Title 27 Labor and Employment
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TITLE 27 - LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT 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. The department of workforce services 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 department of workforce services 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 four thousand dollars ($4,000.00) in any month as a result of conducting business within Wyoming, are required to file with the director of the department of workforce services a surety bond or other security meeting the requirements of this section, approved by the director. (b) The bond or other security required by subsection (a) of this section shall be in the amount of eight thousand dollars ($8,000.00) plus an additional two thousand dollars ($2,000.00) for each one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) or fraction thereof that the expected wages in any month exceed four thousand dollars ($4,000.00) up to expected wages in any month of twenty thousand dollars ($20,000.00). For expected wages in any month that exceed twenty thousand dollars ($20,000.00), the bond or other security amount shall be one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) for each additional one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) or fraction thereof of expected wages. (c) The bond or security provided for in this section shall ensure: (i) The payment of wages of employees working in the state; (ii) The payment of civil penalties the occupational health and safety commission may assess; and (iii) All other payments or obligations of the nonresident employer required by: (A) The Wyoming Worker's Compensation Act unless waived by the director pursuant to W.S. 27-14-302; (B) Any other section under title 27 of Wyoming statutes or any department of workforce services rule or regulation. (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 or fail to comply with 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 one thousand dollars ($1,000.00), imprisonment 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 workforce services 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 workforce services or a final agency decision of the department of workforce services 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.