§389-14 Penalties. (a) Any covered employer who fails to enroll a covered employee into the program in accordance with section 389-5(e)(1) without equitable justification shall be liable:
(b) Any covered employer who fails to timely transmit a covered employee's payroll deduction contribution to the program pursuant to section 389-5(e)(2) shall be subject to the same sanctions imposed on an employer for misappropriation of employee wage withholdings and the penalties pursuant to chapter 388.
(c) No penalty under subsections (a)(2) and (b) shall be imposed on a covered employer if the covered employer can establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the covered employer:
(d) Any covered employer who otherwise violates or fails to comply with any provision of this chapter or rules adopted pursuant to this chapter shall be liable for a penalty of no less than $500 for each violation or failure; provided that the penalties shall not exceed $5,000 per calendar year.
(e) All or part of the penalties imposed under subsections (a)(2) and (b) may be waived to the extent that the payment of the penalties would be excessive or otherwise inequitable relative to the violation or failure involved; provided that the covered employer can establish, by a preponderance of the evidence, the existence of equitable justification for the violation or failure.
(f) The penalties under this section shall be deposited into the special fund. [L 2022, c 296, pt of §2; am L 2025, c 113, §6]