2010 Wyoming Statutes
Title 27 - Labor And Employment
Chapter 1 - General Provisions

CHAPTER 1 - GENERAL PROVISIONS

 

27-1-101. "Manufacturing establishment" defined; "person" defined.

 

Manufacturing establishments, as those words are used in this act, shall mean and include all smelters, oil refineries, cement works, mills of every kind, machine and repair shops, and in addition to the foregoing, any other kind or character of manufacturing establishment, of any nature or description whatsoever, wherein any natural product or other articles or materials of any kind, in a raw or unfinished or incomplete state or condition, are converted into a new or improved or different form. Wherever the expression occurs in this act in substantially the following words: "every person owning or operating any manufacturing establishment," or where language similar to that is used, the word "person" in that connection shall be held and construed to mean any person or persons, partnership, corporation, receiver, trust, trustee, or any other person or combination of persons, either natural or artificial, by whatever name he or they may be called.

 

27-1-102. Doors at public places to open outward; handrails on stairs; enforcement.

 

All doors leading into or to any manufacturing establishment, mills, workshops, offices, bakeries, laundries, stores, hotels, theaters, halls, or other buildings in which people are employed, shall be so constructed as to open outward, when practicable, and shall not be locked, bolted or fastened so as to prevent free egress during working hours. Proper and substantial handrails shall be provided on all stairways in manufacturing establishments, mills, workshops, offices, bakeries, laundries, stores, hotels, theaters, halls, and other buildings where people are employed or rooms are rented to the public. And he [the department of employment] shall have authority to enforce by due process of law, the provisions of this section, and other laws relating to fire escapes.

 

27-1-103. Safety devices on elevators and machinery.

 

The openings of all hoistways, hatchways, elevators, well holes and stairways in manufacturing establishments, mills, workshops, bakeries, laundries, stores, hotels, theaters, halls, or any other kind of establishment where labor is employed, or machinery used, shall be protected by trapdoors, hatches, fences, automatic gates or other safeguards, and all due diligence shall be used to keep all such means of protection closed, except when it is necessary to have the same open for use when practicable. All machinery, in use in any mercantile, manufacturing, or any other establishment whatsoever where labor is employed, shall be equipped, with proper shifters for throwing on or off pulleys, loose pulleys and other such safeguards as may be deemed necessary by the commissioner of labor [department of employment] for the proper safeguard of life and limb.

 

27-1-104. Mines and interstate railroads exempt.

 

Nothing herein contained, as applied to inspection and application of safety devices, shall be construed to be applicable to coal and metalliferous mines and workshops connected therewith, nor to railroads engaged in interstate commerce and workshops connected therewith.

 

27-1-105. Employees' contract releasing employer from personal injury liability void.

 

It shall be unlawful for any person, company or corporation to require of its servants or employees, as a condition of their employment or otherwise, any contract or agreement whereby such person, company or corporation shall be released or discharged from liability or responsibility on account of personal injuries received by such servants or employees while in service of such person, company or corporation, by reason of the negligence of such person, company or corporation, or the agents or employees thereof, and such contracts shall be absolutely null and void.

 

27-1-106. Certain nonresident employers required to post bond; exceptions.

 

(a) All firms, corporations or employers of any kind who are nonresident employers and expect to pay wages in the state of Wyoming in excess of ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00) monthly or one hundred twenty thousand dollars ($120,000.00) annually as a result of conducting business within Wyoming, are required to file with the director of the department of employment a surety bond or other security meeting the requirements of this section, approved by the director and the attorney general.

 

(b) The bond or other security required by subsection (a) of this section shall be in the amount of ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00) plus an additional one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) for each one hundred twenty thousand dollars ($120,000.00) or fraction thereof that the expected wages exceed one hundred twenty thousand dollars ($120,000.00) annually.

 

(c) The bond or security provided for in this section shall ensure:

 

(i) The payment of wages of employees working in the state; and

 

(ii) All other payments or obligations of the nonresident employer required by the Wyoming Worker's Compensation Act unless waived by the director pursuant to W.S. 27-14-302.

 

(d) The nonresident employer shall post additional security before performing work under any new contract if the security previously posted under this section has expired.

 

(e) Upon application by a nonresident employer, the director may permit the withdrawal of any security if the employer has:

 

(i) Complied with the security requirements of this section and made all necessary payments for a period of two (2) years;

 

(ii) Demonstrated that he has been a resident of the state for two (2) years and intends to remain a resident; or

 

(iii) Acquired real property as a nonresident with an unencumbered value greater than or equal to the value of the bond or other security required by subsection (b) of this section.

 

(f) If the anticipated work has ceased before the expiration of twenty-four (24) months, or less than fifty percent (50%) of the largest work force is still working in Wyoming, the security deposited by the nonresident employer shall be forfeited and retained by the division in an amount equal to the reserved amounts for compensable injuries to the nonresident employer's employees. Upon application by a nonresident employer, the division shall refund the amount not forfeited pursuant to this subsection except for any disbursements made under subsection (c) of this section.

 

(g) This section does not apply to charitable or religious organizations.

 

27-1-107. Nonresident employers to post bond; penalty.

 

Any person or persons, corporation, agent, manager or employer who shall violate any of the provisions of W.S. 27-1-106 shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall for each offense, be subject to a fine of not more than seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00), imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one (1) year, or both.

 

27-1-108. Penalties generally.

 

Any person who violates or omits to comply with any of the provisions of this act, or any final order of the department of employment is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00), imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one (1) year, or both.

 

27-1-109. Prosecution of violations.

 

The district attorney for any county in this state shall, upon receipt of a verified complaint from the director of the department of employment or a final agency decision of the department of employment prosecute to termination before any court of competent jurisdiction, in the name of the state of Wyoming, actions or proceedings against any person or persons charged with violation of any of the provisions of this act, or any of the laws of this state enacted for the protection of employees.

 

27-1-110. State rehabilitation council; membership; chairman.

 

(a) There is established a permanent council within the department of workforce services to be known as the Wyoming governor's state rehabilitation council, to consist of:

 

(i) At least one (1) representative of the statewide independent living council;

 

(ii) At least one (1) representative of a parent training and information center;

 

(iii) At least one (1) representative of the client assistance program;

 

(iv) At least one (1) vocational rehabilitative counselor;

 

(v) At least one (1) representative of community rehabilitation program service providers;

 

(vi) Four (4) representatives of business, industry and labor;

 

(vii) At least two (2) representatives of disability advocacy groups;

 

(viii) At least two (2) current or former applicants of vocational rehabilitation services;

 

(ix) The administrator of the division of vocational rehabilitation;

 

(x) At least one (1) representative of the department of education;

 

(xi) At least one (1) representative of the state workforce investment board.

 

(b) The director of the department of workforce services shall be an ex officio, nonvoting member of the state rehabilitation council.

 

(c) A majority of council members shall be persons who are:

 

(i) Individuals with disabilities;

 

(ii) Not employed by the division of vocational rehabilitation.

 

(d) One (1) of the members shall be elected chairman by the members of the council. The appointive members shall hold office for the term specified. The council shall be nonpartisan. The governor may remove any council member as provided in W.S. 9-1-202.

 

27-1-111. Duties of council and department.

 

The department of workforce services, with advice of the council, shall carry on a continuing program to promote the employment of physically, mentally, emotionally and otherwise handicapped persons by creating statewide interest in the rehabilitation and employment of the handicapped and by obtaining and maintaining cooperation from all public and private groups and individuals in the field. The council shall work in cooperation with the president's committee on employment of the handicapped in order to more effectively carry out the purposes of this act.

 

27-1-112. Authority of council to receive gifts, grants or donations.

 

The department of workforce services, on behalf of the council, is authorized to receive any gifts, grants or donations made for any of the purposes of its program.

 

27-1-113. Employer immunity for disclosure of certain employee information; rebuttal of presumption.

 

(a) An employer who discloses information about a former employee's job performance to a prospective employer or to an employer of the former employee is presumed to be acting in good faith. Unless lack of good faith is shown by a preponderance of evidence, the employer is immune from civil liability for the disclosure or for the consequences resulting from the disclosure.

 

(b) For purposes of subsection (a) of this section, the presumption of good faith is rebutted upon a showing that the information disclosed by the former employer was knowingly false or deliberately misleading or was rendered with malicious purpose.

 

27-1-114. Temporary employment fees.

 

(a) A temporary service contractor for temporary workers is not entitled to collect a fee from an employer for the permanent employment of a temporary worker placed by the temporary service contractor, unless the employer is notified in writing of the existence and the amount of the fee prior to the date of services being rendered by a temporary worker to the employer.

 

(b) For the purpose of this section "temporary service contractor" means any person, firm, association or corporation conducting a business that employs individuals directly for the purpose of furnishing services of the employed individuals on a temporary basis to others.

 

27-1-115. State directory of new hires; requirements; exceptions; definitions.

 

(a) A department designated by the governor shall maintain a directory of new hires using information provided by employers in the state. The department shall use the information in the directory of new hires to:

 

(i) Provide information to the department of family services as necessary to:

 

(A) Locate individuals for purposes of establishing paternity and establishing, modifying and enforcing child support obligations;

 

(B) Notify employers of wage withholding orders.

 

(ii) Provide information to the national directory of new hires; and

 

(iii) Maintain information as necessary for the administration of employment security and worker's compensation programs.

 

(b) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, each employer in the state shall furnish to the department of employment within twenty (20) days of hiring a new employee, or in the case of an employer transmitting reports magnetically or electronically, by two (2) monthly transmissions not less than twelve (12) days nor more than sixteen (16) days apart, a report that contains the name, address and social security number of the employee and the name and address of, and identifying number assigned to, the employer under section 6109 of the Internal Revenue Code. The report shall be made on a W-4 form approved by the internal revenue service or, at the option of the employer, on an equivalent form approved by the department. The form may be transmitted by first class mail, electronically or magnetically in a format acceptable to the designated department.

 

(c) An employer that has employees who are employed in Wyoming and any other state and who transmits the report required under subsection (b) of this section by electronic or magnetic means may elect to submit the report to either state in accordance with federal law. Any department, agency or instrumentality of the federal government operating in the state may submit the report required under subsection (b) of this section to the national directory of new hires in accordance with federal law.

 

(d) For purposes of this section:

 

(i) "Employee" means an individual eighteen (18) years of age or older who is an employee within the meaning of chapter 24 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, but does not include an employee of a federal or state agency performing intelligence or counter-intelligence functions if the head of such agency has determined that reporting the information required by this section could endanger the safety of the individual or compromise an ongoing investigation or intelligence operation. If the federal government seeks to impose sanctions on Wyoming for failure to report new hires under eighteen (18) years of age, the department may include such individuals within the definition of employee for purposes of this section;

 

(ii) "Employer" means as defined in section 3401(d) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and includes any governmental agency and any labor organization.

 

(e) In the event that the federal law requiring the state to maintain a directory of new hires is repealed, employers shall not be required to submit reports as provided by subsections (b) and (c) of this section. The state shall not thereafter maintain the directory of new hires required under subsection (a) of this section.