Title 39, Title 39

An employee who has any business to transact on the employee's own account similar to that entrusted to the employee by the employee's employer shall always give the employer's business the preference.

An employee who is expressly authorized to employ a substitute is liable to the principal only for want of ordinary care in the substitute's selection. The substitute is directly responsible to the principal.

When service is to be rendered by two or more persons jointly and one of them dies, the survivor shall act alone if the service to be rendered is of a type that the survivor can rightly perform without the aid of the deceased person, but not otherwise.

An employment is terminated by: (1) the expiration of its appointed term; (2) the extinction of its subject; (3) the death of the employee; or (4) the employee's legal incapacity to act as an employee.

(1) An employment in which the power of the employee is not coupled with an interest in its subject is terminated by notice to the employee of: (a) the death of the employer; or (b) the employer's legal incapacity to contract. (2) An employee, unless the term of service has expir…

A servant is one who is employed to render personal service to the employer otherwise than in the pursuit of an independent calling and who in that service remains entirely under the control and direction of the employer, who is called the servant's master.

(1) A servant is presumed to have been hired for such length of time as the parties adopt for the estimation of wages. A hiring at a yearly rate is presumed to be for 1 year; a hiring at a daily rate, for 1 day; a hiring by piecework, for no specified term. (2) In the absence of …

Where, after the expiration of an agreement respecting the wages and the term of service, the parties continue the relation of master and servant, they are presumed to have renewed the agreement for the same wages and term of service.

The entire time of a domestic servant belongs to the master, and the time of other servants to such extent as is usual in the business in which they serve, not exceeding in any case 10 hours in the day.

A servant shall deliver to the servant's master without demand, as soon as with reasonable diligence the master can be found, everything that the servant receives for the master's account, but the servant is not bound without orders from the master to send anything to the master …

A master may discharge any servant, other than an apprentice, whether engaged for a fixed term or not: (1) if the servant is guilty of misconduct in the course of the servant's service or of gross immorality, though unconnected with the service; or (2) if, being employed about th…

(1) An employer shall indemnify an employee, except as prescribed in subsection (2), for all that the employee necessarily expends or loses in direct consequence of the discharge of duties as an employee or of the employee's obedience to the directions of the employer, even thoug…

An employee who is guilty of a culpable degree of negligence is liable to the employer for the damage caused by the negligence to the employer, and the employer is liable to the employee for the value of the services only that are properly rendered if the service is not gratuitou…

Any contract or agreement entered into by any person, company, or corporation with its servants or employees 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 …

A private employer who acts reasonably and complies in good faith with this section may not be held liable regarding claims of negligent hiring or negligent employment for acts committed by an employee with a criminal record if the acts are committed outside the scope of the empl…

(1) It is the duty of any person after having discharged any employee from service, upon demand by the discharged employee, to furnish the discharged employee in writing a statement of reasons for the discharge. Except as provided in subsection (3), if the person refuses to do so…

If a person, after having discharged an employee from service, prevents or attempts to prevent, by word or writing of any kind, the discharged employee from obtaining employment with any other person, the discharging person is punishable as provided in 39-2-804 and is liable in p…

If a company or corporation in this state authorizes or allows any of its agents to blacklist or if a person does blacklist any discharged employee or attempts by word or writing or any other means to prevent any discharged employee or any employee who may have voluntarily left t…

Every person who violates any of the provisions of this part relating to the protection of discharged employees and the prevention of blacklisting is guilty of a misdemeanor.

This part may be cited as the "Wrongful Discharge From Employment Act".

This part sets forth certain rights and remedies with respect to wrongful discharge. Except as provided in 39-2-912, this part provides the exclusive remedy for a wrongful discharge from employment.

In this part, the following definitions apply: (1) "Constructive discharge" means the voluntary termination of employment by an employee because of a situation created by an act or omission of the employer which an objective, reasonable person would find so intolerable that volun…

(1) A discharge is wrongful only if: (a) it was in retaliation for the employee's refusal to violate public policy or for reporting a violation of public policy; (b) the discharge was not for good cause and the employee had completed the employer's probationary period of employme…

(1) If an employer has committed a wrongful discharge, the employee may be awarded lost wages and fringe benefits for a period not to exceed 4 years from the date of discharge, together with interest on the lost wages and fringe benefits. The employee's interim earnings, derived …

(1) If an employer does not establish a specific probationary period or provide that there is no probationary period prior to or at the time the employee begins work, there is a probationary period of 12 months commencing on the date the employee begins work. (2) An employer may …

(1) An action under this part must be filed within 1 year after the date of discharge. (2) If an employer maintains written internal procedures, other than those specified in 39-2-912, under which an employee may appeal a discharge within the organizational structure of the emplo…

(1) This part does not apply to a discharge: (a) that is subject to any other state or federal statute that provides a procedure or remedy for contesting the dispute. The statutes include those that prohibit discharge for filing complaints, charges, or claims with administrative …

Except as provided in this part, no claim for discharge may arise from tort or express or implied contract.

(1) A party may make a written offer to arbitrate a dispute that otherwise could be adjudicated under this part. (2) An offer to arbitrate must be in writing and contain the following provisions: (a) A neutral arbitrator must be selected by mutual agreement or, in the absence of …

A party who makes a valid offer to arbitrate that is not accepted by the other party and who prevails in an action under this part is entitled as an element of costs to reasonable attorney fees incurred subsequent to the date of the offer.

(1) All employers in this state when making payment to employees for salaries or wages shall, upon making such payment, give to the employee an itemized statement setting forth moneys deducted because of state and federal income taxes, social security, or any other deductions tog…

An employee dismissed by the employer for good cause is not entitled to any compensation for services rendered since the last day upon which a payment became due to the employee under the contract.

An employee who quits the service of an employer for good cause is entitled to the proportion of the compensation that would become due in case of full performance as the services that the employee has already rendered bear to the services that the employee was to render as full …

(1) It is unlawful for the state or any county, municipal entity, school district, public or private corporation, person, or firm to employ women in any occupation within the state for compensation less than that paid to men for equivalent service or for the same amount or class …

The following are the definitions used for the purpose of this part: (1) "Commissioner of labor" refers to the director, commissioner, or chief of the department of labor and industry, as the department is defined by law, or any person or persons designated by the director, commi…

The commissioner is authorized to issue, amend, and enforce rules for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this part.

(1) Each employer or an authorized representative of the employer shall, on written demand, prior to the commencing of work, notify each employee as to the rate of wages to be paid, whether by the hour, day, week, month, or year, and date of paydays. Such notification must be in …

(1) Except as provided in subsections (2) and (3), every employer of labor in the state of Montana shall pay to each employee the wages earned by the employee in lawful money of the United States or checks on banks convertible into cash on demand at the full face value of the che…

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) or (3), when an employee separates from the employ of any employer, all the unpaid wages of the employee are due and payable on the next regular payday for the pay period during which the employee was separated from employment or 15 days f…

(1) An employer who fails to pay an employee as provided in this part or who violates any other provision of this part is guilty of a misdemeanor. A penalty must also be assessed against and paid by the employer to the employee in an amount not to exceed 110% of the wages due and…

(1) An employee may recover all wages and penalties provided for the violation of 39-3-206 by filing a complaint within 180 days of default or delay in the payment of wages. (2) Except as provided in subsection (3), an employee may recover wages and penalties for a period of 2 ye…

Any contract or agreement made between an employer and an employee the provisions of which violate, evade, or circumvent this part is unlawful and void, but the employee may sue to recover the wages earned, together with the penalty specified in 39-3-206 or separately to recover …

The commissioner of labor shall inquire diligently for any violations of this part and institute actions for the collection of unpaid wages and for the penalties provided for in this part in cases that the commissioner of labor considers proper and enforce generally the provision…

(1) The commissioner of labor or the commissioner of labor's authorized representatives are empowered to enter and inspect places, question employees, and investigate facts, conditions, or matters that they may consider appropriate to determine whether any person has violated any…

Whenever the commissioner of labor determines that one or more employees have claims for unpaid wages, the commissioner of labor shall, upon the written request of the employee, take an assignment of the claim in trust for the employee and may maintain any proceeding appropriate …

(1) A department default order or a decision of the hearings officer, if judicial review is not sought, may be enforced by application by the commissioner to a district court for an order or judgment enforcing the decision. The commissioner shall apply to the district court where…