§ 11-7-319 - Bond for semimonthly payment of wages.
11-7-319. Bond for semimonthly payment of wages.
(a) (1) Every person, firm, association, or corporation engaged in mining or producing coal or in the operation of a coal mine or coal mining business and employing more than three (3) persons in connection therewith shall give a qualified bond with good and sufficient surety to the State of Arkansas, for the use and benefit of the employees, conditioned to the effect that the employer will pay to the employees semimonthly the full amount that shall be due the employees on each semimonthly payday, as defined in this section.
(2) The bond shall be in the amount as scheduled in this subsection, based upon the number of employees of any coal mine for which the bond is made, as follows:
(A) Where the number of employees is not less than three (3) but less than twelve (12), the bond shall be two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500);
(B) Where the number of employees is not less than twelve (12) but less than fifty (50), the bond shall be eight thousand dollars ($8,000);
(C) Where the number of employees is not less than fifty (50) but less than one hundred fifty (150), the amount of the bond shall be ten thousand dollars ($10,000);
(D) Where the number of employees is not less than one hundred fifty (150) but less than three hundred (300), the amount of the bond shall be fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000);
(E) Where the number of employees is three hundred (300) or more, the amount of the bond shall be twenty thousand dollars ($20,000).
(3) In the event any one (1) person, firm, association, or corporation shall operate more than one (1) coal mine, a separate bond shall be given for the benefit of the employees in each mine.
(4) The bond shall be filed with the clerk of the circuit court and shall be approved by the circuit court of the county where the labor, to secure the payment of which the bond is given, shall be performed.
(5) (A) In the event of variance in the number of employees, or when any bond shall not conform with the above schedule, any employee or interested person may, upon showing to the circuit court, have the court declare the number of employees of the employer in any mine, and thereupon, the court shall fix the amount of bond required by appropriate order.
(B) Any interested person may appeal the order in the manner now provided by law.
(6) The bond shall secure claims for labor only, including assignees of claims for labor and those who have advanced any money or thing of value to any employee on the order of his employer.
(b) (1) (A) Any employee or group of employees, who shall not be paid their wages when due, may proceed against the principal and sureties on the bond in an action in the circuit court of the county where the mine at which the labor was performed is situated, and for this purpose the mine shall be deemed to be situated at the place where its principal opening is situated.
(B) Any employees in the same mine may join in one (1) action, and process in the action shall run throughout the state.
(2) In an action brought to recover on the bond, the court shall assess a reasonable attorney's fee for the attorney for the plaintiff if the plaintiff prevails therein, the fee to be adjudged as costs against the principal and sureties in the bond.
(3) No wages shall be deemed to be due for labor performed during the first half of any month until the first weekday of the following month and for labor performed during the last half of any month until the sixteenth day of the following month, and any action to recover on the bond must be commenced within thirty (30) days from the date of default in the payment of wages when due.
(c) (1) Any person, firm, association, or corporation who shall fail or refuse to comply with the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be fined not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000) nor more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) for each violation.
(2) When any person, firm, or corporation shall fail or refuse to comply herewith, the State Mine Inspector or any interested person may apply to the circuit court having jurisdiction pursuant to subdivision (a)(4) of this section for an order enjoining and preventing the operation of any mine, by anyone, until this section is complied with, and upon proper showing, the order shall be made by the circuit court.
(3) The mine inspector, in his or her official capacity, shall not be required to give bond to obtain the order.
(4) Any regularly constituted labor union of mining laborers shall be deemed an interested person within the meaning of this section.
(d) This section shall not prevent the enforcement of any remedies now provided for laborers to enforce payment of their wages but shall be cumulative thereto; provided, the remedy here provided must be exhausted before any other remedy may be invoked.