notice of the date, place, and time of the hearing. If the agency fails to com-
ply with a lawful order of the commissioner or fails to submit a timely response, the com-
missioner may impose a civil money penalty of not less than $500 and not more than $1,000
for each failure to comply with the order or failure to submit a timely report. If, after a hear-
ing, the commissioner finds that the employment agency has violated the provisions of the
statute, the commissioner may impose a civil penalty of not less than $500 and not more
than $1,000 for each violation.
Equal employment opportunity. Section 11–B of the State Human Relations Commission
section of the State Annotated Code was amended to cover civil actions resulting from
alleged discriminatory acts and the constraints for processing such actions. Within 180 days
of the timely filing of a complaint or administrative charge alleging a discriminatory act, the
complainant may bring a civil action against the respondent. If the civil action is filed no
more than two years after the occurrence of the alleged act of discrimination, the filing shall
serve to automatically terminate any proceeding before the commission that is based on the
underlying administrative complaint and any amendments thereto. If a payment of compen-
satory damages is awarded to the complainant for future pecuniary losses, emotional pain,
suffering, inconvenience, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, and other nonpecuniary
losses, the amount of damages awarded may not exceed (1) $50,000 if the respondent
employs not fewer than 15 and not more than 100 employees, (2) $100,000 if the respon-
dent employs not fewer than 101 and not more than 200 employees, (3) $200,000 if the
respondent employs not fewer than 201 and not more than 500 employees, and (4) $300,000
if the respondent employs not fewer than 501 employees, in each of 20 or more calendar
weeks in the current or preceding calendar year. The court may not inform the jury of the
limitations imposed on compensatory and punitive damages, and if back pay is awarded,
interim earnings or amounts earnable with reasonable diligence by the person(s) discrimi-
nated against shall operate to reduce the back pay otherwise allowable. If the State has suf-
ficient money available at the time an award is made, the State shall pay the award as soon
as practicable within 20 days after the award is final. If insufficient monies exist at the time
of the award, the affected State unit shall report this fact to the State comptroller, who shall
keep an accounting of all outstanding awards and report that accounting annually to the
Governor, who shall include in the State budget sufficient funds to pay all awards made
against the State under this section of the State code.
Minimum wage. Because of requirements included in legislation that was previously
enacted, the State minimum wage was increased to $6.55 per hour on July 24, 2008.
Miscellaneous. The State enacted legislation to establish paid-work-based learning pro-
grams in which arrangements are made between schools and employers to provide students
certain structured employer-supervised learning. The legislation allows a credit against the
State income tax and the tax on insurance premiums for wages paid to each student under
an approved paid-work-based learning program. Students must work 200 or more hours
before an employer is eligible to claim a tax credit, which cannot exceed $1,500 per student.
Further, the legislation defines a “student” as “a person at least 16 years old, but younger

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